by Richard Gunderson This year marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death. Widely considered one of the greatest polymaths in human history, Leonardo was an inventor, artist, musician, architect, engineer, anatomist, botanist, geologist, historian and cartographer. Though his artistic output was small, Leonardo’s impact was great, reflecting his deep knowledge of the body, his extensive studies of light and the human face, and his sfumato (Italian for “smoky”) technique, which allowed for incredibly lifelike images. Leonardo regarded artists as divine apprentices, writing “We, by our arts, may be called the grandsons of God.” Twenty-first-century scholars at MIT ranked him the sixth most influential person who ever lived. Like Rembrandt and Michelangelo, he is so renowned that he is known by only his first name. Yet despite his fame, there are things about Leonardo that many people today find surprising. Shady parentage Leonardo was born out of wedlock on April 15, 1452. His father, Piero, was a wealthy notary, and his mother, Caterina, was a local peasant girl. Although the circumstances of his birth would place Leonardo at a disadvantage in terms of education and inheritance, biographer Walter Isaacson regards it as a terrific stroke of luck. Rather…
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Da Vinci Painting Sells for World Record $450 Million
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Christ, “Salvator Mundi”, sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million on Wednesday at Christie’s, more than double the old price for any work of art at auction. The painting, only recently rediscovered, was the last da Vinci left in private hands and fetched more than four times Christie’s’ pre-sale estimate of about…
Read the full storyControversial Da Vinci is New York Auction Season Star
What is the only Da Vinci painting on the open market worth? A Russian billionaire believes he was swindled when he bought it for $127.5 million. This week he’ll find out if he was right. “Salvator Mundi,” a painting of Jesus Christ by the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci circa 1500, is the star lot in…
Read the full storyLeonardo da Vinci May Have Drawn ‘Nude Mona Lisa’, Experts Say
A nude drawing that bears a striking resemblance to the Mona Lisa may have been done by Leonardo da Vinci, French media reported Thursday. Experts at the Louvre in Paris, where his masterpiece is held, have been examining a charcoal drawing known as the “Monna Vanna” which had been attributed to the Florentine master’s studio. The…
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