Ch.22 Favorite Works

Leonardo Da Vinci, Madonna and Child with Saint Anne and Infant Saint John, ca. 1505-1507, 4' 6" x 3' 3", charcoal heightened with brown and white paper

This is the first image used in our text that depicts and image in charcoal. The use of the charcoal gives the image a very dark and haunting feeling especially with the shadows around the eyes of the characters. Using brown and white paper allows for natural highlights which are brought back with the heavy black shading of the charcoal. Leonardo is famous for his depictions of the human form and the extreme likeness and realism captured in his works and this image is no different.


Leonardo Da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, ca.1485-1490, 1' 1 1/2" x 9 5/8", pen and ink on paper

One of Da Vinci's most iconic images is that of the, Vitruvian Man. There is something about this image that draws my attention and makes me wonder while I view the image. I find it interesting how the arms and legs line up with the edges of the circle and square but also how the circle lines up with the base of the square but goes beyond the borders of the other three sides. Da Vinci, again captures the image of man in great detail with the layering of muscles on top of each other and the tension of muscles as they are moved and holding up an individual. The paper adds some since of shading and he provides highlights where needed. It amazes me that Leonardo was able to make this image with only pen and ink.