Visual Analysis PowerPoint Project
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HighRenaissance_Leonardo.pptxART HISTORY 132
Italian High Renaissance:
Leonardo da Vinci
© Joel Hollander, Ph.D., 2020
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
biography: illegitimate son
significance: “Renaissance” man
talented in wide range of endeavors (e.g., art, engineering)
informal education in Latin, geometry and mathematics
training: under tutelage of Verrochio
contemporary in Florence w/ Botticelli, Perugino, & Ghirlandaio
patron: Duke of Milan; Francis I (FR)
style: “ disegno ” (vs. “ colore ”) tradition
defined as both “drawing” and “design”
draftsmanship regarded as prerequisite for good painting
establish basic artistic principles of anatomy and perspective (linear/aerial)
sketches, studies, and cartoons to aid execution of finished pictures
Leonardo da Vinci
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490)
medium: ink on paper
theme: Humanism (Vitruvius Roman architect)
significance: form est. by mathematical proportions & geometric shapes
figure: idealized proportions
man in two superimposed positions w/ arms and legs apart
inscribed in circle and square
light/shadow: dramatic passages
Leonardo
Madonna of the Rocks (1483)
motif: cave (rock formations)
biography as youth, discovered a cave; driven by curiosity to find out what inside
Humanism Plato’s Republic “Allegory of the Cave”
figures: idealized quality of naturalism
composition: stable
CVA
implicit triangular format
color: muted
light/shadow: chiaroscuro
perspective:
forestortening
linear no explicit use
aerial view into deep space
vanishiing point shifted to left
Leonardo
Madonna, St. Ann & Christ Child
date: c. 1505-1507
style: “disegno” tradition
technical skill of line & drawing
conception & intention of finished work
“external physical manifestation of an internal intellectual idea or design” (Zuccaro)
composition: centralized
light/shadow: “chiaroscuro”
chiaro “clear” or “light”
oscuro “obscure” or “dark”
strong contrasts between light and shadow
extraordinary sense of sculptural dimensionality
figures: massive
(Left) Classical Greek Three Goddesses from pediment atop Parthenon (c. 450 BCE) vs. (right) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Madonna, St. Ann & Christ Child (c. 1500)
Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Last Supper (1495-1498)
(Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Last Supper (c. 1500) vs. (right) Giotto’s Gothic Last Supper (c. 1300)
(Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Last Supper (c. 1500) vs. (right) Castagno’s Italian Early Renaissance Last Supper (c. 1450)
(Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Last Supper (c. 1500) vs. (right) Donatello’s Italian Early Renaissance Feast of Herod (c. 1450)
Leonardo
Mona Lisa (1503-1505)
patron: Francesco de Giocondo
wealthy Florentine merchant
narrative: commemorates birth of 2nd son
narrative tone: secular vs. religious
motif: head covering
figure: idealized
facial features (eyes, mouth)
hands/fingers
pose: seated, ¾ view (Classical)
composition: stable
central vertical axis
implicit triangular format
color: muted
light/shadow: chiaroscuro
perspective:
foreshortening arm; shoulder
linear balcony ledge; winding road
atmospheric (aerial)
vanishing point shifted to right
“sfumato” smoky, hazy effect
(Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Mona Lisa (c. 1500 CE) vs. (right) Roman Republic Portrait of a Lady (c. 50 BCE)
(Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Mona Lisa (c. 1500) vs. (right) van der Weyden’s Flemish Early Ren. Portrait of a Lady (c. 1450)
IMAGE INDEX
Slide 2: LEONARDO. Self-Portrait (c. 1515), Red chalk.
Slide 3: LEONARDO. Vitruvian Man (c. 1490), Ink, 13 1/2 x 9 5/8 in., Galleria dell’Accademia, Venice.
Slide 4: LEONARDO. Virgin of the Rocks (1483), Oil on panel, 6’3” x 3’7”, Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Slide 5: LEONARDO. Cartoon for Madonna and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John (c. 1505-07), Charcoal heightened with white on brown paper, 4’6” x 3’3”, National Gallery, London.
Slide 6: (Left) Classical Greek Three Goddesses from pediment atop Parthenon (c. 450 BCE); and (right) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Madonna, St. Ann & Christ Child (c. 1500)
Slide 7: (Left) Picasso’s Ma Jolie (c. 1910); and (right) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Madonna, St. Ann & Christ Child (c. 1500)
IMAGE INDEX
Slide 8: LEONARDO. The Last Supper (c. 1500), Fresco, 15’2” x 28’10”, Convent of Sta. Maria delle Grazie (Refectory), Milan.
Slide 9: (Left) LEONARDO’s High Renaissance The Last Supper (c. 1500); and (right) GIOTTO’s Gothic The Last Supper (c. 1300).
Slide 10: (Left) LEONARDO’s High Renaissance Last Supper (c. 1500); and (right) GIOTTO’s Donatello’s Early Renaissance Feast of Herod (c. 1450)
Slide 11: (Left) LEONARDO’s The Last Supper (c. 1500); and (right) CASTAGNO’s Early Renaissance The Last Supper (c. 1450).
Slide 12: (Left) Leonardo’s Italian High Renaissance Mona Lisa (c. 1500 CE); and (right) Roman Republic Portrait of a Lady (c. 50 BCE)
Slide 13: LEONARDO. Mona Lisa (c. 1505), Oil on panel, 30 x 21 in., Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Slide 14: (Left) LEONARDO’s Italian High Renaissance Mona Lisa (c. 1500); and (right) VAN DER WEYDEN’s Flemish Early Renaissance Portrait of a Lady (c. 1450)
