Elena Rossi
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath who is widely known for his paintings. He is considered one of the greatest painters of all time and one of the founding figures of the High Renaissance. While there are less than 20 surviving paintings that can be definitively attributed to him, with several of them being unfinished, his total output in painting is rather small compared to the scope and depth of his other interests and areas of expertise.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total number of paintings | Less than 20 surviving paintings |
| Number of major works | 8 |
| Number of additional works widely attributed to him | 10 |
| Number of works completed in 17 years in Milan | 6 |
| Number of works that have disappeared or were never done | 3 |
| Number of works that are unfinished | Several |
| Number of works that are copies | 2 |
| Number of works that are lost, destroyed, or overpainted | Several |
| Number of works that were completed by assistants | Several |
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What You'll Learn
The Last Supper, 1495–98
Leonardo da Vinci is known for his paintings, with the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper being his most notable works. The Last Supper, created between 1495 and 1498, is a mural painting housed in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting depicts the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as described in the Gospel of John. Specifically, it captures the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him, with Judas sitting on the opposite side of the table.
The Last Supper is considered a masterpiece due to its innovative handling of space, mastery of perspective, depiction of motion, and complex portrayal of human emotion. Leonardo's use of tempera, a medium generally employed for panel painting, on a sealed stone wall was a unique approach. This technique, described by Cennino Cennini in the 14th century, involved applying an undercoat of white lead to enhance the brightness of the tempera.
The painting was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, as part of a plan to renovate the church and its convent buildings. However, the choice of medium and the thin exterior wall it was painted on led to deterioration soon after its completion in 1498. By 1517, the painting had started flaking, and it continued to degrade over time.
Despite the deterioration, The Last Supper remains one of Leonardo da Vinci's most celebrated works and is considered pivotal in transitioning to the High Renaissance style. It has inspired several copies, including two early ones by his assistants, Giampietrino and Cesare da Sesto, which are almost the size of the original and retain a wealth of detail. Another copy from the early 16th century, attributed to Andrea Solari, is on display in the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of the Tongerlo Abbey in Belgium.
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The Virgin of the Rocks, c. 1491/2–99 and 1506–08
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the founding figures of the High Renaissance, and his work has had an enormous influence on subsequent artists. There are fewer than 20 surviving paintings that can be definitively attributed to him, and several of these are unfinished.
The Virgin of the Rocks is one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous paintings. It depicts the apocryphal legend in which the Holy Family meets St. John the Baptist as they flee to Egypt from Herod's Massacre of the Innocents. The painting was commissioned in 1483 for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan, to be the centrepiece of an altarpiece in the church of San Francesco Grande.
The painting was the subject of a payment dispute, and during the 10 years of litigation that followed, Leonardo probably sold the original to a different patron and began work on a second version for the Confraternity. The first version, now in the Louvre, was completed between 1483 and 1494. The second version, now in the National Gallery in London, was begun in the early 1490s and worked on in three phases. Leonardo probably started by painting the angel's delicate gauze sleeve. A few years later, he changed the position of Christ's head, turning it from a three-quarter to a profile view. In 1499, he left Milan for Florence to escape the French invasion of the city, leaving the painting unfinished.
In 1506, the Confraternity demanded that Leonardo return to Milan to complete the work, giving him a two-year deadline. He added a layer of ultramarine to the sky, as specified in the original contract, and made changes to the painting's style. Some areas appear to be unfinished, but this was probably deliberate, drawing attention to the most important features. He was finally paid for the work in 1508.
The London version of the painting is more saturated in colour, with a brighter spotlight, making the anatomy of the figures more pronounced. Leonardo removed some of the archangel's enigmatic qualities, so that in the London version, the angel neither points to John nor looks out at the viewer. This version also includes some symbols that were omitted from the earlier painting, such as thin gold rings for halos for Mary and Jesus, and a staff balanced in John's arm.
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Lady with an Ermine
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance artist, known for his paintings, drawings, and inventions. There are less than 20 surviving paintings that can be attributed to him, and several of these are unfinished.
One of his paintings, "Lady with an Ermine", is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. Gallerani was renowned for her beauty, scholarship, and poetry. She was from a non-noble family and was about sixteen years old when the portrait was painted. The painting is dated to c. 1489-1491, during Leonardo's first Milanese period (c. 1482-1499). It is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood, a material Leonardo favoured but which was not commonly used by other artists in Lombardy. The painting is of particular significance as it includes traditional characteristics of Italian portraiture from the 1430s and 1440s, such as colouring reminiscent of the Florentine quattrocento tradition, yet it also surpasses the traditions of the time.
The ermine, or stoat, in the painting is of symbolic significance. In Renaissance Italy, the ermine was a common motif in representations of chastity. This could be a reference to Gallerani's upcoming marriage to Count Lodovico Bergamino, which took place soon after she gave birth to her son by Ludovico in 1491. The ermine may also symbolise the relationship between Gallerani and Ludovico, as Ludovico was often called "the White Ermine" due to his being granted the Order of the Ermine, a type of knighthood, by the King of Naples in 1488.
The painting was acquired in Italy in 1798 by Prince Adam George Czartoryski and was incorporated into the Czartoryski family collections in 1800. It was sold for €100 million to the Polish government in 2016 and is now housed at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, where it is one of Poland's national treasures.
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The Mona Lisa, c. 1503–19
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the founding figures of the High Renaissance and is best known for his paintings, including the iconic Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, created between 1503 and 1506, is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist. The painting is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance and has been described as "the most visited, the most written about, and the most parodied work of art in the world".
The Mona Lisa is known for its novel qualities, including the enigmatic expression of its subject, the monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism. The painting has traditionally been believed to depict the Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo, and it is painted in oil on a white poplar panel.
The identity of the sitter for the Mona Lisa has been a subject of debate, with some scholars arguing that Lisa del Giocondo was the subject of a different portrait. The Italian name for the painting, "La Gioconda", is a pun on the feminine form of Lisa's married name, Giocondo. The painting's date of creation was confirmed in 2005 when a scholar at Heidelberg University discovered a marginal note in a 1477 printing of a volume by ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. The note, dated October 1503, was written by Leonardo's contemporary Agostino Vespucci and stated that Leonardo was working on a painting of Lisa del Giocondo at that time.
There is some uncertainty regarding the dates of the painting's creation, with the Louvre stating that it was "doubtless painted between 1503 and 1506", while art historian Martin Kemp suggests difficulties in confirming the dates with certainty. Some academics argue that Leonardo would have painted the work after 1513, based on historical documentation. Additionally, there are theories suggesting that Leonardo created two versions of the Mona Lisa, as there is uncertainty regarding its dating, commissioner, and fate following Leonardo's death in 1519.
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Salvator Mundi
Leonardo da Vinci is an Italian Renaissance artist, known for his paintings, drawings, and inventions. He is best known for his paintings, notably the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. There are less than 20 surviving paintings that can be definitely attributed to him, and several of them are unfinished.
One of these paintings is Salvator Mundi, which is Latin for 'Savior of the World'. The painting depicts Jesus Christ in Renaissance attire, making a gesture of blessing with his right hand, while holding a transparent, non-refracting crystal orb in his left hand. This orb, representing the 'celestial sphere' of the heavens, also reflects Leonardo's interest in optics. The painting is believed to have been created between 1499 and 1510, with some sources narrowing this timeframe down to circa 1500.
The attribution of the painting to Leonardo da Vinci has been a subject of debate among art historians and specialists. While some consider it an original work by Leonardo, others believe that he may have only contributed certain elements, or that the extensive restoration makes it difficult to determine the artist conclusively. However, in a consensus decision in 2011, the National Gallery unequivocally attributed the painting to Leonardo. The painting was later sold at Christie's auction house in New York in 2017 for $450.3 million, becoming the most expensive painting ever sold at auction.
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Frequently asked questions
Leonardo da Vinci's total output in painting is rather small. There are less than 20 surviving paintings that can be definitely attributed to him, and several of them are unfinished.
Only around eight major works are universally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and they are: "The Adoration of the Magi", "Saint Jerome in the Wilderness", "The Virgin of the Rocks", "The Last Supper", "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist", "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", and the "Mona Lisa".
Leonardo da Vinci is also known for his drawing of the "Vitruvian Man", which has become a cultural icon. He also created other artworks that are widely attributed to him, including "The Annunciation", "Madonna of the Carnation", "The Baptism of Christ", "Ginevra de' Benci", and "Benois Madonna".
