Renaissance Artists

Da Vinci vs. Michelangelo

(1452-1519) (1475-1564)

Tobias and the Angel c1473 This small panel is typical of the type of painted works produced in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence during the 1470s, which clearly exhibits the work of different artists. The painting is sometimes attributed to Perugino, who was said to have worked in Verrocchio’s workshop and parts such as the dog and the fish are thought to have been painted by Leonardo.

Annunciation 1472-74 Once thought to be the work of Domenico Ghirlandaio, this painting is now generally agreed to be an early work by Leonardo, painted sometime between 1472 and 1474.

The architecture seen on the right, in front of which the Virgin is seated, reflects the conventions of linear perspective probably learnt by Leonardo in Verrocchio’s workshop.

The Baptism of ChristAndrea del Verrocchio with Leonardo da Vinci1472-75 Oil on wood

Commissioned by the monastery church of San Salvi in Florence, where remained until 1530, the picture was executed in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, whose style is well defined by the figures of Christ and Baptist. The special fame of the work is however due to the Verrocchio's pupil who helped him paint the picture: in the blond angel on the left and in the landscape above is in fact recognizable the hand of Leonardo, the very young Leonardo, present in Verrocchio's workshop around 1470. Some critics ascribe the second angel to another young florentine artist, Sandro Botticelli.

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Michelangelo produced at least two relief sculptures by the time he was 16 years old, the Battle of the Centaurs (shown here) and the Madonna of the Stairs.

1489-92

Madonna of the Stairs.

1489-92

Michelangelo then went to Rome, where he was able to examine many newly unearthed classical statues and ruins. He soon produced his first large-scale sculpture, the over-life-size Bacchus (1496-98, Bargello, Florence). One of the few works of pagan rather than Christian subject matter made by the master, it rivaled ancient statuary, the highest mark of admiration in Renaissance Rome.

The Pietà (1498–99) by Michelangelo

This is a marble sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the first of a number of works of the same subject by the artist. The statue was commissioned by the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was a representative in Rome. The statue was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century.This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus in the arms of His mother Mary after the Crucifixion.

The figures are quite out of proportion, owing to the difficulty of depicting a fully-grown man cradled full-length in a woman's lap. If Christ were to be human scale, the Virgin, standing, would be nearly five meters tall. This could very well be intentional, however: as said above, this statue was moved from its original location, and we don't know in which position it was before. If it was to be situated in a high place, Michelangelo could have intentionally deformed it, to balance human sight aberration. However, much of the Virgin's size is concealed in her drapery, and the figures look quite natural.The marks of the crucifixion are limited to very small nail marks and an indication of the wound in Jesus' side. The imprints of the nails in the feet do not "go through" to the underside of the foot.

Michelangelo:The Holy Family with the infant St. John the Baptist c. 1506

Highly significant of the artist's style, the painting shows the peculiar twisting of the limbs and the evidence given to body's muscles, a pattern that clearly appears in michelangiolesque sculpture. Brightness of colors, lighting effects, emphasize impressiveness of the sacred figures.

Da Vinci: Perspective study of the Adoration of the Magic. 1481

The Adoration of the Magi (1481) is an early painting by da Vinci. Leonardo was given the commission by the Augustinian monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence, but departed for Milan the following year, leaving the painting unfinished.

Leonardo develops his pioneering use of chiaroscuro in the image, creating a seemingly chaotic mass of people plunged into darkness and confusion from which the Magi peer towards the brightly lit figures of Mary and Jesus, while the pagan world in the background carries on building and warring unaware of the new revelation.

The use of perspective in da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi

Da Vinci:

Virgin of the Rocks: 1495-1508

There are two versions of the Virgin of the Rocks, one (the

earlier) in the Louvre, Paris and another in the National Gallery,

London. The first work that Leonardo

executed in Milan is the so-called Virgin of the Rocks: the religious figures are depicted in a rocky

grotto, in which they are sitting on a stone floor. The figures are subjected to a strict spatial

arrangement called a pyramidal composition.

The painting portrays the Virgin Mary with her right hand around the shoulders of the infant St. John the Baptist and her left hand over the head of the Christchild. On the right, further towards the foreground, the Christchild makes a sign of blessing towards St. John, while an Archangel, probably Uriel, who is traditionally associated with St. John, points towards St. John with her right hand.

Scientific examination of the painting has revealed numerous pentimenti or “small changes” to the original design in the underdrawing, such as the alteration of the position of the head and legs of the Christchild and the position of the Virgin’s left hand, which confirms that the painting was not intended to be a straightforward copy of the first version. In this painting, the rocky outdoor setting of the earlier Louvre painting has been transformed into an enclosed grotto that gives rise to dramatic chiaroscuro effects of light and shadow, reflecting Leonardo’s intense study of the effects of light during the middle of the first decade of the sixteenth century.

Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (The Lady with the Ermine) 1490

Scientific examination of the painting has revealed the remains of spolvere in the

outlines of the figure and the head, which confirm the use of a

cartoon - a full-scale drawing, the design of which was

transferred to the panel by a process of pricked outlines pounced with charcoal dust. Furthermore, traces of direct under-drawing were found on

the panel in areas of the hands, right arm, bridge of the nose and

the hairline, suggesting that Leonardo made adjustments to

elements of the composition after the drawn design had been

transferred.

Fingerprints, commonly found in Leonardo’s paintings from this period have also been identified on Cecilia’s face and on the head of the ermine. The background appears to have been repainted and may originally have been painted grey-blue by Leonardo.

The animal cradled in Cecilia’s arms is an Ermine, which was a symbol of virtue and purity. It may also be a play on Cecilia’s name, as the Greek word for ermine is galée, and a reference to Ludovico Sforza, who was appointed a member of the Order of the Ermine by Ferdinand I of Naples in 1488.

The proportions of the human body in the manner of Vitruvius (The Vitruvian Man)

c1490

This iconic drawing illustrates Leonardo’s own interpretation of Vitruvius’ written account of how the ideal proportions of man, with arms and legs outstretched, would fit into the geometric forms of the square and the circle. In order to

achieve a coherent solution, Leonardo chose to adjust the

relationship between the circle and the square - only the centre of the

circle coincides with the navel, while the centre of the square is

located somewhat lower.

The Last Supper, Da Vinci (1498)

Da Vinvi's, Last Supper (after restoration) has become one of the most widely appreciated masterpieces in the world. It began to acquire its unique reputation immediately after it was finished in 1498 and its prestige has never diminished. Despite the many changes in tastes, artistic styles, and rapid physical deterioration of the painting itself, the painting's status as an extraordinary creation has never been questioned nor doubted. The perfection of this work lies not only in the artistic merits of the painting, but also in Leonardo's expressive mastery.

Hidden Score

This image shows a haunting melody concealed within da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper," argues musician Giovanni Maria Pala.

Pala, who will publish his findings next week in the book "La Musica Celata" (which translates to "The Hidden Music"), claims to have

discovered nothing less than a sacred hymn and text, along with mystic symbols in da Vinci's degraded masterpiece.

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In what was a highly innovative approach to the traditional representation of the subject, Leonardo concentrated on the different reactions of each of the Apostles, conveying their varied emotional responses through their facial expressions, poses and physical gestures. Surviving studies for the heads of some of the Apostles indicate that Leonardo studied the physiognomy and expression of each individual, working out every detail in drawings. In the painting, he took the unusual step of arranging the figures into groups of three in order to avoid the monotony of the elongated format of the composition.

They are generally excepted on this basis as from left to right, Bartholomew, James the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, all on Christ’s left, and Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon to the right of Christ.

In 1508 Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the vault, or ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took him until 1512 to complete. To be able to reach the

ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by Bramante, who wanted to build for him a special scaffold, suspended in the air with ropes. But Michelangelo

suspected that this would leave holes in the ceiling once the work was ended, so he built a scaffold of his own, a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the

wall, high up near the top of the windows. He stood on this scaffolding while he painted. The first layer of plaster began to grow mold because it was too wet.

Michelangelo had to remove it and start again, but he tried a new mixture, called intonaco, created by one of his assistants, Jacopo l'Indaco.

The chapel is rectangular in shape and measures 40.93 meters long by 13.41 meters wide. It is 20.70 meters high and is roofed by a flattened barrel vault, with little side vaults over the centered windows.

Length = 132 feet

Width = 44 feet

Height = 68 feet

Michelangelo was employed to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles, but when the work was finished there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood. The sketches are a really precious and curious document. Michelangelo used male models, even for the females, because female models were more rare and costly than male ones.

The Sistine Chapel's ceiling restoration began on November 7th, 1984. The restoration complete, the chapel

was re-opened to the public on April 8th, 1994.

he devised an intricate system of decoration that included nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, beginning with God Separating Light from Darkness and including the Creation of Adam and Eve, the Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Flood.

The project was physically and emotionally torturous for Michelangelo.   Michelangelo recounts its effect on him with these words: "After four tortured years, more than 400 over life-sized figures, I felt as old and as weary as Jeremiah. I was only 37, yet friends did not recognize the old man I had become."

In order to prepare for this enormous work,

Michelangelo drew numerous figure studies and cartoons, devising

scores of figure types and poses. These awesome,

mighty images, demonstrating

Michelangelo's masterly understanding of human anatomy and movement, changed the course of painting in the West.

Here like a cat in a Lombardy sewer! Swelter and toil!

With my neck puffed out like a pigeon,belly hanging like an empty sack,

beard pointing at the ceiling, and my brain

fallen backwards in my head!Breastbone bulging like a harpy’s

and my face, from drips and droplets,patterned like a marble pavement.

Ribs are poking in my guts; the only wayto counterweight my shoulders is to stickmy butt out. Don’t know where my feet

are-they’re just dancing by themselves!In front I’ve sagged and stretched;

behind,my back is tauter than an archer’s bow!

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1503–1507

Leonardo gave no known title to the painting. The title Mona Lisa stems from the Giorgio Vasari biography of Leonardo, published 31 years after Leonardo's death. In it he identified the sitter as Lisa, the wife of wealthy Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo. "Mona" is a common Italian contraction of "madonna", meaning "my lady", so the title means "Lady Lisa".

The smooth transitions from light to dark areas is attributed to the sfumato technique. This technique roughly translates to “smoky” in Italian and creates natural looking transitions in the piece.

The painting's increasing fame was further emphasized when it was stolen on August 21, 1911. On September 7, avant-garde French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who had once called for the Louvre to be "burnt down", was arrested and put in jail on suspicion of theft. His friend Pablo Picasso was brought in for questioning, but both were later released. At the time, the painting was believed lost forever. It turned out that Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia stole it by simply walking out the door with it hidden under his coat.

Leonardo da Vinci

The foetus in the womb 1512

Anatomical studies of an old man 1510

The Tomb of Julius II

Before the assignment of the Sistine Ceiling in 1505, Michelangelo had been commissioned by Julius II to produce his tomb, which was planned to be the most magnificent of Christian times. Michelangelo enthusiastically went ahead with the challenging project, which was to include more than 40 figures, spending months in the quarries to obtain the necessary Carrara marble. Due to a mounting shortage of money, however, the pope ordered him to put aside the tomb project in favor of painting the Sistine ceiling.

Q: Why does Moses have horns on his head?

A: Michelangelo's "Moses" has horns because one of the biblical translations of "rays of light" became "horns" in

Italian. Because of this mistranslation, depictions of Moses with horns became somewhat commonplace.

Michelangelo:Slave (awakening)1519-36Marble, height 267 cm

“Slave” demonstrates Michelangelo's approach to carving. He conceived of the figure as being imprisoned in the block. By removing the excess stone, the form was released. Here, as is frequently the case with his sculpture, Michelangelo left the statues unfinished.

Michelangelo:Pietà Rondanini, (unfinished)1552-64Marble Height: 195 cm (6.4 feet)

Michelangelo worked on from the 1550s until the last weeks of his life, in 1564.

When viewing the sculpture from certain rear angles, it looks as if Jesus is holding Mary up with his back, instead of Mary cradling Jesus. It is said that Michelangelo carefully crafted it this way to represent how Jesus's spirit might actually have been comforting Mary in her loss

Da Vinci:Studies of human skull1489

Da Vinci:Male head in profile with proportionsc. 1490

Da Vinci:The Virgin and Child with St Annec. 1510

The painting was commissioned by the Servites in Florence. It is unfinished; perhaps it was abandoned because of the artist's sudden interest in mathematics, and his engagement as engineer in the service of Cesare Borgia. Another hand seems to have finished the lamb which he had perhaps only sketched in; the landscape, St Anne, the Virgin and the Child Christ are the work of Leonardo himself.

The work is a synthesis of all of Leonardo’s

artistic and intellectual interests - atmospheric

effects, emotional expression, fluid physical

movement and the creative powers of nature, all which

harmonize to achieve a powerful and beautiful expression of subtle

meaning in what appears to be the artist’s final

painting.

St John the Baptist 1508-16

The atmospheric mood of the work is largely due to the impressive use

of sfumato, or “smoky” effect, achieved by Leonardo through technical experiment and the

scientific study of light and shade during the final years of his career.

By applying layers of thin translucent varnish, the artist

created a wide range of shadows, blurring the contours into soft

transitions between light and shade to achieve an unprecedented

plasticity in the figure. St. John appears to be illuminated by an unknown light source outside

the painting, as gentle shadows imbue his skin with a soft and

delicate appearance.

Da Vinci:Multi Barrel Gun1480-82

Da Vinci:Giant Crossbow 1480-82

In 1501 Michelangelo was commissioned to create the David. For this purpose, he was given a block of marble which Agostino di Duccio had already attempted to fashion forty years previously, perhaps with the same subject in mind.

The artist places him in the most perfect contraposto, as in the most beautiful Greek representations of heroes. The right-hand side of the statue is smooth and composed while the left-side, from the outstretched foot all the way up to the disheveled hair is openly active and dynamic. The muscles and the tendons are developed only to the point where they can still be interpreted as the perfect instrument for a strong will, and not to the point of becoming individual self-governing forms.

Once the statue was completed, a committee of the highest ranking citizens and artists decided that it must be placed in the main square of the town, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Town Hall. It was the first time since antiquity that a large statue of a nude was to be exhibited in a public place.

Michelangelo:

Detail of the hand of The David

Statue Height: 434 centimeters

Statue Height: 14.2 feet

The image is an actual frontal view of David, as he coolly yet menacingly awaits Goliath, his sling at the ready over his shoulder and his face full of disdain. With this lighting, he actually appears to be sneering at the giant. The message of the sculpture is clearly, "You [Goliath, and by extension, Caesar Borgia and any other potential enemy of the Florentine Republic] are dead meat!"

Instead of being shown victorious over a foe much larger than he, David looks tense and ready for combat. His veins bulge out of his lowered right hand and the twist of his body effectively conveys to the viewer the feeling that he is in motion. The statue is meant to show David after he has made the decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. It is a representation of the moment between conscious choice and conscious action. However, other experts (including Giuseppe Andreani, the current director of Accademia Gallery) consider the depiction to represent the moment immediately after battle, as David serenely contemplates his victory.

The 4.34 meter (14 ft) marble statue portrays the Biblical King David at the moment that he decides to do battle with Goliath.

Da Vinci:Self-Portrait c. 1512

A hand-written note from the 16th century titles the drawing "Leonardus Vincius (in red chalk) self-portrait at an advanced age (in charcoal)," so that its interpretation as Leonardo's self-portrait during the last years of his life is generally accepted nowadays.

"Leonardo's hair and beard were so long, and his eyebrows were so bushy, that he appeared to be the sheer idea of noble wisdom." In stylistic terms, however, including the use of parallel hatchings, the drawing could date from before 1500, which would mean that this could not be a self-portrait.

Michelangelo:Crouching Boy

1530-33

"The Crouching Boy" was thought to be chiseled for the Medici Chapel in

Florence during the 1520's. The

sculpture remains unfinished

permitting an examination of Michelangelo's

vigorous handling of marble.

Da Vinci:

Female head (La Scapigliata)c. 1508

Michelangelo:Tomb of Giuliano de'

Medici1526-33

While residing in Florence for this extended period, Michelangelo also undertook-between 1519 and 1534-the commission of the Medici Tombs for the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo.

Tomb of Giuliano de' Medici (detail)1526-33

The Last Judgment Michelangelo (1534-1541)

On the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Paul III, and Michelangelo labored on the project from 1534 to October 1541. Once completed, the depictions of nakedness in the papal chapel was considered obscene and sacrilegious, and Cardinal Carafa and Monsignor Sernini campaigned to have the fresco removed or censored, but the Pope resisted. After Michelangelo's death, it was decided to obscure the nakedness. So Daniele da Volterra, an apprentice of Michelangelo, covered the nakedness, leaving unaltered the complex of bodies. When the work was restored in 1993, the restorers chose not to remove the coverings of Daniele.

Saint Bartholomew is shown holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin. The face of the skin is recognizable as Michelangelo.

Painted on the altar wall, the Last Judgment was to represent humanity face to face with salvation.

The Last Judgment, which Michelangelo finished in 1541 was the  largest fresco of the Renaissance, it depicts Judgment Day. Christ, with a clap of thunder, puts into motion the inevitable separation, with the saved ascending on the left side of the painting and the damned descending on the right into hell. As was his custom, Michelangelo portrayed all the figures nude, but prudish draperies were added by another artist a decade later, as the cultural climate became more conservative.