Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance artist born in 1452 in Vinci, Italy and died in 1519 in Amboise, France. He was a polymath known for his expertise and innovation in various fields including painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, and history. His most famous artwork is the Mona Lisa painted between 1503-1506. Da Vinci's artistic practice focused on achieving realism through techniques like preliminary drawings, studying anatomy and light/shadow, and developing the sfumato style of blending tones without lines. Some of his other major works include The Virgin of the Rocks painted between 1483-1486.

1. Leonardo Da Vinci
Italian Renaissance Artist (1452 - 1519)

2. Biography
Born: 15th of April, 1452 in Vinci, Italy
Died: 2nd of May, 1519 in Amboise, France
Da Vinci was a writer, a mathematician, an inventor, an
engineer, as well as an artist. His most famous piece is
also one of the most recognised and iconic artworks in all
the world; The Mona Lisa (1503-1506).
Leonardo Da Vinci is known as the founding Father of
many areas of work and study, however in the realm of
art, the movement in which his founder status holds, is
that of the Renaissance – and more specifically, the
Italian Renaissance.

3. The Renaissance Period
The word renaissance
means rebirth in French,
and the period was named
as such due to the wide
changes in various aspects
of society and cultures
across Europe from roughly
the 14th to the 17th
century.
These changes were
reminiscent of the Ancient
Greek and Roman art,
architecture, literature, and
intellect, so this was indeed
a revival – a rebirth – of
ways of life and thinking
that had fallen out of
fashion over time.

4. The Renaissance Period
The renaissance was a
period that is categorised
by…
• innovation
• imagination
• creativity
This caused a shift in
dominance.
Who’s dominance in
society was challenged,
and why did this challenge
them?

5. The Renaissance Period
Although this period brought
about a lot of change in areas of
architecture, literature,
philosophy and science, we will
focus specifically on art.
Unlike the artists styles of the
earlier Middle Ages, which had a
heavy focus on symbolism as
opposed to reality, renaissance
art focused on achieving realism.
This mean focusing the correct
perspective, human anatomy, the
play and interaction of light and
shadows, the depiction of
landscapes, most of which can
all be accredited to the studies of
Leonardo Da Vinci.

6. Biography
Please click the link below to watch a video on
Leonardo Da Vinci’s biography.
http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-
40396#awesm=~oBuSQBHHqSfvZo

7. Practice
What is practice?
Artist practice refers to the way in which an artist
goes about making and creating their artworks. This
includes their influences, ideas, materials, tools,
skills, processes, and procedures.

8. Da Vinci’s Practice
Skills learnt under Andrea Di Cione
Verrocchio:
Leonardo Da Vinci was exposed to a vast
range of technical skills and had the
opportunity to learn drafting, chemistry,
metallurgy, metal working, plaster
casting, leather working, mechanics, and
carpentry, as well as artistic skills such as
• Drawing
• Painting
• Sculpting
• Modelling

9. Da Vinci’s Practice
Preliminary Drawings:
Da Vinci used preliminary drawings to plan his
paintings, study anatomy, and also create blue prints
and designs.

10. Da Vinci’s Practice
Sfumato – meaning ‘smoky’:
Da Vinci used this technique in his
paintings, which was a style of
depicting tone or light and shadow. It
created a highly realistic impression
of light, although with a hint of dream-
like fantasy.
“Light and shade should blend
without lines or borders in the manner
of smoke.”
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

11. Da Vinci’s Practice
Sfumato – meaning ‘smoky’:
Please click the link below to view a video of a
scene from Assassin’s Creed (which actually
includes Leonardo Da Vinci as a character) includes
sfumato in the design of the lighting of the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ulU7oQrIQA

12. Da Vinci’s Works
The Mona Lisa (1503-1506). Oil on
Lombardy poplar panel (77 x 53
cm).
Thought to be Lisa Gherardini, wife
of Florentine cloth merchant,
Francesco del Giocondo.
The work did not originally go to it’s
commissioner after it’s completion,
and was only returned to Italy when
Da Vinci left for France years later.

13. Da Vinci’s Works
Click on the link below
to look at the work in
closer detail.
http://musee.louvre.fr/oa
l/joconde/indexEN.html

14. Da Vinci’s Works
The Virgin of the Rocks (1483 -
1486). Wood, transferred to
canvas in 1806 by Jean-Louis
Hacquin (1.99 x 1.22m).
The most convincing hypothesis
is that the picture, painted
between 1483 and 1486, did not
meet with Leonardo’s clients’ full
satisfaction, which enabled Louis
XII to acquire it around 1500 -
1503. The second, replacement
picture, now in London, may
have been painted by Ambrogio
de Predis under Leonardo’s
supervision between 1495 and
1508.

16. Da Vinci’s Works
Click on the link below to view
some details on the history of
this particular work, as well as
how the original commission
might have been displayed.
http://www.italian-renaissance-
art.com/Virgin-of-the-
Rocks.html

17. HOMEWORK: Students must select one Da
Vinci artwork and analyse it using the
Frames.