Leonardo da Vinci is a household name when it comes to contemporary and modern art owing to his distinct and outstanding artistic styles. Though Leonardo's artworks were created in the 15 th century they have stood the test of time and have remained some of the most popular and sought after artistic collections. Some of his most popular pieces of art include the Virgin of the Rocks (1483-1486), The Vitruvian man (1485), The Last Supper (1498), Monalisa(1503) and Salvatore Mundi (1500). These pieces of art incorporate unique styles that are associated with Leonardo namely sfumato, which makes the paintings look real, as well as chiaroscuro for giving depth to paintings (de Viguerie et al., 2010). Leonardo used a variety of mediums for his paintings most notably stone walls, wet plaster, boards, and canvas depending on the painting and the artistic style to be used. An analysis of some of Leonardo da Vinci’s artworks will be vital in understanding the uniqueness of Leonardo’s’ artistic style.
A focus on Leonardo’s artistic style and inspiration
The artistic style by Leonardo da Vinci is focused on creating paintings that appeared real by using sfumato and chiaroscuro techniques. Sfumato is a technique that involves the use of dark glazes on the edges of paintings to soften other colors so that the edges appear as if they are obscured by smoke. This technique is considered as the most effective way of making objects appear more real as opposed to having sharp contours (de Viguerie et al., 2010). On the other hand, chiaroscuro is a technique of incorporating shadow and light into paintings so that they become three-dimensional as opposed to having a flat-like appearance (Barnett, 2019). Leonardo managed to create three-dimensional paintings by varying the darkness of the colors by adding black pigments to these colors. Apart from this technique, Leonardo used a unique color palette in the line of greens, earthy browns, and blues that were separated by a narrow tonal range. These colors worked quite well as they helped in bringing out a sense of unity to all the artistic elements in the paintings. Overall, these techniques were significant as they helped Leonardo to create unique pieces of art that have outlived the painter and have continued to influence more painters.
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Analysis of Leonardo’s major artworks
There are several artworks and paintings that were created by Leonardo and which incorporated the above techniques associated with Leonardo. An analysis of some of these artworks will help bring out Leonardo’s unique styles, which have continued to ensure that the paintings are timeless and valuable artistic treasures.
Mona Lisa (1503)
Mona Lisa is one of the most prevalent paintings in the sphere and it could be considered as Leonardo’s’ masterpiece owing to its unique artistic characteristics. This oil on poplar panel painting of a half-length woman is a representation of Lisa Gherardini, who was the wife of Francesco del Gioconda, a merchant in Florence. The woman positions herself on the seat with an arm on the seat while the other armrests on her other arm (Sustic, 2014). The painting has incorporated sfumato artistic style by infusing the landscape in the background with the figure this creating deep realism. Leonardo used the chiaroscuro technique in the painting in terms of enhanced depth and volume helping the viewer to move across the painting with ease. The use of the technique is significant as it helps the viewer to pick out all the elements of the painting including the extensive landscape and the figure (de Viguerie et al., 2010). The utilization of sfumato crafts a sense of soft serenity, which springs from her being, and instils the contextual landscape with a profound realism. The use and incorporation of these elements help to bring out the woman’s enigmatic smile as an aspect of the deal woman Leonardo had in mind. Art enthusiasts consider Mona Lisa as an ideal portrait considering that it incorporates both symbolic overtones and features of a person.
The Last Supper (1498)
The drywall painting that uses the oil/tempera mix as the main medium is a representation of the biblical Last Supper between Jesus and His disciples. This painting incorporates several artistic features that are unique to Leonardo Da Vinci’s artistic style. First, the painting adopts sfumato as the main technique aimed at making the painting to appear as real as possible. One is able to pick out the various aspects in the painting including the sitting arrangement with a focus on Judas who stands in the shadows holding a purse. Leonardo incorporated a one-point linear perspective by placing Jesus is at the center and behind him, one can see an ideal landscape that may be representative of paradise. Additionally, Leonardo adopted the vanishing point technique, which allowed for the meshing of all spaces to appear as if they extended from the room (Heydenreich, 2019). This painting crosses into the psychological discipline by focusing on the characters’ psychological state and emotional reactions thus producing a naturalism artwork.
The Vitruvian Man (c. 1485)
The Vitruvian Man is an outstanding ink on paper drawing by Leonardo that depicts a superimposed man from two different perspectives. One of the perspectives depicts the man with his legs together while the arms are outstretched in a square to represent volume. The second perspective depicts the same man with his legs apart while his hands touch the circumference of the circle. While this is a drawing as opposed to a painting, Leonardo managed to come up with a three-dimensional drawing by drawing the person's hair. The drawing is symmetrical a concept that is representative of the 15 th -century Roman architectural designs. The relative proportion which relates to symmetry was seen as a way of creating harmony between divine and earthly aspects in palaces, churches and palatial residences (The Art Story, nd). Art enthusiasts believe that The Vitruvian man resonates with Renaissance humanism, which focuses on the man in relation to nature. In this case, man is considered as the link between the divine element which is represented by the circle and the earthy element which is represented by the square.
Virgin of the Rocks (1483-1486)
This oil on wood painting is a representation of Madonna but this time with John the Baptist and Jesus as infants alongside Angel Gabriel. The painting incorporates several of Leonardo’s’ signature style including depth of perspective. The four characters in the painting seem to be placed in an imagined and mystical landscape that helps to bring about the aspect of depth (Heydenreich, 2019). Leonardo juxtaposes the image to bring forth a foreground that contains water and rocks which then seem to merge with the heavenly space. The painting adopts a pyramidal arrangement of the characters with each character being higher than the other thus bringing about the fluidity of characters to create realistic motion. Sfumato style is incorporated in the painting as well to create a naturalistic and realistic feel to the painting. Leonardo infused colors and outlines to create an illusionist atmosphere and capture intricate details by blending various aspects of the painting (The Art Story, nd). The use of the sfumato technique helped the artist to create a three-dimensional space as he incorporated the landscape into the painting. Leonardo used light to a large extent as a way of adding form and structure to the image. Overall, the painting appears more real, balanced and exudes significant artistic qualities that make it stand out from other pieces of art.
Salvatore Mundi (c. 1500)
This oil on wood panel painting is the representation of Jesus in the capacity of the master of the world as well as the savior of the world. Leonardo uses symbolism to indicate these two roles by painting Jesus with a raised right hand with his left holding a crystalline sphere which is representative of the heavens (Kemp, 2019). The half-length painting is meant to show Christ in a humanist form clothed in dressing and looking directly at the viewer. Leonardo is thought to be a person of his own unique styles considering that at the tine artist focused on full-length portraits. The half-length portrait as an artistic style is meat to create an intensified intimacy with the painting as the area of focus is narrowed down significantly. Leonardo incorporates his signature sfumato technique in the painting to create a soft gaze and a higher spiritual quality thus inviting the viewer’s veneration (The Art Story, nd). This technique allows for more realism of the figure’s face that correlates with expressiveness and emotionally owing to anatomical correctness and acuity. Apart from the sfumato technique, Leonardo uses shadow and darkness contrary to the light that comes from the figure’s chest to create depth.
In conclusion, Leonardo da Vinci is an iconic artist who incorporated signature artistic styles as well as improved on the existing ones to come with exotic pieces of art. Mona Lisa, Virgin on the Rocks, The Vitruvian man The Last Supper and Salvatore Mundi are some of the most famous pieces in the art discipline. Leonardo was keen on coming up with realistic paintings whether on wood panel, dry stonewall, board, or on wet plaster the mediums that he used. Sfumato technique that uses dark glazes on the edges of paintings to soften other colors so that the edges appear obscured is Leonardo’s signature technique. Additionally, Leonardo incorporated chiaroscuro as a technique of incorporating shadow and light into paintings so that they become three-dimensional as opposed to having a flat-like appearance. Moreover, this artist integrated shadows, darkness, and light to create depth as well as bring out the characters’ emotions as in Last Supper. Of importance is the fact that Leonardo used geometrical aspects as a way of passing psychological and religious messages that lay within the paintings. He brought a revolution to the artistic world by painting half-length figures with the aim of creating more connections as opposed to full-length figures. Overall, these techniques and paintings establish that Leonardo is indeed a great artist whose legacy will live on into the unforeseeable future.
References
Barnett, R. (2019). Leonardo da Vinci. The Lancet, 393(10179):1409-1410.
de Viguerie, L. Walter, P. Laval, E., Mottin, B. & Solé, V. A. (2010). Revealing the sfumato Technique of Leonardo da Vinci by X‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Virtual Issue on Heritage Science, 57 (25), 6125-6128.
Heydenreich, L. H. (2019). Leonardo da Vinci . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved on 6 December 2019 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonardo-da-Vinci/Last-years-1513-19
Kemp, M. (2019). Leonardo da Vinci . Oxford Art Online. Retrieved on 6 December 2019 from https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000050401
Sustic, S. (2014). Paint handling in Leonardo’s Mona Lisa: guides to a reconstruction. CeROArt, 9. doi: 10.4000/ceroart.3828
The Art Story. (nd). Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci . The Art Story Foundation. Retrieved on 6 December 2019 from
Zollner, F. (2017). Leonardo da Vinci. Oxford Bibliographies, doi:10.1093/OBO/9780199920105-0033
