Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci: Two Geniuses

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Introduction

Sometimes, one stops to ponder where we would be today if some outstanding figures in history had never had the chance to play their role on this stage we call life. For the arts, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are two very central figures who have had a huge impact on art, as we know it today.

Mannerism; a style, a period or a movement

The high renaissance was a peak in artistic genius with a concentration of the old masters Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. It was like the epicenter of the earthquake which once it subsided, leaves emptiness in the aftermath. The dilemma of the artists at the time was what were they to do that could exceed the high renaissance. They had the empty feeling that all that could be done in art had been done. Then came mannerism (Stoksad, 2005).

Mannerism, at least in the context of art, is a brief period that lasted only half a century roughly between 1520 and 1580 in Italy at the time of the high renaissance. However, mannerism existed in the rest of Europe until the seventeenth century (MCC, 1990). Mannerism as explained by Murray (1967) is derived from the Italian word ‘maniera’ that means ‘style’ or ‘manner’. The two implications of these is that mannerisms was used to refer to the actual style of the artist, or to acknowledge that the artist had a unique approach that was beautiful in its own right and did not need qualification.

Mannerism was initiated by the celebrated artists Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo in his earlier works (Murray, 1967).

The mannerism period put the painter at greater liberty to experiment on canvas, because as long as his work could be approved as aesthetically appealing he had the freedom to try out new ideas without restricting himself to the classical requirements of painting (Murray, 1967).

Since ‘mannerism’ has been used rather vaguely, there is contention between historians whether it refers to the style, period or a movement. The consensus is that it can be used in regards to the European art of the late 16^th century, after the renaissance, but before the baroque period (MCC, 1990).

The impact Michelangelo had on high renaissance art is one that cannot be downplayed. El Greco, who is considered an old master almost of the same class as Michelangelo, did not hold the latter in high regard as an artist. Yet El Greco’s works show that his style was influenced by Michelangelo’s mannerism (Goldscheider & Greco, 1938).

Michelangelo’s contribution to mannerism

Michelangelo’s work was the benchmark by which succeeding artists of the high renaissance set their standards. He was an artist who was always pushing himself to excel in portraying the human form as it was in the flesh. Michelangelo is famed for his twisting, turning figures done in the nude, which called for the greatest application of his skill. He was fascinated with the male body and believed it to be the finest form in which human emotion could be expressed. He practically worshipped the male body, so much so that his sexuality was questioned and he has been at times labeled homoerotic (Stoksad, 2005).

Michelangelo, regarding his sculptures believed that within every inanimate block of stone or marble, there lived a form begging to be released. Unlike his rival and equal, Leonardo Da Vinci, he saw nature as a trap that constrained. Concisely put, Michelangelo’s contribution to mannerism was the nude (Muntz, Buonarroti & Borges, 2006).

The space and composition and treatment of the figures in Michelangelo’s judgment to mannerism

With time though, Michelangelo drifted away from mannerism as he experimented with other plays of light and perspective. Michelangelo’s painting ‘the last judgment’ caused great controversy and it was almost destroyed. Unlike the tradition of mannerism painting, this work did not have the standard infusion of morbidity. Again, the violent clash of colors that was associated with mannerism is completely lacking. It was an indication of how Michelangelo had gradually broken away from mannerism over the years (Buonarroti & Salinger, 1955).

Space and composition in mannerism as contrasted to that of the renaissance painting, sculpture, and architecture

It appears as though the mannerism painters were out to contradict what high renaissance art had been. Where high renaissance had been harmonious, with a keen sense of balance and naturalism, mannerism was marked with a decided unnatural elongation of body parts and the subjects projecting violent or tortured expressions, clashing chaotic color, and the themes were usually a peculiar combination of mythology and Christianity. Renaissance art had made use of perspective and light to present objects as they appeared in real life, mannerism adopted using strange angular viewpoints that contorted the general perspective making for an indeterminate foreground, middle ground or background (MCC, 1990).

The nude form of the human body that had made a reappearance since the early renaissance was now featured in grotesque postures that bordered on the vulgar. The depicted scenes were marked by having hazy indefinite backgrounds that were littered with mystical beings or the ruins of what might have been ancient buildings. While high renaissance scenery had been sparse, those of mannerism were clustered, as though the artist had to us very inch of available space (MCC, 1990).

Geometric figures favored over the renaissance versus those of mannerism

The renaissance period, as is shown by the word used to describe the two hundred years roughly between the late 14^th centuries to the early 16^th century, was one of resurrection. Artists searched in the past to rediscover what their predecessors had done before them. For painters, this meant that they were drawn to the realistic representation of man in the natural state. Renaissance painting had religious overtones influence by Judaism, paintings were heavily filled with saints and figures from the bible. Maybe this was for the most part because the church often commissioned painters to do murals and frescos for her. Another distinct characteristic of renaissance art was the application of linear perspective to create the illusion of depth and distance on a flat surface by varying the size of the objects in the painting. There was also the use of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro, to create the illusion of fullness that made the figures more real. The figures that were often the focus of the painting were arranged in unusual geometric patterns, with a hazy background depicting an outdoor scene (Stoksad, 2005).

Michelangelo’s disciples: Pontormo, Bronzino, Rosso and El Greco

There were fine painters who were caught in the spirit of mannerism, among them being pontormo Bronzino, Rosso and El Greco. These artists’ work was marked with the standard mannerist twisting of perspective, the elongation of limbs on the human form and in Christian paintings, the mixing up of Christian biblical scenes with those of mythical legends (Stoksad, 2005).

Pontormo who was prominent for his ovular compositions and the attention he paid to the clothes worn by the subjects he was painting, along with Rosso Fiorentino had been a student of the illustrious André de Sarto. Pontormo,s work share the mannerism as those of Rosso and Parmigianino. His compositions have been referred to as cohesive. For example, the figures in his masterpiece‘the deposition’ are complementary and the removal of one would create a collapse of the whole edifice (Murray 1997).

El Greco was a painter of the Spanish renaissance who was influenced by mannerism and the Venetian renaissance. His style was very dramatic and expressionistic and he is nowadays thought of as the father of expressionism and cubism. His work also exhibited the elongated figures; that was common to mannerism coupled with novel and curious interpretations of Christian religious subject matter when he was commissioned to do them. Other elements of mannerism that featured in his work were violent perspectives, vanishing points or strange attitudes struck by the figures. He tried to resist being influenced by Michelangelo because he did not hold him in high regard as a painter. His technique and style centered on the primacy of imagination and insight over the subjective character of creation (Goldscheider L & Greco, 1938).

Parmagiano was a mannerist painter under Medici patronage who lived in Florence around the same time as Bronzino. He was a student of the Florentine school. However he gradually abandoned the perspective regularity that was distinctive of the Florentine renaissance. He adapted the mannerist use of twining and twisted poses coupled with an ambiguous perspective. His paintings often depicted suspended figures that were in no definite setting and had the standard elongated limbs with sad, tragic filled expressions (Stoksad, 2005)

Bronzino was Pontormo’s student and his work was greatly influenced by his teacher. He Lived in Florence and received Medici patronage in 1539. His paintings were considered to be very allegorical and had the features of mannerism (CCM, 1990).

The school of fontaibleau was founded in the late renaissance period. The first school was from around 1531 and was founded by Rosso Fiorentino, a mannerist painter. It is therefore natural that the students from the school were mannerists too. The work produced by this school was characterized by the artists’ use of stucco and frescos. Their paintings had elements of the allegorical, the mythical the grotesque and the standard mannerism putti and nudist eroticism. The work shows that they were influenced by the mannerism of the masters Michelangelo, Raphael, Parmigianino (Murray 1997).

Essay two

Leonardo and his landscapes

In Michael Gleb’s book, ‘How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday’, the author paints a vivid picture of Leonardo the man beneath the painter. It is not only his art that marks him out as outstanding, but even the basic human being that he was. It can be said that Leonardo without his art would have been just as great (Gleb, 2000).

By outlining the principles that this iconic painter lived by, Gleb identifies the characteristic that contributed to his success as an artist. Gelb gives what he terms to be the seven da Vincian principles; having an insatiable amount of curiosity, one testing their knowledge through experience, a continuing refinement of one’s senses, being open minded and willing to consider the abstract, inculcating in oneself the practice of being physically fit and grace, and to cap it off, having the understanding that all things are inter-related (Gleb, 2000).

Leonardo da Vinci was brilliant and this brilliance comes out with overwhelming clarity in his painting. He was keen not to overlook any form of detail. He would ensure he knew his subject inside and out before, he committed brush onto canvas. His landscapes and other paintings are rendered eerily realistic that over half a millennia later, we can breathe in the air of Florence, feel the tenderness and love emanating from the Madonna to the boy Jesus on her knee. Genius is immortal; hence, Leonardo’s immortality is assured because he strove to achieve perfection (Frere & da Vinci, 2002).

Comparison of Leonardo’s use of landscape in paintings like ‘the Madonna of the rocks’ with paintings from the song dynasties to the Ming dynasty

Leonardo had an interest in nature, more so geology, not only as an artist but as a scientist as well. Before he did his painting, he would make a critical study of his subject. His deep interest in rocks led to the creation of his work ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’. His inspiration for this painting might have been a series of caves in Monte ceceri. Clark (2007) Points out that by the time Leonardo was doing this painting, his interest in the sciences had not deepened (Clark, 2007). Why Leonardo’s art is so outstanding is because he had a profound understanding of his subject, which was reflected in the art he did, more so for his landscapes. Leonardo also loved to invest in the imagination (Stoksad, 2005).

Late tang dynasty landscape painting had become a genre wide and specialized enough to be classified on its own. Landscape painting was an expression of the sophisticated, civilized for a chance to commune wholly with nature. This form of painting was at times used to express definite social, philosophical or political inclinations of the painter or the commissioner of the painter. With the gradual collapse of the dynasty, the focus of escaping into a natural uncorrupted world became more intense, for not only painters but poets as well (Stoksad, 2005) (Clark & Kemp, 1993).

By the time of the early song dynasty, a balanced man was considered to have an astute regard and connectivity with nature. The element of retreating to commune with nature was venerated, and it was believed that this communion was a way of self-rejuvenation. The scholar officials who practiced withdrawing into nature identified themselves as an elite literal class through their writing of poetry, calligraphy and a novel painting style that made use of calligraphic brushwork. Their signature was in the monochromatic, almost flat quality of forms in the outdoors such as trees, rocks, hills and logs (Cahill, 1960).

A quality of Chinese landscape painting that remained constant through the several dynasties is that they were not mere representations of the physical world as observed by the physical eye. Rather, they were permeated with symbolism of what the artist had in is mind and his heart (paintings of the Song dynasty, 2008). Chinese landscape painters attempted to capture the ‘spiritual’ essence of the physical objects they worked with. That is why they were so keen on giving as close a version of the real as was possible. There was great emphasis put on precision (Stoksad, 2005). Chinese landscape painting is intense but very somber, making use of dull muted colors. The theme of the painting was to capture, not only what the artist could see, but his personality as well (Casey, 2002).

Both Leonardo’s landscapes and Chinese landscapes had a deep appreciation for untamed nature. However, while Chinese landscapes was focused on the spiritual, Leonardo viewed the landscape as a scientist, with a keen interest in dissecting and understanding all that he came across. This can be seen by a comparative study of Leonardo’s ‘ Madonna of the Rocks’ and Fan Kuan’s ‘Travelers Among Mountains and Stream’(Clark & Kemp, 1993).

Conclusion

Art in principle is all about beauty as the artist sees it, and making out its interpretation in a medium of his choice. Great artists are the ones who are able to portray beauty, be it the tempestuous passion of human nature, the overwhelming abundance of untamed nature, or the singular intense beauty of a flower in full bloom, in its finest and purest form.

The age of the renaissance was one that shaped art as we know it today. The old masters, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael among others granted to humanity a gift beyond measure.

Art is immortal, a legacy that is passed down from generation to generation with admiration, keeping alive the history of the human race, along with the spirit of those mighty men, the artists, who shall never truly die.

Bibliography

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Cahill James, 1976, Hills beyond River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan dynasty, 1279-1368, New York: Weather hill Publishers.
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