East Wing - Leonardo
This area contains traditional oil paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. Larger views are available by clicking on the "postage stamp" images.
Angels and Landscape of the Baptism of Christ (c. 1473-8)
Florence, Uffizi
Oil on Wood Panel, 70" x 59"
When Leonardo worked under Verrocchio he participated in many works including this painting of two angels. Leonardo painted the angel on the left, which differs stylistically from its companion on the right. The background bears a close similarity to sketches Leonardo did of the Arno river valley. It is generally accepted as Leonardo's earliest surviving painted work. The painting was done for the monastery at San Salvi.
Detail from the Annuciation
Florence, Uffizi
Oil on Wood Panel, 38" x 85"
Painted for the convent of San Bartolomeo di Moneoliveto between 1475 and 1478, it has only been definitely accepted as one of Leonardo's works since 1869. Some believe the painting was started by Ghirlandaio and completed by Leonardo, though a complete sketch of the sleeve by Leonardo exists and it is this sketch, including the flowing ribbon, which forms the basis for the painting's attribution to Leonardo.
Adoration of the Magi (1481)
Florence, Uffizi
Oil on Wood Panel
Leonardo's first large group painting, commissioned by the monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence, this incomplete painting was abandoned when Leonardo left Florence for Milan in 1481-2. Still, it is easy to visualize the intended image from the brown tones and layout.
St. Jerome (c. 1482)
Rome, Vatican Museum
Oil on Wood Panel, 40" x 29"
Another unfinished work, from around 1481-2. It was found in a junk shop in Rome in 1820 by Cardinal Fesch, in two parts. One half had been used as a tabletop. Only parts of the drawing have completed, while other areas, such as the church in the vacant area on the right, are merely sketched in. There is much in common with the style of Leonardo's anatomical drawings.
The Virgin of the Rocks (c. 1483)
Paris, Musee du Louvre
Oil on Wood, 78" x 48"
This painting was done during Leonardo's first years in Milan. This painting formed the central panel in the altarpiece commissioned in 1483 by the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan. It appears that the panel was sold privately when the brotherhood refused to meet the painter's request for further fees. Later, to fulfill the contract, Leonardo painted a second version now on display in the National Gallery in London.
The Virgin and Child with St. Anne (c. 1508)
Paris, Musee du Louvre
Oil on Wood Panel, 66" x 44"
Leonardo was commissioned to do this work for the church at Sts. Annunziata in Florence. In 1501 the design which served as a basis for this painting was displayed to the public, with an enthusiastic response. (See below)
Virgin with St. Anne, the Child and St. John (C. 1505)
London, National Gallery
Charcoal on Brown Paper, 54" x 39"
This image was part of the preparation for "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne"
Mona Lisa (1504-13)
Paris, Louvre
Oil on Wood Panel
The exact identity of the model for this painting is not known. Leonardo never consigned the work, which he kept as one of his most cherished posessions. It was Leonardo's biographer Vasari who identified the woman as Madonna Lisa, wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo de Zanobi del Giacondo; which is where the painting got its name. Unfortunately, Vasari had never seen the painting and we have no idea whether his identification was correct. Others have suggested that the model may have been the Duchess of Burgundy, wife of Louis XII, Leonardo's French patron.
The Last Supper (1497)
Milan, Refectory of S. Maria delle Grazie
Fresco
Here Christ is surrounded by the Apostles, in Leonardo's most famous religious painting. Serious deterioration due to humidity resulted in the caused the owners to have it restored several times. Leonardo tried a new technique using tempera paint on stone with a base of gesso, pitch and mastic. This base ws supposed to seal out moisture and provide an even working surface. Unfortunately, it was an unsatisfactory mixture and the image started to deteriorate almost as soon as it was completed. Subsequently a door was cut through the image (1652) and the image continued to degrade. In 1726 Michelangelo Belotti attempted to restore the image using oil paints mistakenly believing Leonardo had done this with the original. Belotti also covered the image in a thick coat of varnish. In 1770 Guiseppe Mazza scraped off Belotti's restorations and repainted portions of the image. In 1821 Stefano Barezzi attempted to move the entire painting to a more suitable location. He had beenable to remove other frescoes because they were painted on a separate layer of plaster. Leonardo didn't use plaster so the technique only allowed Barezzi to destroy a portion of the tablecloth and one of Christ's hands. These were restored.
This was followed up in 1796 when Napoleon's troops used the refectory where the painting stands as a barn; but the most notable damage to the building was done by allied bombing in 1943 during the second World War.
Despite this turbulent history and moisture damage that continues to this day, "The Last Supper" remains one of Leonardo's most famous and popular images.
Baptism of Christ (1470)
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Leonardo worked with Andrea Verrrocchio's workshop, which produced this well known painting, originally commissioned for the monastic church of S. Salvi outside Florence. It is considered unfinished. Vasari (a renaissance historian) says that "Leonardo painted an angel holding some clothes and, although quite young, he made it far better than the figures of Andrea [Verrocchio]. The latter would never afterwards touch colors, chagrined that a child should know more than he."
The Benois Madonna (1480)
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
This product of Leonardo's early Florentine period shows a very common theme; Leonardo produced others that are nearly identical.
Virgin and Child with Vase of Flowers (c. 1475)
Munich, Alte Pinakothek
Oil on Wood Panel, 24 1/2" x 18 3/4"
This painting shows the subtleties in light that Leonardo was known for; along with an imaginative background. Some parts may have been by Lorenzo di Credi.
Virgin and Child
Another familiar theme in Leonardo's work.
This exhibit was brought to you as a public service by Jim Pickrell of Leonardo Internet.
