1. Renaissance Art

2. Leonardo da Vinci
Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci was the love child of a landowner and a peasant girl. Raised by his father, he began apprenticing at the age of 14 under the artist Verrocchio. For six years, he learned a wide breadth of technical skills, including metalworking, leather arts, carpentry, drawing and sculpting. During that time, he was a master artist and began taking commissions from wealthy clients. Leonardo was far more than a great artist: he had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He made painstaking observations and carried out research in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy to anatomy and zoology to geography, geology and paleontology.
Five amazing facts about da Vinci: 1)He wrote backward, so the easiest way to read his notes was to hold them up to a mirror. 2) He was fascinated by the human body, and he cut up cadavers (dead bodies) to learn about human anatomy. 3. He was as much an inventor as an artist. Though he never built many of the inventions he designed, some of the things he envisioned in the late 1400s are in use today, including helicopters and parachutes. Da Vinci was obsessed with war, and he sketched an armored vehicle that could carry eight men inside and allow them to fire weapons through holes in its walls. He drew and wrote about what we today call tanks more than 400 years before they were first used in combat during World War I. 4) Da Vinci, one of the greatest artists in human history, lived at the same time, in the same country -- Italy -- as another of the greatest artists of all time, Michelangelo. But the two were not buddies; instead, they were bitter rivals. They even insulted each other in public. 5) If you look closely at Mona Lisa’s face, you'll see that she has neither eyelashes nor eyebrows. In reality, da Vinci probably painted her with them, but in the 500 years since, they have worn away or were removed during attempts to restore the portrait.

3. Da Vinci Timeline 1498: The Last Supper is completed.
1452: Leonardo is born on April 15 in the village of Anchiano, near the town of Vinci.
1467: At 15 Leonardo is sent to Florence to work as apprentice to Andrea De Verrocchio.
1472: 20 year-old Leonardo is accepted into the painters' guild of Florence.
1476: Leonardo is accused of sodomy; he is publicly humiliated although the charges are later dropped.
1478: The Annunciation is painted. The work, initially credited to Da Vinci, is now believed to have been painted by Lorenzo di Credi.
1481: Leonardo begins work on The Adoration of the Magi, an altarpiece for the Monastery of San Donato at Scopeto.
He sketches many studies.
1482: Leonardo moves to Milan to work in the service of the city's duke, Ludovico Sforza. He gains the title of "painter and engineer of the duke.
1483: Leonardo paints the Virgin of the Rocks.
1485: Leonardo paints Lady with an Ermine.
1495: Leonardo begins work on The Last Supper in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
1498: The Last Supper is completed.
1499: With the duke Ludovico Sforza'a fall from power, Da Vinci leaves Milan and spends a short time in Venice.
1500: Leonardo begins painting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, a project that he only finishes after 10 years.
1500: Leonardo returns to Florence.
1502: Leonardo begins work as senior military architect and general engineer for Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.
1503: Leonardo is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa.
1503: Leonardo is commission to paint a mural for the council hall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, which is to be the Battle of Anghiari, a work that would remain unfinished.
1515: Leonardo paints St. John the Baptist.
1516: The king of France invites Leonardo to come work for him.
1519: May 2, Leonardo dies in France, at age 67

4. Mona Lisa Lisa del Giocondo
Portrait of Mona Lisa ( ), also known as La Gioconda, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo; (150 Kb); Oil on wood, 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in); Musee du Louvre, Paris
So who is the Mona Lisa? Most people believe that the work was requested by the subject’s husband, Francesco Del Giocondo. Lisa was from a well-known family known through Tuscany and Florence and married to Francesco Del Giocondo who was a very wealthy silk merchant. The work was to celebrate their home’s completion, as well as a celebration of the birth of their second son. Da Vinci used a technique he called sfumato, which refers to a fine art painting technique of blurring or softening of sharp outlines by subtle and gradual blending of one tone into another through the use of thin glazes to give the illusion of depth or three-dimensionality.
Some people think that the Mona Lisa is really a portrait of daVinci himself in female form.
New images uncover 25 secrets about the Mona Lisa, including proof that Leonardo da Vinci gave her eyebrows, solving a long-held mystery.
The images are part of an exhibition, "Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed," which features new research by French engineer Pascal Cotte and debuts in the United States at the Metreon Center in San Francisco, where it will remain through the end of this year. The Mona Lisa showcase is part of a larger exhibition called "Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius."
Cotte, founder of Lumiere Technology, scanned the painting with a 240-megapixel Multi-spectral Imaging Camera he invented, which uses 13 wavelengths from ultraviolet light to infrared. The resulting images peel away centuries of varnish and other alterations, shedding light on how the artist brought the painted figure to life and how she appeared to da Vinci and his contemporaries.
"The face of Mona Lisa appears slightly wider and the smile is different and the eyes are different," Cotte said. "The smile is more accentuated I would say."
Mona Lisa mysteries
A zoomed-in image of Mona Lisa's left eye revealed a single brush stroke in the eyebrow region, Cotte said.
"I am an engineer and scientist, so for me all has to be logical. It was not logical that Mona Lisa does not have any eyebrows or eyelashes," Cotte told LiveScience. "I discovered one hair of the eyebrow."
Another conundrum had been the position of the subject's right arm, which lies across her stomach. This was the first time, Cotte said, that a painter had rendered a subject's arm and wrist in such a position. While other artists had never understood da Vinci's reasoning, they copied it nonetheless.
Cotte discovered the pigment just behind the right wrist matched up perfectly with that of the painted cover that drapes across Mona Lisa's knee. So it did make sense: The forearm and wrist held up one side of a blanket.
"The wrist of the right hand is up high on the stomach. But if you look deeply in the infrared you understand that she holds a cover with her wrist," Cotte said.
Behind a painting
The infrared images also revealed da Vinci's preparatory drawings that lie behind layers of varnish and paint, showing that the Renaissance man was also human.
"If you look at the left hand you see the first position of the finger, and he changed his mind for another position," Cotte said. "Even Leonardo da Vinci had hesitation."
Other revelations include:
Lace on Mona Lisa's dress
The transparency of the veil shows da Vinci first painted a landscape and then used transparency techniques to paint the veil atop it.
A change in the position of the left index and middle finger.
The elbow was repaired from damage due to a rock thrown at the painting in 1956.
The blanket covering Mona Lisa's knees also covers her stomach.
The left finger was not completely finished.
A blotch mark on the corner of the eye and chin are varnish accidents, countering claims that Mona Lisa was sick.
And the Mona Lisa was painted on uncut poplar board, contrary to speculations.
In the larger picture, Cotte said when he stands back and looks up at the enlarged infrared image of Mona Lisa, her beauty and mystique are apparent.
"If you are in front of this huge enlargement of Mona Lisa, you understand instantly why Mona Lisa is so famous," Cotte said. He added, it's something you have to see with your own eyes.
Leonardo da Vinci

5. Da Vinci—Vitruvian Man based on text written by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius.
Around 1490, da Vinci made a famous drawing called Vitruvian Man. It shows off da Vinci's interests in art and science. The drawing illustrated several observations on the nature of an adult man's body.
-- The palm is the width of four fingers.
-- The length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing was made around the year Leonardo drew a standing nude male figure with legs and arms apart within an inscribed circle and a square. Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man was found in one of da Vinci’s notebook pages along with notes by the artist. Often referred to as the Canon of Proportion or Proportions of Man, da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man can be found in Venice, Italy in the Gallerie dell' Accademia.
-- The length of a man's outspread arms is the same as his height.

6. Is a more realistic painting a better painting?
That painting is the most to be praised which agrees most exactly with the thing imitated.
Leonardo da Vinci 6

7. The Last Supper—Da Vinci end wall of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy
One important technical fact that has been known for centuries is that The Last Supper was not painted using traditional fresco technique (watercolour and egg-tempera on moist plaster) but with an experimental oil-based medium. The chief advantage of this was compositional – oils gave him the subtle tonalities that were his trademark, and the opportunity to rethink and rework as he went along – but in practical terms it was a disaster. The technique daVinci used was called fresco secco or secco fresco - In this technique, pigment is mixed with a binding agent and painted on dry plaster. This method is not as durable as true fresco painting.
On a wall prone to damp, the paint surface quickly deteriorated. By 1517, a diarist noted, it was already "beginning to spoil", and by the time Giorgio Vasari saw it in the 1550s there was little more than a "muddle of blots". For centuries it was subjected to invasive restorations and heavy-handed retouchings. It suffered further vicissitides in the early 19th century, when Napoleon's soldiers used the refectory as a stable, and in 1943, when an RAF (Royal Air Force) bomb landed on the Grazie, leaving the mural exposed to the elements for several months. To the inherent charisma of the painting is added this chequered history of self-inflicted fragility and semi-miraculous survival.
Things to notice: groups of threes with Jesus being the center, oranges, wine and bread on the table, Judas is holding a bag of money. Everyone is responding to Jesus’ announcement that someone will betray him.

9. Looking across the picture from left to right:
Bartholomew, James Minor and Andrew form a group of three. All are aghast, Andrew to the point of holding his hands up in a "stop!" gesture.
Judas, Peter and John form the next group of three. Judas, you will note, has his face in shadow and is clutching a small bag (of silver?). Peter is visibly angry and a feminine-looking John seems about to swoon.
Christ is the calm in the midst of the storm.
Thomas, James Major and Philip are next. Thomas is clearly agitated, James Major stunned and Philip seems to be seeking clarification.
Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon comprise the last group of three figures. It appears that, when a situation turns ugly, Simon is the "go to" guy for explanations.

11. http://www. guardian. co
--a book review on Ross King’s research on the Last Supper
This is another painter’s version of The Last Supper

12. Leonardo da Vinci Madonna (Virgin) of the Rocks The Louvre-Paris Oil on panel (transferred to canvas)
The Virgin of the Rocks (sometimes the Madonna of the Rocks) is the name used for two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, and of a composition which is identical except for several significant details. The version generally considered the earlier of the two hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the other in the National Gallery, London. The paintings are both nearly 2 metres (over 6 feet) high and are painted in oils. Both were painted on wooden panel; that in the Louvre has been transferred to canvas.[1]
Both paintings show the Madonna and Christ Child with the infant John the Baptist and an angel, in a rocky setting which gives the paintings their usual name. The significant compositional differences are in the gaze and right hand of the angel. There are many minor ways in which the works differ, including the colours, the lighting, the flora, and the way in which sfumato has been used. Although the date of an associated commission is documented, the complete histories of the two paintings are unknown, and lead to speculation about which of the two is earlier.

13. Virgin of the Rocks da Vinci-London-National Gallery 1495-1508 Oil on panel
It is believed that though the first Madonna of the Rocks was commissioned, when it was finished daVinci sold it to someone else. Then the second Madonna of the Rocks, the one at the National Gallery, was made by Leonardo’s assistants. There are several differences which the next slide enumerates.

14. Composition
The two paintings of the ‘’Virgin of the Rocks’’, that belong to the Louvre Museum, Paris, and belong to the National Gallery, London, are the same in subject matter and in overall composition, indicating that one is derivative of the other. The two paintings differ in compositional details, in colour, in lighting and in the handling of the paint.
Both paintings show a grouping of four figures, the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, the infant John the Baptist and an angel arranged into a triangular composition within the painting and set against a background of rocks, and a distant landscape of mountains and water. In both paintings the Virgin Mary makes the apex of the pyramidal figure group, stretching one hand to include John the Baptist and raising the other above the head of the Christ Child in a blessing. John the Baptist kneels, gazing towards the Christ Child with his hands together in an attitude of prayer. The Christ Child sit towards the front of the painting, supported by the angel, and raising his right hand in a sign of Benediction towards the kneeling John.
Differences
Compositionally, all the figures are slightly larger in the London painting than in the Louvre painting.[3] The main compositional difference between the two paintings is that while in the London painting, the angel’s right hand rests on his/her knee, in the Louvre painting the hand is raised, the index finger pointing at John the Baptist. The eyes of the angel are turned down in a contemplative manner in the London painting, but in the Louvre picture are turned to gaze in the general direction of the viewer.[25]
In the London painting, all the forms are more defined, including the bodily forms of the clothed figures.[3] The rocks are painted in meticulous detail, while the forms of the background in the painting in the Louvre are all more hazy.[3] The contrast between light and shade on the figures and faces in the London painting are all much sharper.[25] The faces and forms in the Louvre painting are more delicately painted and subtly blurred by ‘’sfumato’’. The lighting in the Louvre painting is softer and appears warmer, but this may be the result of the tone of the varnish on the surface. Another difference is in the colouring of the robes, particularly those of the angel. The London painting contains no red, while in the Louvre painting, the angel is robed in bright red and green, and with the robes arranged in a different way to that in London.[3] The London version contains traditional attributes missing from the Louvre version, the haloes and John's traditional cruciform reed staff. Davies says it is "not certain" if these details which are painted in gold are contemporary with the painting or have been added by a later artist.[2] The details of the flowers are also quite different in the two paintings, with those in the Louvre painting being botanically accurate, and those in the London painting being fanciful creations.[26]