Leonardo da Vinci
1452-1519
BIOGRAPHYBorn in Florence, Italy, Leonardo was apprenticed at the age of 14 to Andrea di Cione, a successful artist of the time. At Andrea di Cione's workshop Leonardo learned many techniques that would later influence his many studies. After becoming a member of the Guild of St Luke, a guild of artists and doctors in medicine, Leonardo set up his own workshop. He spent many years on projects including murals, statues, paintings, engineering military vehicles, organizing and investigating the human anatomy, and experiments with chemicals. Retiring to France in his later years and eventually dying there, he left behind a legacy of information.
an invention-
what many don't know about da Vinci is his study of color theory and how we apply it to the world around us...
chiaroscuro- (meaning light to dark in italian) contrast between light and dark.
Leonardo da Vinci developed the idea of chiaroscuro to create 3-Dimensional objects on a 2-Dimensional surface.
The characters in this painting appear more realistic because of the use of light. Shadows create another dimension and the characters are lifted from the painting. The brightness of the "angel's" skin exaggerates even more the realism of this painting.
Leonardo also developed 5 basic tonal values of an object:
Highlight, direct light, reflected light, shadow, and cast shadow.
highlight - the area of most intense light on a form
direct light - light coming from a source, shown on an object
reflected light - light shown on a source that is not absorbed, but bounced off of the source
shadow - the absence of light on an object
cast shadow - the absence of light portrayed on an object, due to another object
These shapes show a very simple yet implicit look at the 5 basic tonal values that Leonardo developed.
Another theory that da Vinci developed was a 6 'simple' color theory. his theory described how any color could be created from the 6 basic colors of white, yellow, green, blue, black, and red. He utilized this theory to create the Mona Lisa.
These theories that Leonardo developed were utilized by many artists who proceeded him. Though his ideas were simple, he was the first to token them with key terms and specifications. Even today, the term chiaroscuro, is used to describe not only the difference between light and dark, but it is also used in literature to describe one of the basic themes, "good vs. evil".
da Vinci's life work assessed many different social aspects. His color theories not only applied to art, but to the world around us that we see with our own two eyes. His work was very intelligent and advanced for his time, for no one had necessarily applied theories to art. Until his findings, no one had really seen art from a "scientific" point of view.
Today - Leonardo's discoveries are used today to help guide artists to make strong works of art. The portrayal of lightness and darkness in art is what makes a strong and accurate piece. When filming movies, lighting is such an important thing to make accurate in shots, that often there is an entire team dedicated to creating the correct lighting. Photographers must adjust light exposure when taking photographs. Leonardo's ideas have been used and are being used today to develop digital cameras that automatically find the perfect lighting for a photograph. Due to the simplicity of his theories, applying them to future technology is hard, considering the idea of light and dark is so general. We must all just cross our fingers and hope that we always have chiaroscuro, because without light we wouldn't be able to see in the dark.
7 comments:
Sweet video and that's very interesting that Da Vinci came up with the 3D idea.
9. Your theories on how color will be used within future generations.
10. How will color theory be used in future technologies?
Very well written and informative. Thank you. You wrote " da Vinci's life work assessed many different social aspects." Can you explain this more? How did his life work assess social aspects?
You've done a fine job, discussing da Vinci, although keep in mind that when discussing Da Vinci's six colors that black is not really considered a color but rather an absence of color. When you paint, I'd suggest that you never use a tube black, as it's flat and will dull your painting. Instead mix black from alizarin crimson, veridian and ultramarine blue and you'll get a black with a beautiful depth of color.
I've gotten the impression that Professor Groat is not a fan of French Impressionism, however I would think a study color theory is incomplete without at least giving a passing glance to the French Impressionists, as they revolutionized painting by using color to replace value within their landscapes. I've written a short post on the Impressionists in my paint blog, feel free to visit here;
http://paintdance.blogspot.com/2006/09/remembering-you-mr-monet.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/67rdq8
Keep up the good work. Looks like an "A" to me!
Very comprehensive study here..well done. I wanted to follow up Paintdancers comments about the use of Black. Although I currently use the exact mixture she uses to mix my blacks (Aliz Crim, Ultra blue and Viridian)it's my personal choice and happens to work for me and what I'm currently trying to say with paint. However, in my opinion, this notion of ruling out using black from the tube is a poor idea. I used to use it with success and there is a lenghty list of legendary painters who have and many contemporary greats who still do. To rule anything out in painting is a bad idea..keep your mind open, experiment, try black from the tube and see if it works for you. wether it contributes or hinders what you are trying to convey with paint is your personal decision. There are many kinds of tube blacks to choose; warms, cools, blue-blacks, green blacks, etc..I was told not to use black in college too and that it was better to mix from red, blue and green..I think this is a common and "trendy" art school idea of the times that contributes to a close-minded and singular way of thinking. I agree that the mixture of blue, red and viridian enable a beautiful depth of color but so does black from the tube...how you use it and what color is next to it and how it effects your overall work is whats important. Maybe you're not looking for blacks with rich, beautiful depth or using color for colors sake like the impressionist. Perhaps you seek a darker and/or moodier painting that you feel is best achieved with the use of tube black. The point is not to rule it out until you've tried it and find what works for you. Masterpieces have been painted with and without tube black.
All the best to you,
Todd
Awesome job Adam, I didn't know that Leonardo came up with the idea of chiaroscuro and the 5 basic tonal values. Learned something new
I think it is very interesting that he used only 6 colors to create the Mona Lisa
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