Bibliograph

The shadow drawing, how science taught Leonardo how to paint, Francesca Fiorani

Type

Label

The shadow drawing, how science taught Leonardo how to paint, Francesca Fiorani

Language

eng

Bibliography note

"Bibliography: A history of Leonardo da Vinci's interest in optical science and its influence on his art"-- Provided by publisherIncludes bibliographical references (pages 303-349) and index

Illustrations

platesillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The shadow drawing

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1136961986

Responsibility statement

Francesca Fiorani

Sub title

how science taught Leonardo how to paint

Summary

Leonardo da Vinci has long been celebrated for his consummate genius. He was the painter who gave us the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and the inventor who anticipated the advent of airplanes, hot air balloons, and other technological marvels. But what was the connection between Leonardo the painter and Leonardo the scientist? Historians of Renaissance art have long supposed that Leonardo became increasingly interested in science as he grew older and turned his insatiable curiosity in new directions. They have argued that there are, in effect, two Leonardos--an artist and an inventor. In this pathbreaking new interpretation, the art historian Francesca Fiorani offers a different view. Taking a fresh look at Leonardo's celebrated but challenging notebooks, as well as other sources, Fiorani argues that Leonardo became familiar with advanced thinking about human vision when he was still an apprentice in a Florence studio, and used his understanding of optical science to develop and perfect his painting techniques. For Leonardo, the task of the painter was to capture the interior life of a human subject, to paint the soul. And even at the outset of his career, he believed that mastering the scientific study of light, shadow, and the atmosphere was essential to doing so. Eventually, he set down these ideas in a book--A Treatise on Painting--that he considered his greatest achievement, though it would be disfigured, ignored, and lost in subsequent centuries

Table Of Contents

How science taught Leonardo how to paint -- How Leonardo painted -- How Leonardo taught the science of art -- How Leonardo's science of art was lost and found

Classification