LEONARDO THE ARTIST

Only 15 paintings survive that can definitely be attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and yet he is deservedly considered one of the greatest painters of all time.

At age 16, Leonardo was apprenticed to Florence's leading sculptor, Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo's brilliance soon eclipsed that of his master and in 1472 he completed work on the kneeling angel in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ. He then began painting the magnificent Adoration of the Magi but abandoned it unfinished as he would so many other projects.

The Adoration is a spectacular demonstration of Leonardo's mastery of the then new science of perspective. His ability to control and unify a composition with perspective climaxed in the fresco the Last supper.

Leonardo's study of atmosphere made him aware of 'aerial perspective', where colour on objects pales to suggest distance. In the Mona Lisa, both figure and landscape are veiled in a haze termed sfumato, literally 'smoky'.

For Leonardo, both art and science were ways of exploring the world around him.

500 Harris Street Ultimo, PO Box K346 Haymarket, Sydney NSW 1238, Australia.
NSW Government | About this website | Privacy statement

all contents © copyright Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum collection index