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Home , Bacchus (Leonardo), Madonna Litta, Virgin of the Rocks

Tobias and the angel andrea del verrocchio, with Leonardo c. 1470-72

This painting is a collaboration by Leonardo and his teacher, Andrea Del Verrochio. During this time, Da Vinci had started apprenticing at Verrochio’s shop and it is thought that he contributed the dog and the fish in this painting. His talents are being developed in this period, and in 1472, he was accepted into the painters’ guild of Florence. In Verrochio’s shop, Leonardo would have been exposed to a vast range of technical skills and had the opportunity to learn drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics and carpentry as well as the artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting and modeling.

Annunciation c. 1472

Annunciation is one of Leonardo’s own creations, painted during his apprenticeship. There are some evidences of him changing his mind about certain parts of this painting and some art critics would say he has made some “confusing” choices of imagery here (where it looks like Mary has three knees). During the time when this painting was created, Leonardo was about 20 years old.

2 Ginevra de' benci c. 1475-78

The portrait of Ginevra De’ Benci was one of Leonardo’s first independent commissions. It is as much of an experimental and playful riddle as it is a masterpiece. Fingertips were used to experiement with blending and creating the illusion of air, and we can still see one fingerprint. Leonardo was experimenting with Northern European influenced art, one example of this is the creative use of the Juniper bush (a pun on Ginvera’s name) in the background of the subject which was unusual for Florentine portraits. During this time, Leonardo was still in Verrocchio’s shop developing his skills.

MAdonna and child with a carnation c. 1476-78

This painting could possibly be Leonardo’s first autonomous work, while he was still in Verrocchio’s shop, and likely when he was beginning to use oil paint as well. This new technique allowed him to create very deep colors with rich tones of red, cool blues, brilliant yellows. It also gave him more potential for creating detailed texture which he began doing very skillfully (he also had started dipping fabric in gesso and letting it stiffen so he could better study the light, shadow, and folds more permanantly than fabric on a live model). This is around the time when Leonardo had gone to .

3 WITH A FLOWER () c. 1478-81

This beautiful painting is thought to be one of Leonardo’s first, after leaving Verrocchio’s shop. The fact that he left he place by the master’s side, shows “a widening of his artistic horizons at this early age.” Here we see Leonardo developing one of his key effects, using rich, shadowey darkness, with bright illuminated figures in contrast. In this painting, many of the small details have been painted over, in favor of more real looking, relatalable figures which are so affectonate and loving in a way that we are able to connect to more easily than the previous ones with such detail that they seem beyond human. Court records of 1476 show that Leonardo and three other young men were charged with sodomy, and acquitted. From that date until 1478 there is no record of his work or even of his whereabouts, although it is assumed that Leonardo had his own workshop in Florence between 1476 and 1481.

Madonna Litta c. 1490 In 1482 Leonardo moved to Milan and helped secure peace between Lorenzo de’ Medici and Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. Leonardo continued work in Milan until 1499. He was commissioned to paint the for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, and The Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

This painting departs from Leonardo’s typical style in a few ways, first off, it uses more hard outlines and the baby looks uncharacteristic compared to earlier works which suggests it may have been finished by another artist.

4 the virgin of the rocks - paris c. 1483-86

The Virgin of the Rocks was commissioned (not long after Leonardo’s move to Milan) by the Franciscan Confraternity in the Church of San Francesco Grande. Leonardo was assisted by two local artists, their task was to create an altarpiece for the recently completed chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. The Predis brothers completed two side panels while da Vinci painted the centre panel. Shortly after the altarpiece was finished the artists had a dispute about payment resulting in the artists threatening to sell the work to a rival bidder which resulted in the making of the second version of the Virgin of the Rocks. The original Paris version was quickly sold to an art lover soon after completion.

c. 1489-95

The lady is one of the first two portraits of Leonardo’s patron’s mistresses while he was in the court of Milan. It breaks traditions because of hte 3/4 angle rather than profile or straight forward. It is now known that the background of this painting was originally light blue-gray but that it has been darkened by a ninteenth- century overpainting.

5 la belle ferronniere c. 1490-85

Here again we see how Leonardo has used the dark background to draw full attention to the figure, and using her body turned one direction, and her head another, with even her eyes going further, he is using volumentric qualities that were unseen during those times. One of the most interesting parts of this painting is how Leonardo used color reflection from her red dress onto her cheek in a light pink hue. He also used a pillar between viewer and subject, creating an illusion that the woman is actually inside the painting.

The last supper c. 1494-98

Leonardo starts painting The Last Supper, in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. In order to paint it Leonardo used an oil/tempera mix and applied it to a dry wall which he did because he wanted to capture the look of an , but even within his lifetime it began to wear off. Leonardo’s Last Supper is a type of painting which builds on the early Renaissance painting traditions in areas such as composition and perspective. Yet, it is innovative in terms of its study of natural emotional reactions and psychological states, which was unknown in Italian painting in the previous century. It is thus with Leonardo that we see the beginning of the climactic years of the Renaissance when virtuosity was at its peak, when original ways of depicting figures or scenes came full force. 6 madonna of the yarnwinder c. 1501

By this time, Leonardo had travelled back to Florence from Milan, and actually created two of this same painting, with slight variations. Leonardo had started using more cascading background with rolling mountains and natural feeling scenery to be a connection to nature and earth.

The Virgin of the Rocks – London c. 1495-1508

This comes from Leonardo’s studio, but by this time he was using his pupils to assist him. The cross resting on the shoulder of the seems to have been painted at a later date, as does the halo. It was for financial reasons that Leonardo painted a second version of this work. While Leonardo was creating this painting, which had been commissioned by the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan for “solum ducati XXV” (“only 15 ducats”), he received another offer of 100 ducats. So, whether for the much higher offer or because some of his work was rejected, Leonardo repainted this version which was eventually accepted almost ten years after the initial commission. During this time, for a few months, Leonardo was in the service of Cesare Borgia who wass involved in a number of military operations in Romagna and requested his assistance as a military engineer. 7 c. 1503-14

The Mona Lisa, created in Florence, shows a woman with a thoughtful expression and a slightly smiling mouth in the forefront of a beautiful but slightly ambiguous landscape. The painting, in oils on poplar wood, and was executed between 1503 and 1506 (possibly added to later as this is one painting Leonardo kept with him). Again we see the technique of the body turned slightly, while the head is almost facing the viewer and the eyes are directed even more turned. The Mona Lisa provides “the best example of the enhanced atmospheric quality called (smokiness), achieved by softening the outlines of hte foreground figure and gently and gradually blending the elements of hte background so that it appears to recede into the deep distance.” At this time, the Seigneury commissioned Leonardo to create a fresco of the Battle of Anghiari, but the work, for which he used experimental painting techniques, did not survive very long. In the same year, he resumed his studies on flight and on anatomy.

virgin and child with st. anne c. 1510-13

Leonardo worked on this painting in Milan and Florence, and later took it with him when he travelled to France, where he eventually passed away. At the time, he was in Florence with his household as guests of Servite monks (Monastery of Santissima Annuziata) who provided him a nice workshop. The commissioner is unknown and although it remained unfinished, this piece was extremely influential in later years and it’s said that it won such admiration that “men and women, young and old flocked to see it as if they were attending a great festival.” During this time, Leonardo is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa and begins work as senior military architect and general engineer for Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.

8 St. c. 1513-17

This painting is especially known for the elusive smile that Leonardo captured of his subject, St. John the Baptist. It includes soft skin and lighting while mixed with a dark background which draws attention to the subject coming toward the viewer. “Leonardo concentrated on subtle gradiations of light rather than sharp juxtapositions. Yet, in his last years, there is a movement toward setting figures in greater relief which he accomplished by darkening the backgrounds... he formulated an ever-more insistent link between divinity and human bodily perfection.” At this time, Leonardo was known to keep to himself, was living comfortably financially, and started to experience a decline in his health around the age of 63.

St. john the baptist (with attributes of ) c. 1513-16 When Leonardo was about 70 years old, there is an account saying that he had started to paint much less due to paralysis in his right hand. It’s said that though he could not paint as easily, he would draw and instruct his Milanese assistant (likely ). This painting may be a product of Leonardo’s close instruction to his student. Parts of the painting have been added later, like the crown of grapes and the grapes on the staff used to transform St. John into Bacchus the god of wine.

9 timeline Tobias and the angel c. 1470-72

Annunciation c. 1472

Ginevra de' benci c. 1475-78

MAdonna and child with a carnation c. 1476-78

MAdonna WITH A FLOWER c. 1478-81

Madonna Litta c. 1490

the virgin of the rocks - paris c. 1483-86

lady with an ermine c. 1489-95

la belle ferronniere c. 1490-85

The last supper c. 1494-98

madonna of the yarnwinder c. 1501

The Virgin of the Rocks – London c. 1495-1508

Mona lisa c. 1503-14 virgin and child with st. anne c. 1510-13

St. john the baptist c. 1513-17

St. john the baptist c. 1513-16

resouRces

“ The Life.” LEONARDO3. Leonardo3 SRL, 2015. Web. Apr.-May 2015. .

Tucker, Rebecca, and Paul Crenshaw. Discovering Leonardo: The Art Lover’s Guide to Understanding Leonardo Da Vinci’s Masterpieces. New York, NY: Universe, 2011. Print.