Leonardo Da Vinci
V.K. SUBRAMANIAN
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Leonardo da Vinci's (1452 A.D.- 1519 A.D.) painting technique was superb, his draftsmanship unequalled.
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Leonardo da Vinci was truly the Renaissance man: Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Scientist, Engineer and Inventor.
But it is as the Florentine painter who painted the "Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Virgin of the Rocks and Lady with the Ermine" that his immortal fame rests.
Leonardo Da Vinci used to say:
"A painter can only be praised of he is universal." He was really a universal painter.
Leonardo was born at Anchiano on April 15, 1452. His mother was a peasant girl and his father a lawyer. He was a love child. His father took Leonard from his real mother and brought him up as a recognised son but Leonardo did not know his mother. The pent-up yearning for the love of the mother resulted in the series of Madonna and child paintings.
Superb technique
Leonardo's art teacher was Verrochio of Florence. Leonardo took to painting as duck to water. He painted, as a man in love with life. His technique was superb, his draftsmanship unequalled. He was a master of human anatomy.
The painting "Virgin of the Rocks" was commissioned by monks in Milan for a paltry 20 ducats. When Leonardo finished the painting he felt it was worth much more and refused to part with it. A legal battle ensued, lasting 20 years.
Ultimately the King of France bought it and hung in the Louvre where it hangs now.
The famous Mona Lisa painting of the lady with the enigmatic smile also hangs in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
The Last Supper was painted on the walls of a church in Milan where, fully restored, it can be seen today.
Leonardo died on May 2, 1519, in France.
He used to say: "The life well spent is a long life." Leonardo's was a life well spent.
This is an extract from the book The Great Ones by V.K.Subramanian, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi
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