“Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings: The Greatest Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings at All Time”
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It is without debate that Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest painters in history. All famous painters referred him as the father of Renaissance, and a master of perspective, the influence of Leonardo Da Vinci today extends far beyond the realm of artistic endeavor.
Encouraged and inspired by growing up in an environment rich in scholarly flavor there are 15 significant art works credited to Da Vinci, comprising paintings on panels, a large mural and various drawings. Da Vinci is renowned for his work in such fields as engineering, architecture, natural science mathematics and geometry.
Given the exquisite beauty and infinite fine detail of his art this isn’t really any wonder. What does strike one as surprising is the fact that Da Vinci only presents 15 major projects during his life time. Among the 15 significant works credited to Leonardo Da Vinci are various drawings and two seemingly incomplete paintings.
Among these fifteen works two paintings stand out as supreme examples of the innovative techniques that Da Vinci employed in laying out his paint and detailed knowledge of light botany, geology and perspective.Leonardo became the first painter, architect, and engineer for King Francis 1st in France. It was the King himself at his side on the 2nd of May, 1519 when he died.
The 2 greatest Leonardo Da Vinci paintings of all time are: The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa.
Mona Lisa
Painting Title: Mona Lisa, 1503 / 1506
By Leonardo da Vinci
Famous Italian Artist - Renaissance
Without doubt the most famous portrait of all time. The subject of the Mona is said to be Lisa, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, although some recent discussion has suggested that the Mona Lisa may even represent a feminine representive self portrait of Da Vinci himself. This rather debatable and controversial argument is loosely supported by the dissection of the facial features of Lisa, suggesting that they closely resemble those of the artist. This interesting assumption is likely to be explained by the fact that, as an artist, Leonardo Da Vinci may have expressed his own character or sense of self in the creation. It may be suggested that if Leonardo did have some half biological sister, Lisa, the wife of Franceso del Giocondo may even be her.
The importance of the Mona Lisa as a major art work does not end with the subject matter, or even as a master piece painting alone. The Mona Lisa is a perfect example of Da Vinci’s use of mathematical equation and geometry in his paintings to bring balance and perspective in the creation of perfection.
Da Vinci employs a technique known as sfumato-fumo, or smoking, creating seamless transitions between light and dark, and mathematical accuracy to detail perspective
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498
Mixed technique, 460 x 880 cm
Refectory, Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
The Last Supper represents the definition of High Renaissance in subject matter and detail. Here Da Vinci captures the moment after Christ tells his apostles that one of them will betray him. Leonardo presents a wave of emotion among his subjects. Each emotion is unique to the each of the apostles represented.
The Composition of the Last Supper names
This masterpiece also depicts a sense of order in the scene via the arrangement of figures and his masterful application of perspective. The importance to the placement of the apostles and Christ is paramount to the attention Leonardo employed to detail in both visual representation and meaning.
Position of Judas, Peter and John (or Mary Magdalen? Who know…?)
Other works worth mention are:
The Virgin (or Madonna) of the Rocks, 1483 - 1486
This is one of the most beautiful Leonardo da Vinci paintings that used the “sfumato” technique. The sfumato technique was used to tone down a picture and make the picture look like it is evaporating into thin air. In fact, the Italian word “sfumato” actually means to evaporate like smoke. The picture depicts the Madonna in the center. Also in the picture is John the Baptist and Jesus. An angel named Gabriel is also present. The picture depicts Jesus blessing John while John holds his hands outstretched at Jesus. Two versions of this painting were created. The one described above is the Louvre version that was completed between the years 1483 and 1486. The other version is popularly known as the London version which was completed in 1495-1508.
If there are two versions of Leonardo da Vinci paintings, they are usually referred to as the Louvre version or the London version as they are usually displayed at either the museum in Louvre, Paris or the National Gallery in London.
Portrait of a Musician, 1490
This is one of the rarest Leonardo da Vinci paintings as he had used a male subject instead of a female one that is so characteristic of all his other paintings. The picture depicts a musician holding a scroll of paper, thought to contain notes of music. There has been some controversy about this Leonardo da Vinci painting as some claim it to be a self portrait while some claim it to be a painting that was started by Leonardo da Vinci but completed by some other painter. The musician in the picture dons a red hat that seems to awkwardly sit on the otherwise intricate painting suggesting that the hat might have been painted by an amateur painter after Lenoardo finished the painting. The painting is also uncharacteristic of Leonardo in the sense that the subject, in this case the musician, is looking away from the painter’s field of vision.
Certainly these are just four works of Leonardo da Vinci selected to introduce you to the magnificence of the works of a genius. Other work that should be covered if not for the fear of creating an epic prologue to the master of high renaissance is the Adoration of Mag, and in fact, so much more including his famous drawings and engineered designs.
It is not just Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings that have made him famous to almost everyone in the world. He was a man of exceptional talent who also conceptualized the helicopter, a tank, solar power and even a calculator in times when civilization was just at the grassroots level. He was truly a remarkable genius who touched down on this earth during his times. As with any exceptionally talented people, he also had his share of eccentricities, with his downfall being that he was a chronic procrastinator. It is because of this reason that there are only about 15 known preserved Leonardo da Vinci paintings available today.
There Are Still Other Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings Created!
Simply Refer Back to http://www.LeonardoDaVinciPaintings.Org Often for More Updates On Some Other History of Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings…
