Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci with titles and description

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 on the 15th of April. He died in 1519, on May 2. This person, of course, can be attributed to the unique talents of our planet. He is known not only as one of the greatest sculptors and artists of Italy, but also as a poet, musician, philosopher, botanist, anatomist, chemist, engineer, researcher, scientist. His discoveries and creations have outstripped the time for more than one era. The main paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with the names we describe in this article.

"Portrait of Ginevra de Benci"

This work was performed approximately in the period from 1474 to 1478. This early work depicts the Florentine poetess who lived in the 15th century. From it we will begin to present you paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with names and descriptions.

Probably, this work can be considered the first psychological portrait in the history of painting. It expresses clearly the mood of sadness, possibly connected with the breakdown of this girl's relationship with Bernardo Bembo, the Venetian ambassador, her lover. Ginevra's pale face with a narrow cut of eyes and broad cheekbones stands out contrastingly against the background of nature - the evening landscape. In the picture we see a juniper bush, called ginoplast. This is a subtle hint at the girl's name. The canvas demonstrates the undoubted technical skill of the artist. With the help of sfumato, black and white modeling, the contours of the figure are softened. At the same time, the author violated the Renaissance tradition existing at the time in portraits. The model is turned to the right, and not to the left, respectively, is also a light source.

The emblem is on the back of this work - a branch of a juniper, placed inside a wreath of palm and laurel branches. "Beauty is the ornament of virtue," says the Latin inscription on the tape that wraps around them.

"Saint Jerome"

We continue to describe the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with the names. The next work was done by the artist in 1482. It is stored in the Vatican Museum. Unfortunately, some of the paintings of this great artist, thinker, scholar of the Renaissance were not finished. To them belongs the painting of interest to us. However, it is a work in which the entire author's intention is already seen. The painting "Saint Jerome" was performed at the level of under-painting.

Description of the picture

It shows Saint Jerome - a translator of the Bible in Latin, a religious thinker, ascetic and ascetic, who retired to the desert where he spent several years. This person is portrayed as penitent. His eyes are pleading. He pulls away his cloak, which is thrown over his shoulder, and draws the other back, swinging to strike his chest with a stone. The muscles of the ascetic, lean face, arms and shoulders are tense, the foot on the large stone stands firmly. A continuous cry of forgiveness is Jerome. In the foreground we see a lion, who, according to legend, accompanied this saint since he met the beast in the desert and met him in the desert. This wild animal submitted to the good and love, with which God filled Jerome's soul.

"Madonna and Child with Saint Anne"

This work, stored today in the Louvre, was performed approximately in 1510 on a popular plot. It depicts the infant Christ with the Holy Virgin and Anna, her mother. From earlier compositions that were static, the arrangement of figures in this group differs. Leonardo da Vinci throughout the first years of the 16th century worked on various versions of this story. So, for example, there is a picture on which a somewhat different interpretation is presented, including John the Baptist in infancy.

Although depicted St.. Anna in place, usual for her, that is behind the holy Virgin, is very realistic and all three figures are alive. Leonardo da Vinci, moving away from the then existing tradition of portraying Anna as an elderly matron, wrote her unexpectedly attractive and young. She at the sight of the baby hardly restrains glee. An allusion to the future role of an innocent victim, the lamb of God for the atonement of sins is the lamb in the embrace of Christ.

"Madonna and Child"

This picture is exhibited in the Hermitage. Years of its creation - 1490-1491. It also has a second name - "Madonna of Lita" by the name of one of the owners of this canvas by Leonardo da Vinci. The title of the painting "Madonna and Child" tells us the story. Every person who looks at the canvas, there is a feeling of sublime calm, contemplative spirituality of silence. In the image of the Madonna, da Vinci combined the earthly, the sensual, the spiritual and the lofty into one unshakable harmonious image of beauty. Her face is serene, and, despite the fact that there is no smile on her lips, the pose and tilt of the head express infinite tenderness towards the child. Madonna nurses the baby. He looks absent-mindedly at the viewer, holding his mother's breast with his right hand. In the left is a bird of the goldfinch, which is a symbol of the Christian soul.

"Madonna of Benoit" ("Madonna and Child")

There are two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci with the names (photo of one of them was presented above), similar to each other. "Madonna and Child" - this is the "Madonna of Benoit," and "Madonna of Lita." We have already met the latter. Tell you about the first. This work is also kept in the Hermitage. The artist completed it in 1478.

This picture is one of the most iconic in his work. The center of the composition is the flower in the hands of Mary, to whom Jesus stretches. The master puts dressed in the Florentine fashion that existed in the 15th century, Madonna, as well as the baby in the room, lit only by a window located in the back of the room. But a soft, other light is pouring from above. He is animating the canvas with the play of chiaroscuro. This gives dimensionality to the figures, reveals the modeling of the form. The picture has a slightly subdued, soft color.

"Mona Lisa"

We continue to describe the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with the names and the year. The next interesting work is now in the Louvre. It was written between 1503 and 1505. In the artist's records there is not a single mention of this work. We are talking, perhaps, about the most famous canvas by Leonardo da Vinci - the painting "Mona Lisa".

Who is depicted in this picture?

There are many versions of the one who is actually pictured in the picture. It was suggested that this is a self-portrait of the artist or his pupil, the image of his mother or simply a collective female image. According to the official opinion, the wife of a Florentine merchant is represented in the picture. On the lips of this woman, the famous smile and the enigma that pervaded her face froze. It seems that the viewer is not looking at her, but she is watching him with an understanding, deep gaze.

Extremely thin, almost transparent layers made a picture. It seems that it is alive, and not painted. So small are the smears that neither x-ray rays nor the microscope reveal traces of the artist's work and can not determine the number of layers in the picture. Extremely airy "Gioconda". A light haze filled the space of the picture. It transmits scattered light.

"Annunciation"

The main paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with the names that we presented in this article, conclude with a description of the next painting. This work can be admired in the Uffizi Gallery. It was written in 1472.

Above the canvas the master worked while still in the workshop of Verrocchio. The artist had to finish this painting, started by other students, and also to correct their mistakes. Leonardo performed several sketches, which depicted the cloak of Mary, as well as the robes of the archangel Gabriel. He rewrote draperies on the basis of these drawings. They are the result of voluminous folds. After that, the master wrote Gabriel's head anew, slightly bending it, but did not make the change to the image of Maria. Her posture does not look natural. Probably, the one who worked on the canvas before Leonardo did not know the laws of perspective very well. However, in an unexpected way, all these errors show how difficult was the mastery of realistic painting.

These are the main paintings of Leonardo da Vinci with names and descriptions. We tried to briefly talk about them. Of course, the name of the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci in English sounds different, as in the Italian, the language of the artist himself. However, each person, regardless of nationality, is able to imbue with these great works. Many Englishmen, for example, do not need to see the name of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings in English. They already know what kind of work this is. The works of the great artist are so popular that they often need no introduction.