Lesson 1 - Da Vinci - Bruce

He was known as the ultimate Renaissance man, a man of mystery and secrets, with the skill to think beauty and create it on a canvas. In this video, I was taken through the life of Leonardo Da Vinci through the help of Fiona Bruce. In the beginning of the video we are informed that there are no more than 15 paintings by Da Vinci scattered all around the world, however New York City contained a newly discovered painting by Leonardo. This painting of Christ, known as the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), is most likely the Lost Painting of Leonardo Da Vinci. Through this video I was shown this history of Da Vinci, his residence of work and personal life, the locations of some of his most famous work, the upcoming exhibition of Leonardo and his paintings, and whether or not the Salvator Mundi was really the work of Leonardo.

What they said in this video that interested me was the complete life of Leonardo Da Vinci, and speaking of the kind of man he was. An example being that he was very mysterious and secretive. Some thought he was unreliable and had a flaky reputation, yet he was exceptionally talented. Da Vinci was also known for many other things besides painting. In the video it shows a letter he had written to Duke Ludovico Sforza asking for employment and introducing himself as an inventor and maker of weaponry, with an infinite amount of attack and defense. In the letter he also stated he was an artist but it was the last thing he mentioned almost as if he was downplaying his talent or trying to avoid it because he didn't think he would be up to par to the duke's work standard. 

A fact that I found most interested was in regards to Da Vinci's work ethic. As stated already people thought he was unreliable and it took him a very long time to finish commissions. Sometimes he never finished the projects and Leonardo was left with many unfinished works. Luke Syson, Curator of the National Gallery, stated, "He started a picture and simply didn't know how to finish. He would bite off more than he could but he was intimidated of himself and what he could do." Yet, despite this, at the hand of Leonardo Da Vinci some of the greatest paintings in the world had arisen. But even his work ethic showed in them too. For example, in his painting of the Last Supper, only 20% of the original painting remains intact and that is because the greco painting and Leonardo's laziness and indistinguishable time frame did not mix well. Another example, is the painting Francesco del Giocondo asked for of his wife. However, he never received the painting because Da Vinci took it with him when he left Florence for good. Of course, this painting was none other than the Mona Lisa. Despite how he functioned as an artist, these characteristics gave him an edgy, almost rebellious quality because he did everything on his own terms and not when people told him to, and he produced some of the most subtle and intricately beautiful paintings this world has seen.

I liked this video most because it provided a story and a mystery with the life of Da Vinci and the outcome of whether or not the Salvator Mundi was in fact one of his own. The simple explanation as to how was determined to be was given by Martin Kemp, "Let's look for what's wrong with it and in this case I couldn't find anything."