"Discovering a new da Vinci is...like discovering a new planet," says Alistair Cooke.
Indeed it is. I have personally viewed two and a half of Leonardo's paintings, and The Gates Codex. They are, Ginevra de' Benci, in Washington DC, The Benois Madonna, and The Litta Madonna, in Russia. The latter is thought to be by a talented artist and student of da Vinci's. My own opinion is it lacks the requisite grace of a Leonardo. On the positive side, what I have seen of da Vinci's work convinces me that he was more than the Renaissance master of canonical proportions and style. He was truly an artist's artist.
Going into what is a little bit of a soft market for art, the auction house Christie's expects a hundred million dollar sale of the painting of the world's most revered individual, by the world's most noted artist.
My previous posts on Leonardo da Vinci, which are a great reference source for art students: Spotlight on Leonardo.
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3 comments:
Thanks, Casey. I didn't know about the Salvator Mundi and enjoyed watching the video and seeing it. The painting is magnificent. As close as I've come to a da Vinci painting was the Mona Lisa, mostly looking at the backs of other peoples heads in front of me, their arms in the air, holding their cameras and hoping for a photo, then finally making it to the painting itself and having 5 seconds to look at it before being shooed on.
It was a bit like that in Russia, with a queue of "penitents" shuffling up to see the great artist's works. I returned the next day, and when it was my turn to view, I sidestepped, leaned against an old iron radiator, and enjoyed a long look. In DC, there was no line for the Geneva painting.
450,000,000 or thereabouts, so I hear.
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