Saturday, September 14, 2019

Art And Inventions

Two paintings by Leonardo share the same name and thematic elements. Virgin Of The Rocks is sometimes called Madonna Of The Rocks. The primary one, the first of the two to be done, is seen here at left, with the original at the Louvre. The second, at right, resides at the National Gallery in London.


Portrait Of A Musician is in Milan.


Here we have something of a story. La Bella Principessa may or may not be a Leonardo- though the presence of fingerprints by Leonardo give weight to the possibility.


The Benois Madonna, also called Madonna And Child With Flowers, is at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. At right is La Bella Ferronniere (Portrait Of An Unknown Woman), which is at the Louvre.


Ginevre de'Benci can be found today at the National Gallery of Art in Washington- the only Leonardo on public display in the Americas. It was acquired in 1967 after a deal fell through here in Canada- a change in governments in the 1950s scuttled an arrangement to bring it to our National Gallery.


The Annunciation is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.


Returning to technology created by the genius. Leonardo created a self propelled car for a theatrical production in Milan. It is thought to be a forerunner of cars we have today. A contemporary reproduction of it was here.


Aside from art, invention, science, and philosophy, Leonardo was an architect. He designed blueprints for a multilayered city as a way of improving the health in a city.


For today I finish off with another of his devices, rendered in full scale from his designs. This is a pole erecting machine.

40 comments:

  1. Belle immagini ... :)
    I wanted to live in that period and to be a disciple of Leonardo! :)

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  2. Good pictures. The multi layered city would be nice to see built at some location. I imagine staying in a building designed by Da Vinci would be surreal.

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  3. I wonder how he would have liked winter in Ottawa?

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  4. Leonardo was one of the all time greats - we could do with more like him today. I too have seen the two Virgin Of The Rocks at a Leonardo exhibition in London many moons ago.

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  5. Beautiful paintings of a famous artists. Happy weekend!

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  6. What an amazing mind he had. Lovely.

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  7. @Ella: he was brilliant.

    @Tom: very much so.

    @Maywyn: it would be.

    @Marleen: they are.

    @David: cold!

    @Francisco: thanks!

    @Rosemary: lucky you!

    @Marie: quite so.

    @Nancy: thanks!

    @Italiafinlandia: thank you.

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  8. What an incredible mind. And he created so much during his lifetime. Thank you for sharing these.

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  9. Hello, beautiful paintings and exhibit. Happy weekend to you!

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  10. i love their outfits and details of them ... way cool. can you imagine ... would have been fun to see in person. ( ;
    have a great weekend.

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  11. You get to see treasures without having to travel. They look like great reproductions, William!

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  12. Even back then, he could process the same image in different ways. It is a little quicker to do now -- for photographers at least. Not that anyone will care in a few hundred years. In fact, no one much cares now. lol

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  13. What a mind, a genius, and able to create on so many levels!

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  14. With all of his creations, it's no wonder he is so well know and highly thought of.

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  15. Such Amazing Times - Like WoW

    Cheers

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  16. You have two paintings here that I've seen in their homes. I sought out that one at the National Gallery because I knew it was the only De Vinci in the US. And, I remember seeing The Annunciation at the Uffizi in Florence years ago. I love the multi-layered city.

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  17. Lovely display photos of paintings in the exhibit ~

    Happy Day to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  18. This is really a fabulous exhibit. I appreciate the extras about the pieces you are sharing with us.

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  19. @Jennifer: he did indeed.

    @DJan: you're welcome.

    @Eileen: thank you.

    @Beth: thanks!

    @RedPat: they are!

    @Anvilcloud: that's true.

    @Barbara: I agree.

    @Red: quite true.

    @Padre: thank you.

    @Sharon: I'd love to see some of these in the originals.

    @Carol: thanks!

    @Jeanie: a pleasure to show.

    @Bill: it really was.

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  20. He is still a fascinating person centuries after his death. Tweeted.

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  21. I've seen that painting in the NGA! :-)

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  22. An amazing work of curation, to bring all this together.

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  23. This is a fabulous exhibit. Thank you for sharing!

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  24. Some beautiful works of art and pretty fascinating examples of genius, too.

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  25. I've visited most of those museums but I can't recall what I saw, other than the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and one of his many Pietas at some small museum in Florence.

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  26. Beautiful shots William, Leonardo was definitely a man who used both sides of his brain ✨

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  27. @Mari: that he is.

    @Revrunner: lucky you!

    @Joanne: that it was.

    @Beth: you're welcome.

    @Kay: I think so too.

    @Magiceye: thanks!

    @Catalyst: I'm drawn to the old masters.

    @Grace: he certainly was.

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  28. Fascinating ~ makes one wonder when or if Leonardo slept ^_^

    Happy Day to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  29. One wonders what he would have achieved living in different eras over the last few hundred years - a man of his time and yet of the future too:)

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  30. He brought so many things together in his art. It has stood the test of time.

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