101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci Read Online Free Page B
together, suspending the oil in the water). Look closely the next time you reach for a bottle of oil-and-vinegar salad dressing; you'll notice the seasonings floating to the top. That mixture is a suspension. Milk contains lots of fat droplets, which spread out over a glass or bottle; they never fully mix and create another type of suspension called an emulsion. Paint is a colloid, a particular sort of emulsion containing solids (pigment) suspended in a liquid (oil + binders). Complicated stuff, and Leonardo had to learn it well!
In Leonardo's first year at Andrea Verrocchio's shop, he likely worked as a garzone (a sort of servant). While he had cleaning and other menial tasks to perform, one of his most important jobs would have been making paint. At the time, pigments came from a variety of natural sources: Plants and minerals provided the greatest variety of colors. Leonardo would have spent hours washing and then hand grinding local Italian minerals. Doesn't sound like much fun, but important work, nevertheless. Iron was a commonly available mineral during this period, as was terra verte (found mostly near Verona, Italy). Renaissance painters didn't have dust masks or any way to keep from inhaling airborne particles; they would just measure an amount of pigment onto their grinding surface, add water into the middle of the pile, then start to grind. And they probably had to be careful not to sneeze!
Color alone isn't enough to make paint; you need to mix it with a medium (like oil or water) that will carry the color and dry along with it. A third substance makes the color adhere to the oil or water. During the Renaissance, most artists used animal products, such as eggs, animal glue, or milk, as binding agents to stick the paint to the wood, canvas, or wall surface. After grinding the pigments into a thick paste, Leonardo would have either added the color and the other requisite ingredients to the oil to make paint to use right away, or else he'd have stored it carefully for later use.
Leonardo improved the technique of creating oil paintings by mixing ground pigments with linseed oil and adding beeswax and water to the paint while it was in a boiling stage; this additive kept the colors light and prevented oversaturation. As you'll see later, some of his painting innovations were more successful than others. More important than the new techniques, though, was the fact that he used oil paint extensively, which caused a ripple effect throughout the artistic community. Given how successful his paintings were, it's not surprising that people wanted to copy his techniques!
In addition to painting, Leonardo almost certainly learned how to make and draw with chalk while apprenticed to Verrocchio. In Renaissance Italy, mineral chalks were dug out of the ground and fashioned into drawing tools. Red and brown chalks (common earth tones) were the most popular, and Leonardo used those most in his later chalk drawings.
12
Getting off to a good start
Leonardo's period with Verrocchio (1468â1472) was his first foray into professional art. While apprentices often worked with their masters on commissioned projects, most of these students didn't go on to outshine their teachers! Then again, most of the students weren't Leonardo da Vinci, either.
The first real tip-off to Leonardo's talents came when he worked on a painting called The Baptism of Christ , completed in 1472. Andrea Verrocchio was the official painter, but Leonardo also took part. The monks from the Florentine church of San Salvi requested the painting, and many members of Verrocchio's studio worked on it. Though apprentices like Leonardo had to do office duty and other routine tasks, they also got to help on the master's jobs. In this painting, Verrocchio probably painted Christ and John the Baptist. Although written documentation is slim, it's thought that Da Vinci did some of the landscape and added a kneeling angel supporting the mantle. This figure appears more
In Leonardo's first year at Andrea Verrocchio's shop, he likely worked as a garzone (a sort of servant). While he had cleaning and other menial tasks to perform, one of his most important jobs would have been making paint. At the time, pigments came from a variety of natural sources: Plants and minerals provided the greatest variety of colors. Leonardo would have spent hours washing and then hand grinding local Italian minerals. Doesn't sound like much fun, but important work, nevertheless. Iron was a commonly available mineral during this period, as was terra verte (found mostly near Verona, Italy). Renaissance painters didn't have dust masks or any way to keep from inhaling airborne particles; they would just measure an amount of pigment onto their grinding surface, add water into the middle of the pile, then start to grind. And they probably had to be careful not to sneeze!
Color alone isn't enough to make paint; you need to mix it with a medium (like oil or water) that will carry the color and dry along with it. A third substance makes the color adhere to the oil or water. During the Renaissance, most artists used animal products, such as eggs, animal glue, or milk, as binding agents to stick the paint to the wood, canvas, or wall surface. After grinding the pigments into a thick paste, Leonardo would have either added the color and the other requisite ingredients to the oil to make paint to use right away, or else he'd have stored it carefully for later use.
Leonardo improved the technique of creating oil paintings by mixing ground pigments with linseed oil and adding beeswax and water to the paint while it was in a boiling stage; this additive kept the colors light and prevented oversaturation. As you'll see later, some of his painting innovations were more successful than others. More important than the new techniques, though, was the fact that he used oil paint extensively, which caused a ripple effect throughout the artistic community. Given how successful his paintings were, it's not surprising that people wanted to copy his techniques!
In addition to painting, Leonardo almost certainly learned how to make and draw with chalk while apprenticed to Verrocchio. In Renaissance Italy, mineral chalks were dug out of the ground and fashioned into drawing tools. Red and brown chalks (common earth tones) were the most popular, and Leonardo used those most in his later chalk drawings.
12
Getting off to a good start
Leonardo's period with Verrocchio (1468â1472) was his first foray into professional art. While apprentices often worked with their masters on commissioned projects, most of these students didn't go on to outshine their teachers! Then again, most of the students weren't Leonardo da Vinci, either.
The first real tip-off to Leonardo's talents came when he worked on a painting called The Baptism of Christ , completed in 1472. Andrea Verrocchio was the official painter, but Leonardo also took part. The monks from the Florentine church of San Salvi requested the painting, and many members of Verrocchio's studio worked on it. Though apprentices like Leonardo had to do office duty and other routine tasks, they also got to help on the master's jobs. In this painting, Verrocchio probably painted Christ and John the Baptist. Although written documentation is slim, it's thought that Da Vinci did some of the landscape and added a kneeling angel supporting the mantle. This figure appears more
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