A Critique of a Work of Art. Leonardo Da Vinci - Essay Example

? http www.google.com/imgres?q=da+vinci+study+of+a+womb&um hl=en&biw=1138&bih=529&tbm=isch&tbnid=JoKbnJO3s3yc1M:&imgrefurl=http www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vinci/sketch/&docid=2Y6PidQZnOMf_M&imgurl=http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vinci/sketch/womb.jpg&w=488&h=539&ei=rqwQT-TvHa7XiQLFxOjbDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=104&vpy=144&dur=382&hovh=236&hovw=214&tx=105&ty=150&sig=108249174770872363950&page=1&tbnh=166&tbnw=142&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0 The above illustration is by Leonardo Da Vinci, and it is called Study of a Womb, circa 1489. Da Vinci lived in Florence from 1452-1519 (Gombrich, 1989, p. 220). Da Vinci was interesting to me because of he is a clearly a “Renaissance Man” – in addition to painting what is, perhaps, the most famous painting ever, the Mona Lisa, as well as what is, perhaps, the second most famous painting ever, The Last Supper, Da Vinci was also a genius in science and was an inventor. For instance, Da Vinci figured out that the earth revolves around the sun long before Copernicus theorized this. His inventions were so sought-after that princes and generals wanted him to build canals, forts and weapons. Da Vinci was also a “splendid musician” (Gombrich, 1989, p. 222). Moreover, Da Vinci conceived of a helicopter, long before man had the technology to actually build one (Ramirez, 1999, p. 50). In other word, Da Vinci was a genius on many, many different levels, creating timeless masterpieces of art while also conceiving of scientific theories that were clearly after his time. Da Vinci’s work is so renowned that his work could be seen in most any art museum, most prominently in the Louvre in Paris, the Guggenheim museum in New York City and the Santa Maria delle Grazie abbey in Milan, Italy, which is where The Last Supper is located. Study of a Womb shows the marriage of Da Vinci’s fascination with science and scientific principles with his meticulous skill in art. The medium used is pen and in. The actual drawing uses lines in a curvilinear fashion, as all the lines in the drawing are curved and rounded. The lines are also used to illustrate the fetus in the womb, as the lines are also used for contrast of the dark and light. The shape of the drawing is round – the womb is round, and heart-shaped, with a larger right side than left, and the fetus itself is also rounded. The head is perfectly round, and the body is also rounded. There are no sharp lines on this drawing, just gentle curves. On the left side of the womb, however, there are shapes which illustrate blood vessels, and, although these are not sharply drawn, they are also not perfectly round, either. Thus, this is the only part of the drawing which is not rounded. The texture of the drawing is such that Da Vinci depicts the actual texture of the fetus in the womb, which would be soft and pliable, through his use of light, color and darkness. Da Vinci was the first artist to describe how the use of light and dark can portray three-dimensional figures, as this figure is (Mamassian, 1998, p. 288). The inside of the womb, which would have a soft texture is portrayed softly as well, and Da Vinci designs his linear formations to reflect this. The flesh of the baby, which would also be soft, but, perhaps, not as spongy as the inside of the womb, is depicted by the use of lines, the light and the dark contrasting to show the softness of the flesh. These lines denote the pliability of the flesh. The value of the artwork also depicts the texture of the subject matter, as the light and the dark are entirely used to depict the texture of the womb and the fetus. The color of the drawing is varying shades of black and grey, with the grey portions of the drawing depicting the light of the drawing, and the black depicting the dark of the drawing. As for the balance of the drawing, it is slightly off balance, in that the right side of the drawing is more pronounced than the left side. The right side has the largest part of the womb and the fetus inside. The left side, on the other hand, only contains a small part of the womb and the blood vessels that line this part of the womb. Therefore, the point of emphasis is clearly on the right side of the painting, in particular the round head of the baby. The eye is clearly drawn to this part of the drawing. The harmony of the drawing is such that it is slightly inharmonious because of the emphasis on the right side of the painting, as opposed to the left side. That said, the overall effect of the drawing denotes harmony, as the drawing is pleasing to the eye, and the light and the dark are in harmony in that neither the light nor the dark overwhelm the other. In other words, the drawing is 50% light and 50% dark, which gives the drawing a very harmonious feel. Thus, the use of contrast also contributes to the harmony of the drawing. The contrasts are used to depict the texture of the object, and the body is equal contrasts of light and dark. The womb is more dark than light, but the contrasts are used to depict the three dimension of the womb. The outside of the womb is almost all light towards the top, and dark towards the bottom. Therefore, the entire drawing uses contrasts very well. The spatial illusion of the drawing is such that the positive and the negative space are in harmony, which gives the drawing the illusion of depth. The positive space encompasses the middle of the drawing, which contains the actual womb and fetus. The negative space around the central focus is also utilized with smaller pictures and words which cannot be read. The smaller pictures around the central focus also are indecipherable. Nonetheless, the artists’ use of light, dark and contrast give the drawing the feeling of depth and three dimensions, as the womb appears that it is opened up into two parts, and the fetus inside also appears to be three-dimensional, due to the lightness of its head and the contrast with the dark and light on the body. Moreover, the cord which runs along the fetus’ leg also has the illusion of being three-dimensional, also due to the contrast of light and dark on this cord. Sources Used Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. Ann Arbor: Phaidon Press Limited, 1989. Mamassian, Pascal, David C. Knill and Daniel Kersten. “The Perception of Cast Shadows.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2.8 (1998): 288-295. Ramirez, Rafael. “Value Co-Production: Intellectual Origins and Implications for Practice and Research.” Strategic Management Journal, 20: 49-65. Read More