|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 > Five Hundred Years of 'La Gioconda' > Rivalry with Michelangelo > The Sfumato Technique
dilluns, 28 d'abril de 2003
Five hundred years have now passed since the genius Leonardo da Vinci began to paint 'La Gioconda'. The most famous of his paintings and one of the masterworks of all time, it continues to fascinate millions of people all over the world with its mystery and charm.
Nor is 'La Gioconda', which took Leonardo three years to complete (1503-1506), the only example of the artist's revolutionary body of work. 'The Last Supper', 'The Annunciation', 'The Virgin of the Rocks', 'Saint John the Baptist', 'Virgin and Child with Saint Anne', 'The Adoration of the Magi' all occupy places of honor within the history of painting. In attempting to portray the exceptional figure of Leonardo it is not enough to simply say that he was one of the greatest painters of all times. More than any other person, Leonardo provides the prototype of the Renaissance man, interested in all fields of learning. Born in the beautiful and small Tuscan village of Vinci, his boundless curiosity was channeled into a multitude of disciplines. He was an inventor, architect, sculptor, engineer...and long before anyone else, a fascinated student of botany and human anatomy. To wit: Leonardo collaborated in a project to redirect the course of the Arno River, which runs through the historic city of Florence; during his entire life he pursued his dream of making flight a reality, designing countless devices meant to achieve this aim; he dissected human cadavers with the objective of rendering the human figure with the utmost precision; he worked on gargantuan architectural projects such as the cupola for the Milan cathedral; and, in all that he did, definitively epitomized the Renaissance maxim: 'man is the measure of all things'.
 
Five Hundred Years of 'La Gioconda')
+ 'La Gioconda', a great work of an ingenious artist.
While it sounds paradoxical, the fact remains that the identity of the subject of Leonardo's most famous portrait 'La Gioconda' has not been conclusively established. According to the painter's first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, the woman in the painting was the wife of the wealthy Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, whose name was Mona Lisa. However, Vasari's explanation is not unanimously accepted. Some contend that the painting was commissioned by the merchant Giuliano de Medici to represent a lady of the aristocracy. And the most provocative theory of all proposes that 'La Gioconda' is none other than....Leonardo himself!. This can seem initially absurd, but experts have become convinced in recent years, especially after conducting X-ray analysis of the painting, as well as detailed comparisons with Leonardo's self-portrait. Could this explain the ironic and enigmatic smile of 'La Gioconda', which even now captivate the imagination of countless people? In any case, the mystery has only served to stimulate interest in the work of the ingenious artist.
Rivalry with Michelangelo)
+ 'David', Michelangelo's masterpiece.
During the Renaissance, the arts experienced an extraordinary period of expansion, as much in painting as in sculpture and architecture. This is best evidenced by the masterworks of geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Sandro Botticelli and Michelangelo. It was with the former that Leonardo experienced an intense rivalry. It bears mentioning that during this time competition between artists was viewed as extremely healthy and as an incentive to an artist's production. As the biographies explain, the rivalry between these two geniuses of the Renaissance was so pronounced that they were frequently seen arguing in the streets of Florence, the city in which both lived between the years 1503 and 1506. The Florentine government stoked this rivalry in 1503, when it commissioned both of them with painting a mural to decorate the same hall in the Palazzo Vecchio. As it turned out, both had so much work that neither of the two murals, Leonardo's 'Battle of Anghiari' and Michelangelo's 'Battle of Cascina', were ever completed.
The Sfumato Technique)
+ The sfumato technique reached its perfection in 'Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'.
Leonardo da Vinci's greatest painting innovation was his technique of sfumato, an Italian word which could be translated as 'blending' or 'misty'. This technique, which the artist was able to perfect like no other, consists in just that: fusing the outlines of the figures and their landscape, giving the work a quality of great softness. Sfumato is closely related to the pictorial style of chiaroscuro, which Leonardo also mastered and was based upon the play of light and shadow with the end of giving perspective, delicacy, and subtlety to the image and avoided excessive contrasts. Widely employed in 'La Gioconda', it is widely considered that Leonardo's use of the sfumato technique reached its perfection in 'Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'.
|
MATERIALS
QUE HO SABIES?
BANNER ACTUALITZATVols el banner de l'última notícia a la teva web? Copia aquest codi i enganxa-l'hi: <a href="http://www.vilaweb.cat CERCADOR DEL DIARI DE L'ESCOLAESCOLES EN XARXA
|
Investiga
> Hi ha qui sosté que 'La Gioconda' representa Leonardo da Vinci mateix. En aquesta pàgina electrònica podràs comprovar les semblances entre un retrat de Leonardo i la figura de la seva obra mestra.
> Que Leonardo era un geni és evident fins i tot en la manera que tenia d'escriure, que podràs esbrinar fent un clic aquí.
> Entre les moltes facetes de Leonardo hi ha la de dibuixant, com podràs comprovar si cliques aquesta adreça.
> Leonardo va néixer en un bell poblet situat al cor de la Toscana, Vinci. Visita’l i podràs fer-te una bona idea del magnífic lloc on passà la infantesa aquest gran artista del Renaixement.
I també...
- Vols fer un cop d’ull a l'estudi de Leonardo? Clica aquí.
- El somriure de 'La Gioconda' ha fascinat milions d’individus de tot el món des que fou pintat, ara fa cinc-cents anys. Diuen que si hom es mira el retrat de ben a prop, el somriure desapareix. De debò, t'ho sembla?
- Miquel Àngel fou també un gran artista del Renaixement, contemporani de Leonardo, i per molt que es considerés sobretot escultor, la seva obra magna és el fresc impressionant que decora la volta de la Capella Sixtina. El podràs admirar en aquesta pàgina electrònica.
Portada |
Europa Press |
El Punt |
La premsa |
Especials |
Diari de l'escola |
LesFinances.info |
Editorials |
Mail obert |
Els blocs |
Lletres
Tecnologia i ciència | Solidaritat | Cap de 7mana | Campus | El 9 | Presència | Fòrums | Enquestes | Xat | Correu
Traductor | Edicions en Pdf | Wap-pda | Biblioteca | Lletra més grossa
Tecnologia i ciència | Solidaritat | Cap de 7mana | Campus | El 9 | Presència | Fòrums | Enquestes | Xat | Correu
Traductor | Edicions en Pdf | Wap-pda | Biblioteca | Lletra més grossa
| Què és VilaWeb? Publicitat Mapa web Contacte | Una web de Partal, Maresma i Associats, S.L. |  |