The Masters I: Leonardo da Vinci

Lesson intro:

* da Vinci embodied term of "Renaissance man." He is attributed the birth of this term, and its development.

* Term Renaissance man means an individual who is gifted at all things. An artist, philosopher, scientist.

* Born on April 15, 1452. In Vinci, Italy, outside of Florence. Moved to Milan at age of 17, apprenticing for Andrea Verrochio. He lieved 67 years, and he passed away in Amboise, France, in 1519 on May 2.

Leonardo's Technical Achievements. He worked as a civil engineer in Milan early on.

* Leonardo da Vinci was a dedicated artist and scientist, coined the "Renaissance man."

* Many of his inventions have been built by scientists today

* Ex sketch: Helicopter. 

* made disvoereis in meteorology, geology. He explored that the moon had on the shifting tides on the ocean. He foreshadowed modern theories on the formation of the continents and the tectonic plates.

* master of marrying science, observation, and art

* Ex: notes on anatomy. On Human Heart. Oftentimes Leonardo would open up dead bodies and analyze them, with these dead bodies being known as cadavers, extracting the internal organs and draw them. Was not just a scientific exercise, as this drawing was detailed in its use of shadows and precise details. This shows a convergence between art and reason and science, which defined him.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503. One of the most replicated pieces of work throughout history

* Many artists have mocked, copied, or recreated her.

* She is a woman but she is lacking all jewelry, which is unlike for most female subjects in this era.

* Triangular composition of her upper torso. Typically during this period, if there was a portrait of a person, it would be a full body.

* Kind of grinning, development of dimples in her cheeks. Lack of light. Suggests she may know something viewers don't know.

* Head tilted in right. It was typical for eyes to follow this tilt, however, Mona Lisa does not gaze off to the right, and looks right at the viewer, giving eerie feeling.

* use of two techniques: Chiaroscuro and sfumato. 

* Chiaroscuro is his use of lights and darks, helping to create a more volumetric image, image expressing greater 3d quality.

* da Vinci believed painting was true high art, whereas Michelangelo believed it was sculpture.

* Main difference between sculpture and painting: Color vs monochromatic coloration of stone, 2d vs. 3d. 

* Leonardo says in this painting that color is not as important as creating an illusionary sense of space (done by casting direct light onto subject, creating highlights or areas where the light hits most vibrantly as well as the addition of very dark, darks. 

* Also united individual parts of painting into something holistic. Achieved this by applying thin layer of lacquer or varnish (tinted varnish) to surface of his completed painting. Giving it a smoky or eerie finish, through this technique called Sfumato. 

Vitruvian Man

* Created by a Roman engineer and architect named Vitruvius. He wrote that for a man to be perfect, he would have to fit inside the square and circle, goes back to idealized forms of human figure. Artists would combine geometric shapes and mathematical proportions to uncover perfect human frm

* Circle: he says that if you took a compass and had a man stetched with his arms and legs all the way,  you would be able to draw a circumference of a perfect circle that touched the tips of fingers and toes. He argued that, that same perfect form would have to fit inside of a square. Circle was considerd to be divine form, the most perfect of all geometric shapes. Square: If measured from tip of the finger from tip of the finger with arms stretched horinzontally, and then you measured tip of his head to the soles of his feet, they would be equidistant. 

* da Vinci was interested and added some notes

 The Last Supper

* Done in 1495 in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Sort of a fresco located on the back wall of the refectory which is a cafeteria in the monastery.

* The coffers of the ceilings and the orthogonals that it creates extend just below to the head of Christ in the center. From the centre of the Rome where it was painted, it extended the real existing orthogonals of the ceilling and created this illusionary space like it was extending into paint. 

* Christ is in the center. He is painted in a triangular or pyramidal shape, in a equilateral triangle, symbolic of belief in holy trinity. 

* Disciples of christ are arranged in four groups of three people, distinct from previous depictions of the last supper. 

* Individual to left depicted with white hair is Judas--the apostle who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He is with John the Evangelist and Saint Peter. Typically Judas is cast aside and is an outcast, away from the other disciples. It tells the story of how important the figures are. It sets into motion the actions and the events that unfold into Christ's crucifixion. Peter becomes leader of the church, and John the Evangelist who for tells the last judgement, second coming of Christ. 

* Was early into Vinci's career. But in this fresco, he painted on a thin layer of dried plaster. He also used a more oily-based medium, achieving the same effect as when painting on a wood panel--more detail, time, beauty. Frescoes were typically done by applying small layers of plaster at a time and working on them while they were still wet., as the paint becomes infused into the plaster. But this limited artists in detail. 

* Result was disastrous. It is in terrible condition. Shortly after, the paint began to peel off the wall, it was deteriorating very rapidly. Despite the attempts to rescue it, it will eventually be gone. In the 17th century the monks saw no harm in breaking through it, can be seen in the lintel supports of a doorway, as they knocked through the wall of the refractory and part of the table. 

Definitions:

Sfumato - Italian term for a painting technique which overlays translucent layers of color to create perceptions of depth, volume, and form.

Mona Lisa - A 16th century portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci

Vitruvian Man - A world renowned drawing with notes created by Leonardo da Vinci depicting the correct human proportions