Tag: Leonardo

Basket of Fruit (c.1599), Caravaggio, Milan.

Basket of Fruit (c.1599), Caravaggio, Milan.

Caravaggio (Italian, 1571 – 1610)

Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana was established in April 1618, when Cardinal Federico Borromeo donated his collection of paintings, drawings and statues to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, which he had founded in 1607. The museum consists of 24 rooms, where visitors can admire some of the greatest masterpieces of all time, and one of those is the Basket of Fruit or Canestra di Frutta by Caravaggio.

Basket of Fruit, Canestra di Frutta (c.1599), Caravaggio (Italian, 1571 – 1610), 68x55cm, Pinacoteca of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan.

This Basket of Fruit is probably the most famous painting in the collection of Cardinal Federico Borromeo, which formed the original nucleus of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. It is considered to be a sort of prototype of the “still life” genre. It shows a wicker basket brimming with fruit and leaves, rendered with great realism and attention to detail. This almost conflicts with the abstract neutral background of the painting and with the line of colour the basket itself is resting on, and from which it juts out. The founder of the Ambrosiana mentions this extraordinary painting many times in his writings and says he has searched in vain for a work that can bear comparison to it. But, he writes “for its incomparable beauty and excellence, it remained alone”. The painting has been interpreted in many different ways, some of which are religious: the extreme realism with which the fresh fruits are placed alongside those that are worm-eaten, and the leaves that gradually dry out and shrivel, give tangible form to the inexorable passing of time.

And when you are visiting the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, please do not forget to see Leonardo da Vinci’s only painting on panel to have remained in Milan, now called Portrait of a Musician.

Portrait of a Musician (c.1485), Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452 – 1519), 45×32cm, Pinacoteca of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan.

Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician was traditionally thought to depict Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. In 1905, when restoration work removed the overpainting and uncovered the hand with a musical scroll in the lower part, it was suggested that this was the portrait of a Musician, at times identified as Franchino Gaffurio, chapel Master of the Duomo of Milan and at other times as the Franco Flemish singer and composer Josquin des Prez, both of whom worked in Milan at the time of Leonardo and Ludovico il Moro. Recently it has also been suggested that it is a portrait of Atalante Migliorotti, a Tuscan musician who was a friend of Leonardo and who came with him to the Duke’s court in Milan as a singer and talented lyrist. With other words, we don’t know who it is, but it’s a beautiful portrait for sure. And the queues are way less than for visiting Leonardo’s Last Supper!

Leonardo da Vinci; A Life In Drawing, exhibition

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London
24 May 2019 – 13 October 2019

The head of Judas (c. 1495)
The head of Leda (c.1506)

Marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the exhibition in the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace brings together more than 200 of the Renaissance master’s greatest drawings from the Royal Collection.

Drawing served as Leonardo’s laboratory, allowing him to work out his ideas on paper and search for the universal laws that he believed underpinned all of creation. The drawings by Leonardo in the Royal Collection have been together as a group since the artist’s death in 1519. Acquired during the reign of Charles II (King of England from 1660 to 1685), they provide an unparalleled insight into the workings of Leonardo’s mind and reflect the full range of his interests, including painting, sculpture, architecture, anatomy, engineering, cartography, geology and botany. Leonardo died at Amboise in France on 2 May 1519, aged 67. He was careful to leave his drawings – perhaps 2000 or more loose sheets, and dozens of notebooks – to his pupil Francesco Melzi. Most of these drawings have survived to the present day, but widely published and understood only from the late nineteenth century. We now have a greater understanding of Leonardo’s life, work and thought than at any time since his death, and – primarily through his drawings – an insight into one of the greatest minds of the Renaissance. (From the museum’s website)

Leonardo da Vinci, The seed-heads of two rushes (Scirpus lacustris and Cyperus sp.), with notes (c. 1510), 20x15cm, Royal Collection.

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition

Louvre, Paris
24 October 2019 – 24 February 2020

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Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519), “La Belle Ferronnière” (c. 1493), 62x44cm, Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The year 2019 marks the 500-year anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, of particular importance for the Louvre. The museum is seizing the opportunity in this year of commemorations to gather as many of the artist’s paintings as possible around the five core works in its collections: The Virgin of the Rocks, La Belle Ferronnière, the Mona Lisa (which will remain in the gallery where it is normally displayed), the Saint John the Baptist, and the Saint Anne. The objective is to place them alongside a wide array of drawings as well as a small but significant series of paintings and sculptures from the master’s circle.

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Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519), “Saint John the Baptist” (c.1515), 69x57cm, Louvre, Paris

This unprecedented retrospective of da Vinci’s painting career will illustrate how he placed utmost importance on painting, and how his  investigation of the world, which he referred to as “the science of painting,” was the instrument of his art, seeking nothing less than to bring life to his paintings. The exhibition will paint the portrait of a man and an artist of extraordinary freedom. (From the museum’s website)

Time slots to be booked in advance. The reservation service will be open as of June 18, 2019 at www.ticketlouvre.fr