Leonardo da Vinci
Painter, inventor, researcher: Leonardo da Vinci wanted to understand how the world works – and left fewer than twenty paintings securely attributed to him.
Life
Born in 1452 in Vinci near Florence, he trained in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. From around 1482 he served the Duke of Milan as painter, engineer and designer of festivities; it was there that “The Last Supper” was created. After stays in Florence, where he began the “Mona Lisa”, in Milan and in Rome, he accepted an invitation from King Francis I of France in 1516. He died in Amboise in 1519. His notebooks fill thousands of pages with studies of anatomy, water, flight and machines.
Style & technique
Leonardo softened hard outlines: with wafer-thin layers of paint he let light and shadow melt into one another – “sfumato”. Backgrounds fade into bluish distance (aerial perspective). His figures seem alive because he closely observed gestures and emotions. Many works remained unfinished because he kept on researching.
Look closely
- The transitions: look for hard edges – you will hardly find any.
- The distance: mountains and landscapes turn blue and hazy towards the back.
- The expression: the figures seem inwardly moved, often with a barely hinted smile.
Timeline
- 1452: Born in Vinci.
- c. 1474–1478: “Ginevra de’ Benci” – his only painting in the Americas.
- 1495–1498: “The Last Supper” in Milan.
- from 1503: “Mona Lisa”.
- 1519: Dies in Amboise, France.