A sketch (ultimately from Greek σχέδιος – schedios , "done extempore" ) is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work. A sketch may serve a number of purposes: it might record something that the artist sees, it might record or develop an idea for later use or it might be used as a quick way of graphically demonstrating an image, idea or principle. Sketching is the most inexpensive art medium.
82-471: A sketchbook is a book or pad with blank pages for sketching and is frequently used by artists for drawing or painting as a part of their creative process. Some also use sketchbooks as a sort of blueprint for future art pieces. The exhibition of sketchbooks at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University in 2006 suggested that there were two broad categories for classifying sketches: Sketchbooks come in
164-423: A digital pen , ballpoint pen, marker pen , water colour and oil paint . The latter two are generally referred to as "water colour sketches" and " oil sketches ". A sculptor might model three-dimensional sketches in clay , plasticine or wax. The two methods in sketching are line drawing and shading. A line drawing is the most direct means of expression. This type of drawing without shading or lightness ,
246-455: A kite came to his cradle and opened his mouth with its tail; commentators still debate whether the anecdote was an actual memory or a fantasy. In the mid-1460s, Leonardo's family moved to Florence, which at the time was the centre of Christian Humanist thought and culture. Around the age of 14, he became a garzone (studio boy) in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio , who was the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his time. This
328-457: A commission from the Monks of San Donato a Scopeto. It is a complex composition, of about 250 x 250 centimetres. Leonardo did numerous drawings and preparatory studies, including a detailed one in linear perspective of the ruined classical architecture that forms part of the background. In 1482 Leonardo went to Milan at the behest of Lorenzo de' Medici in order to win favour with Ludovico il Moro, and
410-599: A finger in her bible to mark the place and raises her hand in a formal gesture of greeting or surprise. This calm young woman appears to accept her role as the Mother of God , not with resignation but with confidence. In this painting, the young Leonardo presents the humanist face of the Virgin Mary, recognising humanity's role in God's incarnation. In the 1480s, Leonardo received two very important commissions and commenced another work that
492-461: A frequent namesake and subject in culture . Leonardo is identified as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western art and is often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance. Despite having many lost works and fewer than 25 attributed major works – including numerous unfinished works – he created some of the most influential paintings in
574-524: A fur-lined cloak. On 12 August 1519, Leonardo's remains were interred in the Collegiate Church of Saint Florentin at the Château d'Amboise. Some 20 years after Leonardo's death, Francis was reported by the goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini as saying: "There had never been another man born in the world who knew as much as Leonardo, not so much about painting, sculpture and architecture, as that he
656-566: A greater or lesser degree, the sketch as a method of recording or working out ideas. The sketchbooks of some individual artists have become very well known, including those of Leonardo da Vinci and Edgar Degas which have become art objects in their own right, with many pages showing finished studies as well as sketches. The term " sketchbook " refers to a book of blank paper on which an artist can draw (or has already drawn) sketches. The book might be purchased bound or might comprise loose leaves of sketches assembled or bound together. Sketching
738-454: A hundred years it was described by one viewer as "completely ruined." Leonardo, instead of using the reliable technique of fresco, had used tempera over a ground that was mainly gesso , resulting in a surface subject to mould and to flaking. Despite this, the painting remains one of the most reproduced works of art; countless copies have been made in various mediums. Toward the end of this period, in 1498 Leonardo's trompe-l'œil decoration of
820-661: A letter which described the diverse things that he could achieve in the fields of engineering and weapon design, and mentioned that he could paint. He brought with him a silver string instrument – either a lute or lyre – in the form of a horse's head. With Alberti, Leonardo visited the home of the Medici and through them came to know the older Humanist philosophers of whom Marsiglio Ficino , proponent of Neoplatonism ; Cristoforo Landino , writer of commentaries on Classical writings, and John Argyropoulos , teacher of Greek and translator of Aristotle were
902-520: A live model whose pose changes every few minutes. A "sketch" usually implies a quick and loosely drawn work, while related terms such as study , modello and "preparatory drawing" usually refer to more finished and careful works to be used as a basis for a final work, often in a different medium, but the distinction is imprecise. Underdrawing is drawing underneath the final work, which may sometimes still be visible, or can be viewed by modern scientific methods such as X-rays . Most visual artists use, to
SECTION 10
#1732852651935984-631: A local oral tradition recorded by the historian Emanuele Repetti , is that he was born in Anchiano , a country hamlet that would have offered sufficient privacy for the illegitimate birth, though it is still possible he was born in a house in Florence that Ser Piero almost certainly had. Leonardo's parents both married separately the year after his birth. Caterina – who later appears in Leonardo's notes as only "Caterina" or "Catelina" –
1066-576: A painting commission of unknown subject matter, but cancelled it when the artist set about developing a new kind of varnish . Leonardo became ill, in what may have been the first of multiple strokes leading to his death. He practised botany in the Vatican Gardens , and was commissioned to make plans for the Pope's proposed draining of the Pontine Marshes . He also dissected cadavers , making notes for
1148-456: A posthumous inventory of his belongings; it was assessed at 505 lire, an exceptionally high valuation for a small panel portrait. Despite the thousands of pages Leonardo left in notebooks and manuscripts, he scarcely made reference to his personal life. Within Leonardo's lifetime, his extraordinary powers of invention, his "great physical beauty" and "infinite grace," as described by Vasari , as well as all other aspects of his life, attracted
1230-723: A priest to make his confession and to receive the Holy Sacrament . Vasari also records that the King held Leonardo's head in his arms as he died, although this story may be legend rather than fact. In accordance with his will, sixty beggars carrying tapers followed Leonardo's casket. Melzi was the principal heir and executor, receiving, as well as money, Leonardo's paintings, tools, library and personal effects. Leonardo's other long-time pupil and companion, Salaì, and his servant Baptista de Vilanis, each received half of Leonardo's vineyards . His brothers received land, and his serving woman received
1312-410: A rich flowing garment, raised wings and bearing a lily. Although previously attributed to Ghirlandaio, the larger work is now generally attributed to Leonardo. In the smaller painting, Mary averts her eyes and folds her hands in a gesture that symbolised submission to God's will. Mary is not submissive, however, in the larger piece. The girl, interrupted in her reading by this unexpected messenger, puts
1394-632: A rocky landscape rather than architectural details. The painting was eventually finished; in fact, two versions of the painting were finished: one remained at the chapel of the Confraternity, while Leonardo took the other to France. The Brothers did not get their painting, however, nor the de Predis their payment, until the next century. Leonardo's most remarkable portrait of this period is the Lady with an Ermine , presumed to be Cecilia Gallerani ( c. 1483–1490 ), lover of Ludovico Sforza. The painting
1476-484: A successful career. Despite his family history, Leonardo only received a basic and informal education in (vernacular) writing, reading, and mathematics; possibly because his artistic talents were recognised early, so his family decided to focus their attention there. Later in life, Leonardo recorded his earliest memory, now in the Codex Atlanticus . While writing on the flight of birds, he recalled as an infant when
1558-450: A time. This was beyond the comprehension of the prior of the convent, who hounded him until Leonardo asked Ludovico to intervene. Vasari describes how Leonardo, troubled over his ability to adequately depict the faces of Christ and the traitor Judas , told the duke that he might be obliged to use the prior as his model. The painting was acclaimed as a masterpiece of design and characterisation, but it deteriorated rapidly, so that within
1640-406: A town plan of Imola in order to win his patronage. Upon seeing it, Cesare hired Leonardo as his chief military engineer and architect. Later in the year, Leonardo produced another map for his patron, one of Chiana Valley , Tuscany, so as to give his patron a better overlay of the land and greater strategic position. He created this map in conjunction with his other project of constructing a dam from
1722-504: A treatise on vocal cords ; these he gave to an official in hopes of regaining the Pope's favour, but he was unsuccessful. In October 1515, King Francis I of France recaptured Milan. On 21 March 1516 Antonio Maria Pallavicini, the French ambassador to the Holy See , received a letter sent from Lyon a week previously by the royal advisor Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet , containing
SECTION 20
#17328526519351804-504: A variety of tones, ranging from pure white, to cream, and includes less common varieties, such as gray. In displays of contemporary art, as well as historical retrospectives, intimate and ephemeral records are increasingly valued, resulting in the exhibition of sketchbooks alongside "finished" artworks. Computer technology has allowed for the development of digital sketchbooks, such as Apple's iPad devices and Microsoft's Surface tablets. The internet has increased access to documents such as
1886-401: A very young man: a local peasant made himself a round buckler shield and requested that Ser Piero have it painted for him. Leonardo, inspired by the story of Medusa , responded with a painting of a monster spitting fire that was so terrifying that his father bought a different shield to give to the peasant and sold Leonardo's to a Florentine art dealer for 100 ducats , who in turn sold it to
1968-436: A wide variety of shapes and sizes, with varied covers, and differing numbers of pages. Sketchbooks began as a way to provide a readily available supply of drawing paper in the convenient form of a book. The finish of work found in the sketchbook varies widely depending on the artist and their style of work, with some having very simple drawings and notes, and some having highly worked images. Over time, it might allow others to see
2050-693: Is also used as a form of communication in areas of product design such as industrial design . It can be used to communicate design intent and is most widely used in ideation. It can be used to map out floor plans of homes. The ability to quickly record impressions through sketching has found varied purposes in today's culture. Courtroom sketches record scenes and individuals in law courts. Sketches drawn to help authorities find or identify wanted people are called composite sketches . Street artists in popular tourist areas sketch portraits within minutes. Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519)
2132-456: Is characterised by the pose of the figure with the head turned at a very different angle to the torso, unusual at a date when many portraits were still rigidly in profile. The ermine plainly carries symbolic meaning, relating either to the sitter, or to Ludovico who belonged to the prestigious Order of the Ermine . Leonardo's most famous painting of the 1490s is The Last Supper , commissioned for
2214-530: Is speculation that since one of the accused, Lionardo de Tornabuoni, was related to Lorenzo de' Medici, the family exerted its influence to secure the dismissal. Since that date much has been written about his presumed homosexuality and its role in his art, particularly in the androgyny and eroticism manifested in Saint John the Baptist and Bacchus and more explicitly in a number of erotic drawings. Despite
2296-478: Is the only extant example of Leonardo's sculpture. Leonardo was otherwise free to pursue his scientific interests. Many of Leonardo's most prominent pupils either knew or worked with him in Milan, including Bernardino Luini , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio , and Marco d'Oggiono . In 1507, Leonardo was in Florence sorting out a dispute with his brothers over the estate of his father, who had died in 1504. By 1508, Leonardo
2378-566: Is usually identified as the Caterina Buti del Vacca, who married the local artisan Antonio di Piero Buti del Vacca, nicknamed L'Accattabriga , 'the quarrelsome one'. Ser Piero married Albiera Amadori – having been betrothed to her the previous year – and after her death in 1464, went on to have three subsequent marriages. From all the marriages, Leonardo eventually had 16 half-siblings (of whom 11 survived infancy) who were much younger than he (the last
2460-404: Is usually the first to be attempted by an artist. It may be somewhat limited in effect, yet it conveys dimension , movement, structure and mood; it can also suggest texture to some extent. "Line gives character, but shading gives depth and value – it is like adding an extra dimension to your sketch." When the pencil is handled almost as if it was a brush, resulting a paintlike quality, then
2542-598: Is widely regarded to have been a genius who epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works comprise a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary Michelangelo . Born out of wedlock to a successful notary and a lower-class woman in, or near, Vinci , he was educated in Florence by the Italian painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio . He began his career in
Sketchbook - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-572: The Duke of Milan . By 1472, at the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke , the guild of artists and doctors of medicine, but even after his father set him up in his own workshop, his attachment to Verrocchio was such that he continued to collaborate and live with him. Leonardo's earliest known dated work is a 1473 pen-and-ink drawing of the Arno valley (see below). According to Vasari,
2706-656: The Mona Lisa , the Last Supper , and the Virgin of the Rocks . Leonardo first gained attention for his work on the Baptism of Christ , painted in conjunction with Verrocchio. Two other paintings appear to date from his time at Verrocchio's workshop, both of which are Annunciations . One is small, 59 centimetres (23 in) long and 14 cm (5.5 in) high. It is a " predella " to go at
2788-529: The Renaissance . Some of his smaller inventions, however, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy , civil engineering, hydrodynamics , geology, optics , and tribology , but he did not publish his findings and they had little to no direct influence on subsequent science. Leonardo da Vinci, properly named Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ("Leonardo, son of ser Piero from Vinci"),
2870-794: The Sala delle Asse was painted for the Duke of Milan in the Castello Sforzesco . In 1505, Leonardo was commissioned to paint The Battle of Anghiari in the Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred) in the Palazzo Vecchio , Florence. Leonardo devised a dynamic composition depicting four men riding raging war horses engaged in a battle for possession of a standard, at the Battle of Anghiari in 1440. Michelangelo
2952-453: The Western canon . The Mona Lisa is his best known work and is the world's most famous individual painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon. In 2017, Salvator Mundi , attributed in whole or part to Leonardo, was sold at auction for US$ 450.3 million , setting a new record for
3034-477: The most expensive painting ever sold at public auction. Revered for his technological ingenuity , he conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle , concentrated solar power, a ratio machine that could be used in an adding machine , and the double hull . Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during
3116-507: The 1490s Leonardo had already been described as a "Divine" painter. Among the qualities that make Leonardo's work unique are his innovative techniques for laying on the paint; his detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, botany and geology; his interest in physiognomy and the way humans register emotion in expression and gesture; his innovative use of the human form in figurative composition; and his use of subtle gradation of tone. All these qualities come together in his most famous painted works,
3198-474: The 16th century that these relationships were of a sexual or erotic nature. Walter Isaacson in his biography of Leonardo makes explicit his opinion that the relations with Salaì were intimate and homosexual. Earlier in Leonardo's life, court records of 1476, when he was aged twenty-four, show that Leonardo and three other young men were charged with sodomy in an incident involving a known male prostitute. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence, and there
3280-402: The Baptist , a work that won such admiration that "men [and] women, young and old" flocked to see it "as if they were going to a solemn festival." In Cesena in 1502, Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia , the son of Pope Alexander VI , acting as a military architect and engineer and travelling throughout Italy with his patron. Leonardo created a map of Cesare Borgia's stronghold,
3362-489: The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception and The Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie . In the spring of 1485, Leonardo travelled to Hungary (on behalf of Sforza) to meet king Matthias Corvinus , and was commissioned by him to paint a Madonna . In 1490 he was called as a consultant, together with Francesco di Giorgio Martini , for the building site of the cathedral of Pavia and
Sketchbook - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-519: The Duke of Milan to paint the Sala delle Asse in the Sforza Castle , c. 1498. The project became a trompe-l'œil decoration that made the great hall appear to be a pergola created by the interwoven limbs of sixteen mulberry trees, whose canopy included an intricate labyrinth of leaves and knots on the ceiling. When Ludovico Sforza was overthrown by France in 1500, Leonardo fled Milan for Venice , accompanied by his assistant Salaì and friend,
3526-405: The French king's instructions to assist Leonardo in his relocation to France and to inform the artist that the King was eagerly awaiting his arrival. Pallavicini was also asked to reassure Leonardo that he would be well received at court, both by the King and by his mother, Louise of Savoy . Leonardo entered Francis's service later that year, and was given the use of the manor house Clos Lucé near
3608-456: The Holy Family on the road to Egypt. The painting demonstrates an eerie beauty as the graceful figures kneel in adoration around the infant Christ in a wild landscape of tumbling rock and whirling water. While the painting is quite large, about 200×120 centimetres , it is not nearly as complex as the painting ordered by the monks of San Donato, having only four figures rather than about fifty and
3690-472: The King's residence at the royal Château d'Amboise . He was frequently visited by Francis, and drew plans for an immense castle town the King intended to erect at Romorantin . He also made a mechanical lion, which during a pageant walked towards the King and – upon being struck by a wand – opened its chest to reveal a cluster of lilies. Leonardo was accompanied during this time by his friend and apprentice Francesco Melzi, and
3772-414: The art of combining complex figure compositions with detailed architectural backgrounds. Piero della Francesca had made a detailed study of perspective , and was the first painter to make a scientific study of light. These studies and Leon Battista Alberti 's treatise De pictura were to have a profound effect on younger artists and in particular on Leonardo's own observations and artworks. Much of
3854-584: The artist's progress, as their style and skills develop. Many artists personalize their sketchbook by decorating the covers. Sketches are sometimes removed from sketchbooks at a later date. Sketchbooks made out of high quality paper, differentiated by weight (referring to density of the sheets) and tooth (also called grain), allow for a wide variety of techniques to be used, ranging from pencil drawings, to watercolor , to colored pencil, to pen and ink, and so on. Certain paper characteristics might be more desirable for use with certain mediums. Sketchbook paper comes in
3936-631: The artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting, and modelling. Leonardo was a contemporary of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Perugino, who were all slightly older than he was. He would have met them at the workshop of Verrocchio or at the Platonic Academy of the Medici . Florence was ornamented by the works of artists such as Donatello's contemporaries Masaccio , whose figurative frescoes were imbued with realism and emotion, and Ghiberti , whose Gates of Paradise , gleaming with gold leaf , displayed
4018-469: The base of a larger composition, a painting by Lorenzo di Credi from which it has become separated. The other is a much larger work, 217 cm (85 in) long. In both Annunciations, Leonardo used a formal arrangement, like two well-known pictures by Fra Angelico of the same subject, of the Virgin Mary sitting or kneeling to the right of the picture, approached from the left by an angel in profile, with
4100-605: The city, but then spent much time in the service of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Later, he worked in Florence and Milan again, as well as briefly in Rome , all while attracting a large following of imitators and students. Upon the invitation of Francis I , he spent his last three years in France, where he died in 1519. Since his death, there has not been a time where his achievements, diverse interests, personal life , and empirical thinking have failed to incite interest and admiration, making him
4182-523: The curiosity of others. One such aspect was his love for animals, likely including vegetarianism and according to Vasari, a habit of purchasing caged birds and releasing them. Leonardo had many friends who are now notable either in their fields or for their historical significance, including mathematician Luca Pacioli , with whom he collaborated on the book Divina proportione in the 1490s. Leonardo appears to have had no close relationships with women except for his friendship with Cecilia Gallerani and
SECTION 50
#17328526519354264-500: The foreground sprawls his symbol, a great lion whose body and tail make a double spiral across the base of the picture space. The other remarkable feature is the sketchy landscape of craggy rocks against which the figure is silhouetted. The daring display of figure composition, the landscape elements and personal drama also appear in the great unfinished masterpiece, the Adoration of the Magi ,
4346-516: The foremost. Also associated with the Platonic Academy of the Medici was Leonardo's contemporary, the brilliant young poet and philosopher Pico della Mirandola . In 1482, Leonardo was sent as an ambassador by Lorenzo de' Medici to Ludovico il Moro , who ruled Milan between 1479 and 1499. Leonardo worked in Milan from 1482 until 1499. He was commissioned to paint the Virgin of the Rocks for
4428-526: The household of his paternal grandfather, Antonio da Vinci, but it is possible that he spent the years before then in the care of his mother in Vinci, either Anchiano or Campo Zeppi in the parish of San Pantaleone. He is thought to have been close to his uncle, Francesco da Vinci, but his father was probably in Florence most of the time. Ser Piero, who was the descendant of a long line of notaries, established an official residence in Florence by at least 1469 and had
4510-494: The mathematician Luca Pacioli . In Venice, Leonardo was employed as a military architect and engineer, devising methods to defend the city from naval attack. On his return to Florence in 1500, he and his household were guests of the Servite monks at the monastery of Santissima Annunziata and were provided with a workshop where, according to Vasari, Leonardo created the cartoon of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John
4592-405: The next thirty years. Salaì executed a number of paintings under the name of Andrea Salaì, but although Vasari claims that Leonardo "taught him many things about painting," his work is generally considered to be of less artistic merit than others among Leonardo's pupils, such as Marco d'Oggiono and Boltraffio . At the time of his death in 1524, Salaì owned a painting referred to as Joconda in
4674-774: The only two large equestrian statues of the Renaissance, Donatello 's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice, and became known as the Gran Cavallo . Leonardo completed a model for the horse and made detailed plans for its casting , but in November 1494, Ludovico gave the metal to his brother-in-law to be used for a cannon to defend the city from Charles VIII of France . Contemporary correspondence records that Leonardo and his assistants were commissioned by
4756-476: The painting in Verrocchio's workshop was done by his assistants. According to Vasari, Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on his The Baptism of Christ ( c. 1472–1475 ), painting the young angel holding Jesus's robe with skill so far superior to his master's that Verrocchio purportedly put down his brush and never painted again (the latter claim probably being apocryphal). The new technique of oil paint
4838-448: The painting is barely begun, the composition can be seen and is very unusual. Jerome , as a penitent , occupies the middle of the picture, set on a slight diagonal and viewed somewhat from above. His kneeling form takes on a trapezoid shape, with one arm stretched to the outer edge of the painting and his gaze looking in the opposite direction. J. Wasserman points out the link between this painting and Leonardo's anatomical studies. Across
4920-430: The painting was abandoned. The third important work of this period is the Virgin of the Rocks , commissioned in Milan for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. The painting, to be done with the assistance of the de Predis brothers , was to fill a large complex altarpiece . Leonardo chose to paint an apocryphal moment of the infancy of Christ when the infant John the Baptist , in protection of an angel, met
5002-566: The papacy (as Leo X); Leonardo went to Rome that September, where he was received by the pope's brother Giuliano . From September 1513 to 1516, Leonardo spent much of his time living in the Belvedere Courtyard in the Apostolic Palace , where Michelangelo and Raphael were both active. Leonardo was given an allowance of 33 ducats a month and, according to Vasari, decorated a lizard with scales dipped in quicksilver . The pope gave him
SECTION 60
#17328526519355084-447: The recent awareness and admiration of Leonardo as a scientist and inventor, for the better part of four hundred years his fame rested on his achievements as a painter. A handful of works that are either authenticated or attributed to him have been regarded as among the great masterpieces. These paintings are famous for a variety of qualities that have been much imitated by students and discussed at great length by connoisseurs and critics. By
5166-523: The refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. It represents the last meal shared by Jesus with his disciples before his capture and death, and shows the moment when Jesus has just said "one of you will betray me", and the consternation that this statement caused. The writer Matteo Bandello observed Leonardo at work and wrote that some days he would paint from dawn till dusk without stopping to eat and then not paint for three or four days at
5248-498: The sea to Florence, in order to allow a supply of water to sustain the canal during all seasons. Leonardo had left Borgia's service and returned to Florence by early 1503, where he rejoined the Guild of Saint Luke on 18 October of that year. By this same month, Leonardo had begun working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo , the model for the Mona Lisa , which he would continue working on until his twilight years. In January 1504, he
5330-540: The sketchbooks of famous artists which previously would only be seen in an exhibition. A number of the sketchbooks of famous artists have been digitally recorded and are now available online. Links are provided in the external links section below. Sketch (drawing) Sketches can be made in any drawing medium. The term is most often applied to graphic work executed in a dry medium such as silverpoint , graphite , pencil , charcoal or pastel . It may also apply to drawings executed in pen and ink, digital input such as
5412-422: The son of a Lombard aristocrat, who is considered to have been his favourite student. The Council of Florence wished Leonardo to return promptly to finish The Battle of Anghiari , but he was given leave at the behest of Louis XII , who considered commissioning the artist to make some portraits. Leonardo may have commenced a project for an equestrian figure of d'Amboise; a wax model survives and, if genuine,
5494-426: The technique is called Pencil Painting. Starting with a pencil drawing first, then washing over the pencil areas with a sable haired water color brush dipping it into the benzine is called wash and benzen . Benzene does not itself add color, but merely modifies the shaded pencil areas. Sketching is generally a prescribed part of the studies of art students. This generally includes making sketches ( croquis ) from
5576-765: The two Este sisters, Beatrice and Isabella . While on a journey that took him through Mantua , he drew a portrait of Isabella that appears to have been used to create a painted portrait, now lost. Beyond friendship, Leonardo kept his private life secret. His sexuality has been the subject of satire, analysis, and speculation. This trend began in the mid-16th century and was revived in the 19th and 20th centuries, most notably by Sigmund Freud in his Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood . Leonardo's most intimate relationships were perhaps with his pupils Salaì and Melzi . Melzi, writing to inform Leonardo's brothers of his death, described Leonardo's feelings for his pupils as both loving and passionate. It has been claimed since
5658-505: The young Leonardo was the first to suggest making the Arno river a navigable channel between Florence and Pisa . In January 1478, Leonardo received an independent commission to paint an altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Bernard in the Palazzo Vecchio , an indication of his independence from Verrocchio's studio. An anonymous early biographer, known as Anonimo Gaddiano , claims that in 1480 Leonardo
5740-540: Was 65, which may indicate why he left works such as the Mona Lisa unfinished. He continued to work at some capacity until eventually becoming ill and bedridden for several months. Leonardo died at Clos Lucé on 2 May 1519 at the age of 67, possibly of a stroke. Francis I had become a close friend. Vasari describes Leonardo as lamenting on his deathbed, full of repentance, that "he had offended against God and men by failing to practice his art as he should have done." Vasari states that in his last days, Leonardo sent for
5822-482: Was a very great philosopher." Salaì , or Il Salaino ("The Little Unclean One", i.e., the devil), entered Leonardo's household in 1490 as an assistant. After only a year, Leonardo made a list of his misdemeanours, calling him "a thief, a liar, stubborn, and a glutton," after he had made off with money and valuables on at least five occasions and spent a fortune on clothes. Nevertheless, Leonardo treated him with great indulgence, and he remained in Leonardo's household for
5904-542: Was about the time of the death of Verrocchio's master, the great sculptor Donatello . Leonardo became an apprentice by the age of 17 and remained in training for seven years. Other famous painters apprenticed in the workshop or associated with it include Ghirlandaio , Perugino , Botticelli , and Lorenzo di Credi . Leonardo was exposed to both theoretical training and a wide range of technical skills, including drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, and woodwork, as well as
5986-473: Was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks , in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and palaeontology . Leonardo
6068-546: Was applied to areas of the mostly tempera work, including the landscape, the rocks seen through the brown mountain stream, and much of Jesus's figure, indicating Leonardo's hand. Additionally, Leonardo may have been a model for two works by Verrocchio: the bronze statue of David in the Bargello and the archangel Raphael in Tobias and the Angel . Vasari tells a story of Leonardo as
6150-542: Was back in Milan, living in his own house in Porta Orientale in the parish of Santa Babila. In 1512, Leonardo was working on plans for an equestrian monument for Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , but this was prevented by an invasion of a confederation of Swiss, Spanish and Venetian forces, which drove the French from Milan. Leonardo stayed in the city, spending several months in 1513 at the Medici's Vaprio d'Adda villa. In March 1513, Lorenzo de' Medici's son Giovanni assumed
6232-456: Was born on 15 April 1452 in, or close to, the Tuscan hill town of Vinci , 20 miles from Florence . He was born out of wedlock to Piero da Vinci (Ser Piero da Vinci d'Antonio di ser Piero di ser Guido; 1426–1504), a Florentine legal notary , and Caterina di Meo Lippi ( c. 1434–1494 ), from the lower class. It remains uncertain where Leonardo was born; the traditional account, from
6314-474: Was born when Leonardo was 46 years old) and with whom he had very little contact. Very little is known about Leonardo's childhood and much is shrouded in myth, partially because of his biography in the frequently apocryphal Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550) by 16th-century art historian Giorgio Vasari . Tax records indicate that by at least 1457 he lived in
6396-584: Was living with the Medici and often worked in the garden of the Piazza San Marco, Florence , where a Neoplatonic academy of artists, poets and philosophers organised by the Medici met. In March 1481, he received a commission from the monks of San Donato in Scopeto for The Adoration of the Magi . Neither of these initial commissions were completed, being abandoned when Leonardo went to offer his services to Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza . Leonardo wrote Sforza
6478-485: Was of ground-breaking importance in terms of composition. Two of the three were never finished, and the third took so long that it was subject to lengthy negotiations over completion and payment. One of these paintings was Saint Jerome in the Wilderness , which Bortolon associates with a difficult period of Leonardo's life, as evidenced in his diary: "I thought I was learning to live; I was only learning to die." Although
6560-523: Was part of a committee formed to recommend where Michelangelo's statue of David should be placed. He then spent two years in Florence designing and painting a mural of The Battle of Anghiari for the Signoria, with Michelangelo designing its companion piece, The Battle of Cascina . In 1506, Leonardo was summoned to Milan by Charles II d'Amboise , the acting French governor of the city. There, Leonardo took on another pupil, Count Francesco Melzi ,
6642-425: Was struck by the equestrian statue of Regisole , of which he left a sketch. Leonardo was employed on many other projects for Sforza, such as preparation of floats and pageants for special occasions; a drawing of , and wooden model for, a competition to design the cupola for Milan Cathedral ; and a model for a huge equestrian monument to Ludovico's predecessor Francesco Sforza . This would have surpassed in size
6724-522: Was supported by a pension totalling 10,000 scudi . At some point, Melzi drew a portrait of Leonardo ; the only others known from his lifetime were a sketch by an unknown assistant on the back of one of Leonardo's studies ( c. 1517 ) and a drawing by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino depicting an elderly Leonardo with his right arm wrapped in clothing. The latter, in addition to the record of an October 1517 visit by Louis d'Aragon , confirms an account of Leonardo's right hand being paralytic when he
#934065