Leonardo da Vinci, the polymath from Tuscany, died 500 years ago this year. He was both an artist and scientist, who, despite his lowly origins, kept company with the most powerful men of the Renaissance.
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Da Vinci's masterpieces: A closer look
Leonardo da Vinci's works are among the most famous in art history. The authenticity of certain pieces is still a topic of discussion today. The master himself was more interested in science than in painting.
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Salvator Mundi
Perhaps the only Leonardo da Vinci work in private ownership, it was auctioned by Christie's in New York in 2017 for a record-breaking $450 million. Created around the year 1500, it's one of less than 20 surviving paintings by the master — though its authenticity is still up for debate. In 1958, the artwork changed hands for $60, under the belief that it wasn't an original work.
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Mona Lisa
Leonardo's most famous painting was created when the Italian Renaissance was at its peak. Today, it hangs in the Louvre, in Paris. The year of its completion is as unclear as the true identity of the model. The Florentine Lisa del Giocondo, wife of the cloth and silk merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, is considered a leading candidate. But many art historians remain doubtful.
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St. John the Baptist
This portrait of John the Baptist, who recognized Jesus as the Messiah in the New Testament and spread the word of his arrival, also hangs in the Louvre. His cheerful gaze is an expression of his knowledge. Between 1513 and 1515, Leonardo was in the service of the Vatican. Presumably, Pope Leo X commissioned the painting, which is believed to be Leonardo's last.
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The Last Supper
Beyond the "Mona Lisa," the true masterpiece of da Vinci's oeuvre is the "Last Supper" found in the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. It has been restored several times because the fresco-secco wall-painting technique popular in the late 15th century is not as durable as frescoes painted on wet lime plaster. The artwork is listed as UNESCO World Heritage.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Goldmann
Madonna of the Yarnwinder
The original no longer exists; instead, there are two copies painted by da Vinci's students. One of the copies is part of a private collection in New York, the other was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland in 2003, only to reappear four years later through a raid. Today, the painting with an estimated worth of €40 million ($45.7 million) hangs in the Scottish National Gallery.
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Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk
Concern over authenticity is a given with artworks that are 500 years old. Experts are unsure about the self-portrait (above), a sketch owned by the Royal Library of Turin. It presumably shows the master himself, but some experts believe the red chalk drawing could have been made long after da Vinci's death. Would da Vinci smirk at the uncertainty?
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Aerial screw
The Renaissance Man was much more interested in sciences than painting. Da Vinci sketched ideas and observations in architecture, biology, technology and anatomy. The above aerial screw, the Helix Pteron, brings to paper the concept of a flying machine, a precursor of a helicopter. It was never built because he lacked the materials.
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The Vitruvian Man
Presumably, his inventive talent was one of the reasons there are so few da Vinci paintings — he simply didn't get around to it that often. This drawing is based on the work of the architect Vitruvius, a depiction of a man with ideal proportions, a symbol of symmetry, beauty and body awareness. Most Germans carry the image in their wallet — imprinted on their health insurance card.
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Science and art belonged together for Leonardo da Vinci. Actually, for him, everything belonged together. He was curious and wanted to understand the world, and let his scientific knowledge flow into his art. Even as a child, he sat down outside with a little book, watched the clouds float by and wrote down what he saw. As an adult, he secretly dissected corpses to expand his knowledge of body composition, muscles, joints and proportions.
From the countryside into pulsating Florence
Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in Anchiano, a district of the municipality of Vinci in Tuscany. His parents, a notary and a 16-year-old maid, were not married, so Leonardo grew up with his grandfather. He loved to draw and managed to reap an apprentice position in the studio of renowned sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio. Verrocchio carried out commissions from the Medici family —merchants and bankers who controlled Florence with their power and money for centuries.
Opinions are mixed about whether this is a 1512 self-portrait by Leonardo da VinciImage: picture-alliance/maxppp/B. Stefano
Revolution in portrait painting
Leonardo da Vinci entered the higher circles and became a member of the Guild of St. Luke, a Florentine artists' association. He peacefully painted portraits and images of the Madonna, keeping some of them in his studio for decades, reworking them again and again. One such painting is likely the most famous artwork in the world, the Mona Lisa, which hangs in Paris' Louvre museum.
Women seemed to have a particular hold on the painter, whether looking out at him in dreamy fashion or with a self-confident gaze. But that was only on canvas. In his private life, he was more interested in men. He also went against conventions in his portrait painting, choosing to depict his female sitters looking straight out at the viewer rather than in profile, which was customary at the time.
Works removed from traditional art
But to reduce Leonardo da Vinci only to his painting does not do him justice. For one thing, he did not leave so many paintings behind. Only a good dozen are clearly attributed to him today. In addition, there are far more anatomy studies as well as sketches, blueprints and texts written in mirror writing that have nothing to do with art per se, such as designs for tanks, aircraft or diving equipment. He constructed bridges and designed an entire city, but most of his ideas were never realized.
15th-century study of anatomy by Leonardo Da Vinci Image: picture alliance/Prisma Archivo
Florence, Milan and Rome — the capital cities of the Renaissance were his domain. He found his clients there: rich families and even the Pope was among them. In 1516, King Francis I of France invited him to his home, paid him well and gave him every freedom to devote himself to his projects. One of his tasks was to organize pompous festivities there.
On May 2, 1519, the universal genius died in Château Clos Lucé — according to legend, in the arms of the French king.
Numerous exhibitions in Europe this year focus on the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. The Louvre in Paris is showing a retrospective from October 24, 2019 to February 24, 2020. Hamburg's Kunsthalle features the da Vinci drawings in its collection from June 5 to June 19. From May 24 to October 13, 200 of the artist's drawings will also be exhibited at Buckingham Palace in London. And, of course, Italy is organizing a series of events to celebrate the genius born in Tuscany; Milan is the central hub of the "Leonardo500" program.
