Leonardo

Toward the end of the 14th century a handful of Italian thinkers declared that they were living in a new age. The “Middle Ages” were over and a new age would begin. It would be a “rinascita” (rebirth) of learning and literature, art and culture. This was the birth of the period known as the Renaissance. For centuries, scholars have agreed that the Italian Renaissance happened just that way. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, a new modern way of thinking about the world and man’s place in it replaced an old, backward one.

Italy in the 15th century was unlike any other place in Europe. It was divided into independent city-states, each with a different form of government. Florence, where the Renaissance began, was an independent republic. It was also a banking and commercial capital and the third largest city in Europe (after London and Constantinople). Wealthy Florentines flaunted their money and power by becoming patrons, or supporters, of artists and intellectuals. In this way, the city became the cultural centre of Europe and the birthplace of the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the leading thinkers and artists of this new era.

Leonardo is considered one of the most extraordinary artists who ever lived. Yet over a fifty year long career, he left only ten finished paintings. It seems he couldn’t keep his mind on any one thing for long. He’d get distracted or bored or discouraged.

Born in 1452 Leonardo came from Vinci, a hilltop town outside Florence, hence he was only ever known by his first name - Leonardo, from Vinci. As an illegitimate child, he was fortunate that his father, Ser Piero, acknowledged him and let him be known as Leonardo di ser Piero - son of Ser Piero. But no surname. His mother was Caterina, a servant girl. Ser Piero went on to become a notary, marry four times and sire nine more sons and daughters.

Leonardo was handsome, funny and a good athlete. As a young boy, his skill at drawing was remarkable, but he was a poor student and learning to read was difficult for him. His father wasn’t sure Leonardo would ever amount to much. However, he did notice Leonardo’s artistic talent and he began thinking that perhaps his son could become a painter.

When Leonardo was twelve, his father arranged for him to become an apprentice to a famous artist in Florence called Verrocchio. Leonardo would live with him and begin his apprenticeship, spending thirteen years in Verocchio’s workshop. Now ready to work on his own, Leonardo was given many commissions, but he angered clients by not finishing the work. When he did, it took him much too long. Throughout his life, Leonardo was unreliable.

The Last Supper

Over a period of four years from 1494-1498, Leonardo created a dramatic fresco called The Last Supper for the wall of a dining room. In this scene, Jesus sits at a long table surrounded by all twelve of his followers. He already knows that one of them is going to betray him.

Leonardo had never made a fresco before A fresco painter works on only one small area of wet plaster at a time. Plaster dries fast so the painting needs to be done quickly. Mistakes can’t be corrected. Leonardo liked to paint slowly and carefully. He liked being able to make changes, so he invented a new kind of paint with oil and egg in it. This allowed him to work at his own pace.

There was a problem though. A big problem. Leonardo’s new paint didn’t stick properly to the wall. After only twenty years, it started flaking off. Over the centuries, there have been many attempts to restore the fresco. It remains one of the most famous paintings in the world and a highly visited site today in the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

Mona Lisa

Leonardo used everything he knew about painting to bring Mona Lisa to life. Proportion, perspective, shading. He also invented a new trick. By blurring the lines between hills in the distance, they seem to slowly fade from view. Leonardo loved the painting so much that he refused to sell it. For thirty years, he kept making little changes to it. The Mona Lisa was with him when he died in 1519 aged 67, while staying in France as the guest of the French king. This is why the painting is still in France in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

An inventor

What gave Leonardo the most pleasure was keeping illustrated notebooks of all his thoughts and ideas. He drew plans for inventions that only came into existence many hundreds of years later - flying machines, war tanks, a bicycle, a parachute, robots. Leonardo was especially curious about the human body and how it worked. The only way to examine them was to dissect bodies of the dead. Although it was illegal, Leonardo paid grave robbers for bodies. By studying the muscles, bones and organs, he knew far more about anatomy than most doctors at the time.

Unfortunately, after his death pages from Leonardo’s notebooks were torn out and sold individually. About seven thousand pages are accounted for, but maybe as many as seven thousand more have vanished. In 1994, Bill Gates bought a collection of thirty six pages. He paid almost thirty one million dollars for them!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb

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