Jessica Crabtree

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
(Vincent van Gogh)

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” (Goethe)

“Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.” (Michelangelo)

April 15, 1452: Birth of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo was born near Florence, Italy and spent his career in various Italian city-states during the height of the Renaissance. He is the archetype of the “renaissance man” – inventor, engineer, architect, botanist, anatomist, mathematician, philosopher, musician, sculptor, and artist. His reputation has eclipsed even such contemporaries as Michelangelo and Raphael. And in recent times his legend has undergone something of a renaissance (no pun intended) thanks to Dan Brown.

Out of all his achievements, Leonardo is best remembered as a painter. The Mona Lisa and the Last Supper are still cultural icons and arguably the most famous paintings in the world.

His work largely contributed to the development of modern painting, especially portraiture. Ironically, few of his paintings have survived (not much over a dozen) and many of these are not entirely original due to the practice of sub-contracting work to talented apprentices who exchanged acknowledgment for experience under a master’s guidance.

The bulk of Leonardo’s artistic work consists of his extensive drawings of many subjects, ranging from character studies to anatomy to landscapes.

Leonardo: Master Draftsman – Interactive exhibit from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Quotes:

“A good painter is to paint two main things, men and the working of man’s mind.”

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”

“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” (Rumi)

“Abstract Art: A product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.” (Albert Camus)

“Drawing is like an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.” (Henri Matisse)

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” (Oscar Wilde)