Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper

1240 Words5 Pages

The Renaissance, which began in the quattrocento in Italy and later spread through the rest of Europe, was a period from the 1420 to 1500s, the rebirth of the renaissance itself. Renaissance artists where frequently talented in numerous fields however, there’s one apparent artist which is still famous till today. His name is Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 who was trained in Florence by Verrocchio’s workshop. He exerted in many sciences and invented many unique innovations of his own such as the parachute, viola, diving suit etc. He also had many unfinished works and inventions in the past that were left behind, which artists of that time had studied some of his works and techniques. However, when Milan was invaded …show more content…

It’s been “described as the most visited, viewed, written and sung about painting on the planet”. The expression subject within the painting is very enigmatic to itself, hence it interests and attracts a few of Da Vinci’s works to millions of people across the world. Today, it is sitting behind a bullet-proof glass at the Musee du Louvre in Paris, France which this small portrait attracts around six million visitors per year. Even with this high level care and security given to the painting, the museum placed a couple of guards next to the painting whose job is to control the flow of the crowd. But why is it treasured that much? Over the centuries, the painting has stood against vandalism. The first incident took in 1956 when an unknown person threw acid at the bottom half which badly damaged this masterpiece. That same year, another one threw a rock at the portrait, removing the chip of the paint of her elbow. Nonetheless, it was painted over. These events show us the given amount of damaged that has face overtime which is surely why this piece of artwork is so treasured and valued very …show more content…

Leonardo used many unique and innovative techniques to paint this picture, which took more than 4 years to paint other than his previous works. The Mona Lisa was said to be the portrait of Lisa de Antonio Maria Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine Francesco del Giocondo. Leonardo created the work in a unique way in which we get to see the sitter in ½ view. Her mysterious smile was achieved through the used of chiaroscurco and atmospheric perspective. He used the atmospheric perspective, with the smoky blues, to show no clear vanishing point. Which provided a compositional depth to the painting yet, it has details revealing a visible imbalance between the higher rocky horizon on the right, compared to the lower flat lands stretching away on the left. Making the background of the image look hazier with less clear outlines than the foreground. It also makes the spectator transfixed with this ambiguous background which seems to recede to nowhere in particular. Through the use of chiaroscurco, he contrasts the light and shadow; Lisa’s sensitive hands are portrayed with glowing modulation of light and shade, while colour contrast is used only sparingly. Painting with chiaroscurco meant that this was the first time in history of portraiture to give them a sense mystery and uniqueness of the human personality. As well, Leonardo employs the technique of sfumato which blurs the background as much as it blurs some of the details in the face

More about Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper