Da Vinci was born in Italy and
by the age of twenty was developing art in his own workshop. He is known as one
of the greatest and most influential renaissance artists. His more famous and
finished works include the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. However, he is also
very well known for creating numerous sketch drawings of portraits, machinery and human
anatomy.
When researching Da Vinci I attempted to look mostly for his pencil/ink drawings so that I could learn from them and relate them to the content that we learn about in class. The following images are a small variety of the sketches Da Vinci created in his lifetime.
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| Study of Five Characters (c. 1494), pen and ink, Windsor, Royal Library |
This image is a good
representation of some of the portraits that Da Vinci did. This one in
particular seemed very interesting to me because of the haphazard nature of
it. He seemed to use very liberal mark
making and was still able to accomplish very precise representations of human
figures. It is apparent that he puts his focus on the man in the middle of the
image for a few reasons. One reason is that the man in the middle seems to be
the most “finished” element of the image, second he seems to be wearing some
sort of a crown and third because the man is placed directly in the center of
the canvas. As for the other four figures, they seem to be the background of
the image and not necessarily the focus. It is possible, according to some
scholars, that the middle figure represents a god-like figure and the other
four represent the four temperaments. The four temperaments are sanguine (optimistic leader-like), choleric (bad-tempered or
irritable), melancholic (analytical and quiet), and phlegmatic (relaxed and
peaceful). Of course there is no way to prove this
theory but because a lot of Da Vinci’s works included symbolism and because of
his well-read and scholarly nature, there is a good chance that this sketch has
a deeper meaning as well.
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| Designs for a Scythed Chariot, Armoured Vehicle and Partisan (c. 1487), pen and ink and was, London, British Museum |
This image shows
parts of the sketches that Da Vinci prepared for more science and engineering
purposes, this one in particular was a design for a chariot that may have
served a purpose towards building modern war technology of the time. Many of
his sketches included designs for machinery and revealed much about his ability
to invent, as well as his futuristic thinking. His skills
and talents went further than art and dipped in a multitude of disciplines and
the intricate image above is proof of that.
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Studies of the
Heart (of an Ox or Bull?) (1513-14), pen and ink, Windsor, Royal Library
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This image shows many complex sketches
of the heart with detailed descriptions noted next to them. Many of Da Vinci’s drawings related to science and biology included
those of animal anatomy. These drawings revealed his desire to understand the
body of an animal and how he used art to study the inner workings of these
bodies. It is clear that in his sketches he broke down every part of the body
and fully researched every aspect of every part in order to fully comprehend.
Of course there were restrictions but nevertheless, he was lights-years ahead
of his time.
From just three drawings it is obvious that Leonardo da Vinci was much more than just an artist. He was an artist, scientist, mathematician, writer, inventor and a visionary, which is why he was such a famous figure in the renaissance and still in our lives today. His versatility is the main reason that led me to select him as my subject of research. Alongside art, I am passionate about science, math and technology and I think Leonardo da Vinci’s breadth of work perfectly embodies all these areas of study.
Bibliography:
Leonardo Da Vinci, The Marvelous Works of Nature and Man by Martin Kemp
Leonardo Da Vinci, The Rhythm of the World by Daniel Arasse
Leonardo by Patricia Emison
http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
http://www.academia.edu/3355743/Drawing_architecture
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