Transcript Warm Up 2/21/2013 - South Pointe Middle School

Warm-up #7
• Which of Michelangelo’s work do you find the
most impressive and why?
• Why do you think it is important for someone
to be well rounded?
Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519)
A Renaissance Man
A Universal Man
• There was little that
Leonardo did not excel at.
• He was a painter, a
sculptor, an engineer, a
musician, a singer, a
mathematician, a
physicist, a botanist, an
anatomist, a cartographer,
a geologist, a geographer,
a poet, a town planner
and an athlete.
Early Life
• Leonardo was born in
Vinci, a short distance
from Florence.
• He was the illegitimate
son of a notary.
• His father married four
times and had 11 children
– but Leonardo was 20
before the 2nd child was
born
The village of Vinci
Professional Life
• At the age of 14 he was
apprenticed to the
artist, Verrocchio
• At the age of 20 he
obtained the rank of
master in the guild of
artists and doctors of
medicine
A Young Master
• By the age of 20 he
surpassed his master,
painting The Baptism of
Christ in 1472.
• It is rumoured that
Verrochio never painted
again after this.
More on his development
• In 1482 Lorenzo de’
Medici sent him to Milan
bearing gifts of peace
• Here he painted “The Last
Supper”
• In 1502 he was employed
by Cesare Borgia as a
military architect and
engineer
Old Age and Death
• In 1515 da Vinci was
commissioned to make
a mechanical lion that
would walk forward
• In 1519 he passed away
in France
The Last Supper
The Last Supper
• Painting in fits and starts,
and usually with hired
musicians playing for him,
the project dragged on to
the point where the
monks threatened to lock
him in until the work was
finished.
• Legend has it that
Leonardo retaliated by
painting the abbot as the
image of Judas.
The Last Supper
• Leonardo was
commissioned to
paint this for the
refectory of a
Dominican monastery.
• He disastrously
decided to use oils,
instead of fresco, on
the damp walls.
• It deteriorated almost
immediately.
Study of Horse (Journals)
Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa (La Giaconda)
• This oil on panel is his
most famous work.
• Begun in 1503, it was
still in his possession
when he died in
France.
• Salai sold it to the
French King for 4,000
ecus, and so it now
resides in the Louvre.
The Mona Lisa (La Giaconda)
• The subject is Lisa
Gherardini, wife of
Francesco del Giocondo.
• The pyramidic design is
one often employed by
Leonardo.
• The etherial landscape
reveals his characteristic
sfumato and the path
reinforces the tendency of
the eye to follow a
triangular pattern.
The Mona Lisa (La Giaconda)
• The enigmatic
smile is most
frequently
commented on.
• His capture of
this transient
expression
displays
unparalleled
virtuosity.
The Mona Lisa (La Giaconda)
• There is a hypothesis
that this is actually not
a direct portrait of a
Florentine woman at
all – or that da Vinci
has placed elements
of his own image in
the portrait..
A Universal Man
• He always wanted to
write a treatise on
painting (like Alberti),
but never did.
• He seems to have not
mastered Latin, the
language of
scholarship.
• - or perhaps he was
simply too busy.
The Notebooks
• Leonardo kept notes
on everything.
• Around 5,000 pages
still exist.
• However, he used
mirror-writing to
ensure privacy while
and after he wrote.
• More mundanely,
perhaps he did so
because he was left
handed and found
this easier.
Vitruvian Man
Studies of Embryos (Journal)
Self Portrait
Mirror Writing w/ Flying Machine
In what ways did da Vinci express his
genius?
• Take a minute to discuss this with your
neighbor.