A Study in Portraits – da Vinci and Van Gogh Two of the greatest artists of all time would have to be Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) and Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890). Da Vinci was an artistic genius, as well as an ingenious inventor and scientist, while Van Gogh was an artistic savant whose mental instability cut short a career of wonder and enlightenment. Both artists presented works that made people look both outside at the artwork itself as well as inside the individual viewer in order to interpret the work. Ultimately, it was their work in the style of portraiture that we can link the two artists. Da Vinci was one of the first artists of the Renaissance to use the three-quarter view as a pose for his subjects. This …show more content…
Another noticeable feature of the Mona Lisa would have to be her infamous smile. This is a smile that has been memorialized in literature and song for the past 500 years. The thought behind this smile has been one of antiquity’s favorite discussions, with opinions ranging from the state of her mind to whether the smile is really even hers. Da Vinci himself may have had some fun with this as he wrote in his Treatise on Painting that the painter is so influenced by his own character that “it guides the painter’s arm and makes him reproduce himself” (Ripley, 44). Looking at both of these paintings, I am overwhelmed with the depths of emotions that you can see within these two works. In the Mona Lisa, there is the air of mystery that surrounds the woman. Who is she? Is she the wife of a patron? Or perhaps she is a self-portrait of da Vinci himself? No one knows the true answer although biographer Giorgio Vasari surmised that she was the Madam Lisa Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant (Treasures of the World – Mona Lisa). Either way, this air of mystery that surrounds her enhances the beauty of the work of art that da Vinci created. In contrast, Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait shows the artist in his element. By the usage of color, you can imagine that Van Gogh was still recovering from the ill effects of his sickness by both the whitish pale of his skin as well as the green hints that
With Da Vinci’s work of the Mona Lisa in Document A the painting has a nice setting and a symbolic representation of the person whom he painted. In this painting it shows Mona Lisa smiling with indicates a strong emotions coming out. While in the middle ages their style of art wasn’t as similar to the Renaissance. The Middle Ages style of art was drafter and less detailed, but they also more religion in their art to show their religious beliefs. As stated in Document A ‘”… the new artistic styles would echo the broader movements and interests of the new age…”’ this statement is true in fact, since some artists of our time period use and become inspired by the Mona Lisa painting (Doc
The Mona Lisa has been one of the most debated paintings of all time. The look on the face of the women in this painting leaves a person’s mind wondering. No one really seems to know what this mysterious woman is thinking or feeling. The questions that cannot seem to be answered are what make this painting so famous. The reason for that is because it is raveled in mystery and secrets. All of the small details make the painting stand out by being different from others and the details also make it far more remarkable as well. And surely, the smirk on the face of the Mona Lisa is the major key factor to the painting being so interesting. “Leonardo da Vinci was one of the
Da Vinci’ s the “Mona Lisa”(c.1519) holds Miss. Zirpolo’s statement to be true. When viewing the piece, one can see the exquisite line work and Foreshortening, to linear perspective. This art form shows his attention to detail and his passion for his work. The “Mona Lisa” (c.1519) is a small piece of artwork that became very popular. To this day the “Mona Lisa”(c.1519) still triumphs over Michelangelo’s “Creation Of Adam” (c.1511), which became a part of the “Sistine Chapel.”(C.1512) When one views “The Mona Lisa” they can see the dark color scale that is used, perhaps to depict an unhappy time. Da Vinci through out this piece is able to use an aerial perspective within the background of this portrait. Da Vinci was the first
The very famous Mona Lisa was great inspiration for many other art pieces, but none as famous as itself except for Andy Warhol’s silkscreens of the Mona Lisa. It is said that he was so consumed by the famousness and celebrity that the painting created that he became obsessed with it for the rest of his life. His creation of his own Mona Lisa pieces, as well as his Jackie series and his Marilyn series and all the series that Warhol created of the many
Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he began work in 1503 and finishes in 1607. Mona (or Madonna Lisa Gherardini) was from a noble family in Naples, and Leonardo may have painted her on commission from her husband. Leonardo is said to entertain Mona Lisa with six musicians. He installs a musical fountain where the water plays on small glass spheres, and he gives Mona a puppy and a white Persian cat to play with. Leonardo does what he can to keep Mona smiling during the long hours she sits for him. But it is not only Mona's mysterious smile that has impressed anyone who has ever viewed the portrait: the background landscape is just as mysterious and beautiful. The portrait can be seen today in the Louvre Museum in
Mona Lisa is famous for many reasons one because most of the artwork during the Renaissance period were of biblical events and scenes. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa stood out among those artworks because it was not of a religious text or martyr. The painting is an introduction to sfumato which is a technique Da Vinci used at the corners of Mona Lisa’s lips and the corners of her eyes exploring natural emotion along with detailed realness of her hands. Mona Lisa is an excellent example of created illusions of space and depth within its beautiful landscape muted in the background (Totally History, 2012).
It is a portrait of young woman Lisa Gherardini in front of an imaginary background, her gaze forward. It is believed that Francesco del Giocondo was the one who commissioned the painting in honour of his wife, however the painting was found in the home of Leonardo da Vinci after his death, incomplete and therefore not making it into the hands of the commissioner. The portrait was painted between 1503 and 1506 and it is kept today in the Louvre, Paris. The choices evident in the portrait such as the landscape, the and famous smile, offer a sign of elegance used in the early 15th century, creating an appealing impact. The Mona Lisa is an oil painting on a popular wood panel, with evidence of warping used in the portrait. As Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian humanist during the height of the Renaissance, his artistic opinions immediately influenced his perspective on art which is made clear through his painting. The Mona Lisa shows these new opinions that were made, by breaking away and challenging the teachings of the Church. This is demonstrated in the artwork through the attention to detail and beauty
You can see that when viewing a painting like this there are many questions that arise in your mind. Looking at the Mona Lisa I get drawn in and a sense of wonderment comes over me. I start to imagine the person in the painting and what her smile was really about. A strong, confident women is what I think she was, and that was brought out beautifully by de Vinci. I also think that the way he painted the Mona Lisa shows a lot about what and how Leonardo viewed women. Many say that it was painted for the love of his mother. What do you
Throughout time, many men and women have made legendary contributions for mankind today. Two of those people are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Da Vinci and Michelangelo given society many new styles of education. They both specialized in science, mathematics, and modern art. They each lived completely different lifestyles yet they have impacted many others.
In many peoples’ opinions, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were the most influential people in the Renaissance. They were both excellent artists as well as architects. Both men were leaders of the Renaissance and were thought of as the most influential artists in the Renaissance and maybe the entire history of the world. Da Vinci’s most well known pieces of art are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper while Michelangelo’s most well known pieces of art are the David and the painting on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. Both artists accomplished many works of art in their lifetime and were true Renaissance leaders. Although Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are each extremely accomplished men of the Renaissance, da Vinci was actually more influential
Every painting is a unique experience for each individual person, therefore two of the artists that offered some of the most unique experiences where Leonardo da vinci and Michelangelo. While both of these painters are today well regarded and remembered, during their time they both had achieved such status in vastly different ways. Therefore even though these two artists lived during the same time these two are nothing alike. With their unique take on the world and events around them they were able to shape how the average person thought about the world around them.
Each artist is an individual with a unique style, and although these styles can be similar in practice – the individuality of the artist often proves the discriminating factor for a successful artwork. Self-portraits are beneficial when looking at the individuality of the artist as there are two aspects to look at – the artist’s style, and the artist’s view of him/herself. The latter can provide a brief insight into the mental situation of the artist as well as any apparent influencing factors of the artwork. This view can often also include fragmental insights into the society and culture of the time. Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh are 2 artists of whom are well represented by this statement.
The Mona Lisa is respectively one of the most famous paintings in the history, and was painted by one of the most infamous artist of all time Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo has his own mysteries, because no one knows much about the man at all, aside from the basics. He was born on April 25, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. His father was a notary and his mother was a maiden, they were never married, Leonardo was their only child. However, his parents together had 17 other children. He was extremely intelligent and was a master at many skills, science, math, architecture, art and was among the first to dissect a human body. He began painting at the age of 14 as an apprentice for Andrea del Verrocchio. By the age of 20 Leonardo had outshined his teacher and Verrocchio knew that he could never be as good as da Vinci and he never painted again. Throughout da Vinci’s life he painted many, many
A large portion of the Italian Renaissance was an obsession with finding order in everything in the universe. Its primary actors sought to show nature as orderly and fundamentally simple. Leonardo Da Vinci, the epitome of the Renaissance Man, was not the first to apply these ideas of geometric order and patterns to art, but he may be the most well known. Da Vinci used mathematical concepts like linear perspective, proportion and geometry in much of his artwork.
Leonardo Da vinci painted the “Mona Lisa” in 1503. The artist portrays a young woman, which acquires the concept of feminine youth and more essentially the concept of elegance. In relation to Agnolo firenzuola’s novel “On The Beauty Of Women” , the portrait attributes to major physical characteristics in which is considered to be genuine beauty by the modern man. Seeing the female portraiture of the italian renaissance, Firenzuola implies a specific interpretation by analyzing the modern woman. Through the famous paintings illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa specifically supports the arguments and claims made by the poet’s correspondence to the beauty of women. Along with Da Vinci’s sticking features, the artist paints Firenzuola’s ideal beauty in comparability to the appearance of definitive grace. With his analyzations being extremely aesthetic, Firenzuolo activates criticizing aspects of the proportions of the figure, the placement of the figure’s position and the importance of the half length portrait of the feminine nature in relation to the portraiture of Mona Lisa.