by Shana Priwer
While Leonardo focused most of his attention on drawing, painting, and designing, he kept up his skills with the lyre, prompting Michelangelo, one of Leonardo's biggest rivals, to refer to Leonardo as “that lyre-player from Milan.” During his patronage years with the Sforza family, Leonardo was sent to Milan to play the lyre for Ludovico Sforza. The soon-to-be duke had fought (and won) political battles to reach this new station in life, and a celebration was warranted. For the occasion, Leonardo brought a special lyre he had made himself. It was silver, designed in the shape of a horse's head—pretty spectacular, since most lyres of the day were of a simple wooden design. His performance was rumored to have been far better than those of the court musicians, endearing Leonardo to the royal family (but perhaps not to the musicians). He was also known for making up his own songs, complete with rhyming lyrics, on the spur of the moment. Perhaps he was the world's first improvisational artist!
Some historians think Leonardo not only played instruments, he helped design them, in particular an early predecessor to the violin. The Medieval period saw the development of stringed instruments with bridges. (A bridge is a vertical piece of wood that the strings are stretched across; they allow bowing in addition to plucking.) The first real predecessor to the violin is called the viola de gamba, which was first created in the fifteenth century and became more popular in the seventeenth century. During his lifetime, Leonardo built several string instruments, and his notes indicate an interest in studying their acoustical properties. Leonardo's studies in tone, sound, and related instrument properties surely influenced the artists who would go on to create the violin, cello, and other stringed instruments. Some of the first violins were created by Gasparo da Solo (1542–1609), and while da Solo was born after Leonardo's death, Leonardo may have had conversations with da Solo's father.
Part 5
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHAT ELSE
What fun is being a genius if there's no one to brag to? Leonardo's work was of legendary appeal, but he wasn't the only great Renaissance artist. Some of the others were his friends, some were his enemies, and some he barely knew. His most famous rivalry was probably with Michelangelo, creator of David and purveyor of the fig leaf. While these two legends competed for a variety of projects, fortunately, Leonardo's relationships with other contemporaries were more collaborative. For instance, he probably studied with Botticelli when both were apprenticed to Verrocchio's studio. Even though Leonardo had less interaction with other Renaissance artists like Titian, his own style and influence were pervasive.
Other Renaissance giants included Machiavelh, with whom Leonardo apparently had a cordial relationship. Machiavelh even recommended Leonardo for at least one commission! There's nothing like having friends in high places, and Leonardo always made sure to nurture relationships that would help his career.
In spite of Leonardo's wide range of interests, he was relatively ignorant of other major discoveries of the day, such as the heliocentric solar system of Copernicus and Columbus's discovery of the Americas. We don't have much record of these events in his notebooks and don't have any other way of telling how much Leonardo knew about world science and politics. However, it is likely that Leonardo was affected by the religious turmoil of the day, which gave rise to the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther and John Calvin. These events postdate Leonardo's career slightly, though the growing battle within the Catholic Church probably influenced him. Between indulgences and the Ninety-five Theses, it's hard to imagine that Leonardo could shove his head in the sand and ignore what was going on.
Although we can't know for sure what precisely Leonardo knew about the world around him, the response Leonardo invoked from his contemporaries is quite well known. Fortunately, history has been kind to his reputation and many different scholars have studied Leonardo, Freud in particular.
It should come as no surprise that Freud focused on Leonardo's psychosexual development, coming to some interesting (if not true) conclusions. What is it they say about opinions, that everybody has one? Freud expressed his loud and clear, and it makes for a very interesting interpretation of Leonardo's personal life.
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Michelangelo: The Renaissance's "other great artist"
Was anyone greater than Leonardo? A better painter, per chance? We're not saying, but Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) might! He was one of the major architectural/artistic forces in the Renaissance—in addition to Leonardo, of course. Michelangelo was born in Florence and apprenticed at age thirteen to painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. While working in the Medici's sculpture gardens, he began creating marble relief sculptures, which gave a glimpse into his future talent. He moved to Rome in 1496, where he sculpted such masterpieces as Pieta (1498–1500). His return to Florence was marked by his 1501 creation of the marble David, perhaps his best-known sculpture. Michelangelo then went back to Rome in 1505 at the request of Pope Julius II. After beginning design and sculpture on the pope's enormous tomb, he started work on the painting of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. These intricately detailed scenes from the book of Genesis kept him busy between 1508 and 1512, as he spent days upon days painting on his back.
Around 1519 Michelangelo began to shift his focus to architecture. He designed a new façade for the Florentine Church of San Lorenzo as well as the abutting Laurentian Library. Between 1519 and 1534, he worked on the Medici Tombs, designing both the architecture and the sculpture within. He was in Rome again by 1536, working on The Last Judgment fresco for the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo's best-known architectural work was at St. Peter's Basilica. Like Leonardo, Michelangelo was related to the Energizer Bunny and kept going and going—despite his age! He was still an active artist late in his life, creating frescoes for the Vatican's Pauline Chapel.
There is nothing like good rivalry to make you want to work hard and succeed, and Renaissance artists were subject to more than a little healthy competition. There is even a rumor that Michelangelo may have mocked Leonardo about the failure of his massive equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza! While they knew each other by reputation, it appears Leonardo and Michelangelo may not have crossed paths until 1500, in Florence. The two had much in common; they were two of the most celebrated architects and artists of the day, and various ruling parties recognized their fame. Both created pieces of historic proportions, and both were prolific with their skills. Additionally, they were both leading the way in terms of anatomical research; their representations of animals and people were far superior to most of those done by their contemporaries.
Leonardo and Michelangelo had at least one project in common: At the Palazzo Vecchio, in 1503, both won commissions for murals to be themed with Florentine military victories. Leonardo's design was a representation of the Battle of Anghiari, a scene in which the Florentines defeat Pisa. Leonardo completed sketches for this painting, but unfortunately, the painting itself suffered from yet another of Leonardo's design innovations, and nothing remains of it today (see number 32). Michelangelo's mural would have represented the Battle of Cascina, but his also only remains in cartoon form since Pope Julius II called him away before he was able to create the actual painting. This project seemed cursed from the beginning! Michelangelo and Leonardo must have had at least one other run-in around this time, since Leonardo was on the 1502 committee to decide where to place Michelangelo's David.
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The young master Raphael
Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where you were the undisputed champion in all things, and there was no one to challenge your greatness? Unfortunately Leonardo didn't live in such a world. As one of the great artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo had some powerful rivals. One of the most famous painters during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was Raphael, or Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520). Though he only lived for thirty-seven years and didn't produce the same volume of work as his rivals, Raphael created some of the best-known frescoes from the Renaissance period.
Like Leonardo, Raphael wasn't born with a silver s
poon in his mouth. He spent his early years in the city of Urbino, where he was already becoming recognized for his artistic abilities. Around 1495, he moved to Perugia, and by 1502 he earned a commission to paint for the Oddi Chapel in the San Francesco church, from which he produced The Coronation of the Virgin. This painting was followed by The Marriage of the Virgin in 1504, which shows a detailed attention to both the perspective and the quality of the figures; they appear mobile, attentive, and genuinely involved in the scene.
By 1504, Raphael had moved to Florence. Could he have lived in ignorance of Leonardo's and Michelangelo's respective masterpieces? Probably not, and odds are that he moved there to work closer to these great masters. Leonardo's influence is evident in several of Raphael's paintings of the Madonna. These include the Madonna del Prato (1505), Madonna of the Goldfinch (1505), and Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John (1505–1507). Raphael typically used a rolling, somewhat fantastic landscape setting for his Madonna paintings, indicating that he had carefully studied Leonardo's emphasis on botany and nature. It appears that Leonardo's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne served as a model for Raphael—many of his paintings imitate the figural style that Leonardo used in that work.
All good artists had to be willing to pack up and move on at a moment's notice, and Raphael was no exception. Pope Julius II called him to Rome in 1508, and off he went to create murals for the papal residency in the Vatican. His major paintings for this period include the Stanza della Segnatura and the Stanza d'Eliodoro. The size, quality, and attention to detail of these murals are truly remarkable. Their subject matters stems from both ancient Rome and the Bible. The walls are a living testament to the history, culture, and variety that characterizes the Renaissance.
Like Leonardo, Raphael was a true Renaissance spirit: He could do more than just paint and was determined to showcase his abilities. After Bramante's death in 1514, Pope Leo X gave Raphael more responsibilities as a court architect. The transition was natural, since Raphael was already working on St. Peter's Basilica alongside Bramante. He was then involved with excavations around Rome, searching for remains from classical antiquity. Raphael likely had much interaction with Leonardo da Vinci during this period, since he was also in Rome under the patronage of Giuliano de Medici (brother of Pope Leo X). So how was Raphael different from every other great Renaissance painter? He set himself apart from the crowd with the overall tone of his paintings. While Raphael had a bright, upbeat and even lighthearted style, Leonardo (and Michelangelo) tended to portray the darker side of humanity.
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Botticelli on a half-shell
The Renaissance art explosion made room for plenty of up-and-coming artists to crawl out of the woodwork. Along with Leonardo, another Florentine artistic force was Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510). His father was a craftsman, and Botticelli was surrounded by artistic culture his entire life. Like Leonardo, he went the apprenticeship route and had several masters early on, including Fra Filippo Lippi and Antonio del Pollaiuolo. Pollaiuolo was an engraver (an unusual choice of master for a young painter), and Botticelli got an unusual education there. Also like Leonardo, Botticelli worked in Andrea Verrocchio's studio for a time. Was it something in the water or was Verrocchio just an amazing teacher?
By the time he was twenty-five, Botticelli had his own workshop in Florence. While Leonardo worked for various rulers and popes over the course of his life, Botticelli stuck mainly within wealthy, powerful Florentine families such as the Medicis. He had a better reputation for finishing his projects and probably didn't have to keep switching employers! One of Botticelli's most famous portraits was of Giuliano de Medici. This painting, from 1475, is thought to be the most accurate painting in existence of this powerful Renaissance figure. It's more stylized than Leonardo's works, though, and it doesn't match the skill and technological mastery of Leonardo's works.
Like Leonardo, Botticelli also painted a version of the Adoration of the Magi. His version was commissioned for the Epiphany Chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella. This tempera-on-wood painting is closer to completion than Leonardo's version and, like Leonardo's, contains a self-portrait of the artist amongst the crowd.
In 1482 Botticelli created his best-known painting, The Birth of Venus. It's studied in virtually every art history class today and is one of the most recognized icons of the Renaissance. This painting shows Venus standing on a shell as she rises from the sea and nymphs wait for her arrival onto land. Venus (also known as Aphrodite) was the ancient goddess of love; renowned for her beauty, she is rendered here with grace and elegance.
One of the things that makes Botticelli so interesting is that he painted both pagan and Catholic scenes with equal skill. On the Catholic side, he painted a beautiful series of Madonnas, including the Madonna of the Pomegranate from 1486. The colors are bright and the figures sharply defined; Mary is seen with a faint glow over her head. Botticelli also painted religious frescoes of saints, including St. Augustine (1480) and St. Sebastian (1473). In one of his few ventures outside of Florence, Botticelli went to Rome in 1483 to help decorate the Sistine Chapel. His presence was requested by none other than Pope Sixtus IV, and he went alongside Ghirlandaio, Rosselli, and Perugino as part of a team of artists. Their work along the walls took only a year; the Sistine Chapel is, however, much better known for its ceiling painted by Michelangelo.
Botticelli had a crisis of faith in his later years, and some historians think that he joined the religious reformation in following the teachings of Girolamo Savonarola. This priest (who was eventually excommunicated and hanged) was responsible for the 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities, in which he and his followers collected and burned items associated with moral weakness: mirrors, poetry, art, and anything that may have had a “pagan” association. While Botticelli's actual involvement with Savonarola would have been minimal, it is thought that he did begin to question Italy's heavily Christian influence.
A major difference between Botticelli and Leonardo can be seen in their travels (or lack thereof). Botticelli remained in Florence for much of his life and missed out on any sort of real multi-cultural experience. Leonardo, on the other hand, spent years in many different cities throughout his career. He gained exposure to critics, earning the respect and admiration of the clergy and powerful families. He observed people from many walks of life, learning the music and culture of his international contemporaries.
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Titian: His own personal giant
Leonardo da Vinci spent most of his career working in Milan and Rome. However, he didn't have the market cornered on Italian art! Titian (1490–1576), another artistic hero of the Renaissance, was Venice's major player. Titian's work complemented Leonardo and the other Renaissance greats, though they may not have met during their lifetimes. These two giants, with a little help from their friends, created the aura of the Renaissance art that we know and admire today.
Titian (whose full name was Tiziano Vecellio) was born near Venice. Like most Renaissance greats, he was tagged to be an artist early in life and was apprenticed to Gentile Bellini. Later he was apprenticed to Gentile's brother, Giovanni. He worked on several different paintings with the Bellini brothers and based his own style around his masters'. Titian's first known work was a series of frescoes on the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. A variety of painters worked on these frescoes, so historians struggle to identify precisely which paintings were done by Titian. One that is usually attributed to him is the Fête Champêtre of 1510. The scene combines nature and mythology: Lush landscapes and herdsmen are seen next to nude Poetry Muses.
Titian's next works were frescoes for the Scuola del Santa, which represent scenes from the miracles of St. Anthony. These works also show a symbiosis between a highly stylized landscape and a humanlike God. Titian continued this theme in 1518, when he painted bacchanalia scenes for the palace of the Duke Alfonso d'Este. One of these, Bacchus and Ariadne, is especially representative of Titian's style; bright colors separate the figures in the scene, and
he fully captures the wildness of Dionysus and his followers. Titian is perhaps best known for these paintings because he was one of the first to show the revelry of bacchanalia in a distinctly Renaissance humanist setting. His work demonstrates daring accompanied by amazing skill: a winning combination!
An interesting note is that Titian's use of color here (among many other paintings) is more dramatic and even more cutting edge than Leonardo's. Bright colors were expensive to create, so most artists used the pigments that were available locally. Working with Venetian raw materials, Titian developed both bright and dark colors that really grabbed (and still grab!) the viewer's attention. One of his shades of auburn is so original that it is known today as simply “titian.”
In addition to paintings of frivolity set in the rural countryside, Titian painted a number of religious scenes. The Assumption of the Virgin (1516–1518) was one of his first works that was clearly non-Venetian in nature, which gave him more credibility with guildsmen and patrons from other areas. The apostles in the scene are rendered in powerful motion, similar to the religious painting style of masters such as Raphael. The force and tension in the scene became a distinguishing characteristic of Titian's later religious paintings.
As he moved further into his career, Titian's paintings reflected a calmer atmosphere. The Venus of Urbino (1538–1539) was done for a specific client: Guidobaldo della Rovere, heir to the Duke of Urbino. The Venus conveys an intimacy seen only rarely in other works. Titian was, like most other Renaissance painters, also a capable portrait artist. By 1516 he had been named the state painter of Venice, and in the 1540s he traveled to Rome to do a portrait of Pope Paul III (it is thought that he may have met Michelangelo during this period).