Leonardo at the Louvre...
12:01 a.m.
"The greatest gifts often rain down upon human bodies through celestial influences as a natural process, and sometimes in a supernatural fashion a single body is lavishly supplied with such beauty, grace, and ability that wherever the individual turns, each of his actions is so divine that he lives behind all other men and clearly makes himself known as a genius endowed by God (which he is) rather than created by human artifice."
Giorgio Vasari, in The Lives of the Artists
After 10 years of preparations, the Musée du Louvre presents the exhibition Léonard de Vinci 1452-1519, just before the year that marked the 500th anniversary of his death ends.
Madonna with child, known as Madone Benois, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1480-1482)
The exhibition is organized chronologically and the first must-see is The Baptism of Christ, by Andrea del Verocchio (Leonardo’s teacher), with Da Vinci’s assistance. The story tells that Leonardo worked on the angels to the left and that when the teacher saw them finished, he realized he has been surpassed and stopped painting ever since.
Leonardo made approximately 20 paintings, so having 10 of them in this exhibition is enough to make art lovers crazy. The missing paintings are present through infrared reflectograms, as for example The Lady with and Ermine.
Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, known as The Lady with an Ermine, by Leonardo da Vinci
Infrared reflectogram
The Virgin with the Child an John the Baptist, known as The Virgin of the Rocks, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1503-1519)
Infrared reflectograms
The Virgin and the Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Angel, baptized (as many of Leonardo’s works) as The Virgin of the Rocks, was made on a board and then, as many of his paintings, transferred to canvas. The artwork was commissioned for the chapel of the Immaculate Conception in Milano, but because of a dispute between the artist and the contracting party, the painting was sold to a private collector. Thus Leonardo decides to modify the pose of the angel, who now signals towards St John Baptist, and makes him look at the viewer. The reflectogram shows these changes and confirms Leonardo’s quest for perfection, constantly correcting his works. The features of the angel are very similar to those of other young women in his paintings, like Head of a Woman, known as La Scapigliata.
Head of a woman, known as La Scapiliata, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1500-1510)
When he was in his 50s, he began work on Saint Anne, the Virgin and Jesus playing with a sheep, known simply as Saint Anne, and continues to work on it till his death.
The infrared study confirms adjustments in the cloaks and the postures. In the final version he opted for a sad smile for Mary, anticipating the fatal death of her son.
Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary and Jesus playing with a sheep, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1503-1519)
Technique: oil on poplar panel
Infrared reflectograms of Salvatori Mundi
Leonardo da Vinci's atelier (1505-1515)
Leonardo da Vinci's atelier (1505-1515)
The controversial Salvatori Mundi is not assigned to Leonardo, but catalogued as a work by his atelier. Certain characteristics, like the transferring of a drawing below the cloak or the discontinued lines, were also found in other paintings by his assistants. This painting wraps up an exhibition that unveils the artist’s quest to depict the physical world. The infrared studies allow us to discover the steps in his work method and the many revisions, proving that a genius never rests in the pursuit for perfection.
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