FLORENTINE PAINTER, scientist and inventor; the
supreme genius of the Renaissance. Leonardo was the illegitimate son of
a notary and probably trained under Verrocchio. In 1482 he moved to
Milan, where he worked for the Sforzas. His chief work from this period
was a majestic version of The Last Supper. The composition dazzled
contemporaries, but Leonardo’s experimental frescoe technique
failed and the picture deteriorated rapidly. This was symptomatic of
Leonardo’s attitude to painting: the intellectual challenge of
creation fascinated him, but the execution was a chore, and many of his
artistic projects were left unfinished. Leonardo returned to Florence
in 1500, where he produced some of his most famous pictures, most
notably the Mona Lisa. These were particularly remarkable for their
sfumato — a blending of tones so exquisite that the forms seem to
have no lines or borders. Leonardo spent a second period in Milan,
before ending his days in France. Leonardo’s genius lay in the
breadth of his interests and his infinite curiosity. In addition to his
art, his notebooks display a fascination for aeronautics, engineering,
mathematics and the natural world.
Excerpt from Art. The World of Art, from
Aboriginal to American Pop, Renaissance Masters to Postmodernism.
