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17
Леонардо да Винчи - первый художник Высокого Ренессанса, недолгого золотого века
итальянского искусства. Произведения этого периода характеризуются синтезом прекрасных
сторон жизни. Фигура ангела, написанная Леонардо, в картине его учителя Андреа Вероккио
"Крещение" демонстрирует разницу в восприятии мира художниками разных эпох.
С 1482 по 1499 гг. Леонардо жил в Милане. Это был один из лучших периодов
творчества художника. Здесь он написал "Мадонну в гроте" - первую монументальную ал-
тарную композицию Высокого Ренессанса. Самая большая работа Леонардо - роспись стены
трапезной монастыря Санта Мария делла Грацие на сюжет "Тайной Вечери". Христос в
последний раз встречается за ужином со своими учениками, чтобы объявить о предательстве
одного из них. Леонардо показал реакцию двенадцати апостолов на слова учителя. Судьба
фрески трагична. Эксперименты Леонардо привели к ее быстрому осыпанию.
В 1503 г. во Флоренции Леонардо выполнил картину на тему битвы миланцев и
флорентийцев при Ангиари, заказанную для стены нового зала палаццо Синьории и создал
портрет Моны Лизы, супруги Франческо дель Джокондо. Мона Лиза изображена на фоне
пейзажа с мостами и дорогами в никуда, скалами, исчезающими в облаках. В портрете Моны
Лизы достигнута наивысшая степень гармонии и красоты образа эпохи Высокого
Ренессанса.
VIII. Summarize the text.
IX. Topics for discussion.
1. Leonardo's religious paintings.
2. Leonardo's portraits.
3. Leonardo's artistic influence.
UNIT VI MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI (1475-1564)
The sixteenth century in central Italy was dominated by the colossal genius of Michelangelo
Buonarroti.
Michelangelo learned the techniques of painting during a year of his boyhood spent in
Ghirlandaio's studio, sculpture he studied with Bertoldo di Giovanni, the pupil of Donatello. His
earliest masterpiece is the Pieta, done in 1498-99/1500 during his first stay in Rome. The perfect
formation of the slender Christ, lying across the knees of his mother, excited the admiration of
Michelangelo's contemporaries. The exquisite Virgin looks as young as her son. The ageless Virgin
is a symbol of the Church, she presents the timeless reality of Christ's sacrifice. The extreme
delicacy in the handling of the marble and the contrast between the long lines of Christ's figure and
the crumpled drapery folds produce passages of a beauty that Michelangelo never surpassed,
despite the grandeur of his mature and late work.
The heroic style for which Michelangelo is generally known is seen in the David more than 14
feet in height, which was carved in 1501-4, for a lofty position on one of the buttresses of the Ca-
thedral of Florence. When the statue was completed, it was so beautiful that the Florentines could
not sacrifice it in such a position. It was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, where it became a
symbol of the republic ready for battle against its enemies. The David became the first true colossus
of the High Renaissance.
In 1505 Michelangelo was called by the warrior pope Julius II to design a tomb for him. This
project with more than forty over-life statues in marble and bronze relief would require a lifetime.
After several successive reductions the tomb was brought to completion only in 1545. Three statues
remain from the 1505 version.
The world-famous statue of Moses was intended for a corner position on the second story of
the monument so that it could be seen from below. Like all of Michelangelo's works, the Moses, is
symbolic and timeless. Moses is conceived as an activist prophet, a counterpart to Saint Paul. The
bulk of the figure is almost crushing. Moses' head with its two-tailed beard, is one of the artist's
most formidable creations; the locks of the beard are lightly drawn aside by the fingers of his right
hand. The drapery masses enhance the compactness of the figure.