In historical science there is a very conditional date for the end of the Middle Ages - 1456. They are replaced by the Renaissance, which began primarily in Italy, when there was a great interest in antiquity with its achievements in various fields of culture and social activity.
High Renaissance
In Italy, torn by internal contradictions and feudal wars, a surge of spirituality suddenly occurs - the Renaissance of Leonardo da Vinci. At the same time, the gloomy Michelangelo walks through the streets and merry, surrounded by a company of friends, Raphael. In Florence, they simultaneously receive an order for the painting of the Cathedral of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and the young budding official Niccolo Machiavelli is charged with overseeing the work . Well, isn't that an outburst of spirituality? The beauty ideals of antiquity with its finely tuned mathematical proportions of statues and buildings become a model for artists. But they approach this creatively, with great imagination, borrowing only what they consider possible and appropriate, creatively reworking the Greco-Roman heritage.
Leonardo's creative heritage
The genius of this man extended to almost all areas of engineering and painting. He positioned himself mainly not as a painter, which was less in demand, but as an engineer who knew how to create weapons, for example, or as a culinary specialist who brought new inventions and dishes to the kitchen. In Milan, he was, among other things, the steward of the duke's table. He watched both the serving of the banquet tables and the cooking. The engineering achievements of Leonardo da Vinci include numerous drawings on which you can build an airplane.
A man must fly, this genius considered. His engineering inventions include a parachute, a telescope with two lenses, light portable walkways for the army and much more. In his knowledge of anatomy, he was three hundred years ahead of his time. Living in France in recent years, Leonardo da Vinci organized court holidays, created a plan for the new royal palace, at the same time changed the channel of two rivers and planned a canal between them.
Art
For some internal reasons, art was of little interest to Leonardo da Vinci. The works that have come down to our times are relatively few.
It must also be emphasized that the only portrait of Leonardo, perhaps, does not depict him. Da Vinci worked slowly, and devoted little time to painting. But his developments in the field of the art are so great and significant that they are at an unattainable height up to the present day. Its blurry lines, the airspace surrounding all the figures and objects in the images - this is how we see the objects depicted in life.
Notebooks
He wore them all the time and wrote down his thought in secret letters, invented, of course, by himself. No one has yet fully deciphered the records of Leonardo da Vinci. Over the course of his life, about one hundred and twenty such books have been collected, in which both fables and anecdotes are recorded. They have drawings, sketches. Leonardo considered the main thing not book knowledge, but the knowledge of laws and things. His desire to move science forward turned out to be very great.
Manuscripts
The manuscripts of Leonardo survived to our days, which he wrote not with his right, but with his left hand. He did not print them, although in the last years of his life such thoughts occurred to him. He did not write in scientific Latin, but in the spoken Italian of his time - concisely, briefly, accurately. His language is rich, bright and expressive.
Therefore, in addition to historical and scientific, records have artistic value. For our contemporaries, his treatise on painting is still relevant. We have heard his fables and humorous stories, as well as prophecies and allegories, epigrams.
Painting on blackboard
The painting "John the Baptist" by Leonardo da Vinci painted in walnut oil on wood in the years 1508-1513. Its size is 69 x 57 cm. I must say that in those days, the materials for painting had a completely different attitude. Oil stood and bleached in the sun for about fifty years. For sixty, or even more, years, the boards dried. And the artist composed the paints himself, using crystals crushed into powder.
So, the description of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci "John the Baptist."
Young John in a half-turn is depicted on a dark background. Light falls on him on the left. With the index finger of his right hand, he points to the cross, its typical attribute, and to heaven, as if inviting the viewer to reflect on the coming of Christ and prepare for his coming. John the Baptist Leonardo da Vinci speaks to the viewer with his eyes, smiling tenderly. His appearance is characteristic of the mature Leonardo. Hermit's clothing is a fur hide in which he is not completely covered. The right shoulder with the correct proportions remained bare. John the Baptist Leonardo da Vinci has long curly hair that flows down over his shoulders. The model was supposedly served by his apprentice Salai. The transitions from light to shadows are subtle and sophisticated. This is the famous sfumato, which, with soft and gentle transitions between light and dark tones, emphasizes the plasticity and roundness of perfect forms, and also reflects the spiritual state of the saint. On the canvas, it is simply impossible to detect brush marks.
The first mention of the painting "John the Baptist" by Leonardo da Vinci dates back to 1517. After the death of Leonardo, this work became the property of his student Salai, who made a copy for himself, and it was well preserved. And after his death, relatives sold the original to Francis I in France. So this work was in the Louvre. But later it was resold to England in the collection of Charles I. After the king was executed, she was already in Germany, but no later than 1666 she was bought by agents of Louis XIV, and she reappears in France. And now it is in the exposition of the Louvre.