Sir Anthony Blunt is one of the few writers that points to the fundamental differences between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He writes about what makes these artists different at their fundamental core. His evidence: Leonardo and Michelangelo’s own writings.
Leonardo writes, “The good painter must paint principally two things, which are man and the ideas in the man’s mind.” This quote points to the fundamental issue with Leonardo’s art. If we look at all the art Leonardo ever produced, we can see that struggle. A perfect example is Mona Lisa; we all recognize the lady with the half-smile with the lonely, rocky background. It is also a perfect example for understanding how Leonardo looked at the world. We easily see the woman that is the easy part, according to Leonardo. What he and we struggle with is seeing the “ideas in the man’s mind.” He struggles with that in all his paintings, however, his struggles lead to some of the most life-like paintings of the time. The background of the Mona Lisa may allude to the ideas within this woman’s mind. Also the expression on her face allows the viewer to get into her mind, into her personality. All of the elements that have puzzled the public and the art world are Leonardo’s way of reconciling with the “ideas of the man’s mind.”
Michelangelo, on the other hand, has many writings reveal that Michelangelo believed that “the human figure is the particular form in which [Michelangelo] finds this divine beauty most clearly manifested.” Again, like Leonardo, we can see this idea within Michelangelo’s work. Especially within the male figures he paints. In the Doni Tondo, we see the Holy Family front and center. However, the male nude figures in the background are a prime example of Michelangelo’s belief that divine beauty is within the human form. While seemingly out of place, these nude figures are actually angles. Michelangelo has manifested his idea of divine beauty into these figures. To him there is no greater beauty than the male figure, so in the Doni Tondo, he made the actual figures holy.
Good idea to illustrate the "theory" with specific examples (although one feels that the theoretical parts, and the changes in Blunt's discussion of Mich are thin here). Try to avoid calling angels angles. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of saying that Leonardo Da Vinci has a struggle with emotion. I never thought of it that way but being so scientific it makes sense that he couldn't think in an emotional way. I think that Michelangelo could have used some of Leonardo's logic to make his work more realistic, but not too realistic because then we'd lose who Michelangelo was.
ReplyDeleteYour example of the Mona Lisa made me wonder about the struggle that Leonardo seemed to have had with the "ideas in a man's mind." Although today we think of him as a creative, talented individual, he thought of himself as a sort of observer of nature. In contrast, in seemed that Michelangelo thought of himself as more on an artist. Even though we have writings and paintings from both artists regarding their theories, I would be curious to know how this played out in the opinions that had of themselves.
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