Leonardo da Vinci painted many self-portraits.
Artist, inventor, engineer, writer and architect Leonardo was born in the spring of 1452 in Vinci, a sleepy village a day's journey by mule cart from Florence. In his lifetime of 67 years he created some of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance while a resident of Florence, Milan and Rome where his work was commissioned and collected by a host of wealthy patrons. He lacked formal education, but studied in the studio of Florentine painter Verrocchio. Leonardo himself is chiefly known as a painter.
Mona Lisa
The painting Leonardo is probably best known for is the portrait known as the "Mona Lisa." Also known as "la Gioconda," the portrait is the subject of speculation by appreciators who have for centuries speculated about the source of the sitter's enigmatic although restrained grin. The painting's background, depicting a sweeping, somewhat off-kilter landscape, is also notable for its uniqueness among portraits painted in the early 1500s.
The Last Supper
Almost as famous as the Mona Lisa is Leonardo's painting, "The Last Supper," depicting the Biblical scene of Christ with his 12 apostles. The painting was created on the wall of a Milan monastery in the 1490s. In later years the painting became badly deteriorated with age due to the fact that it was created in tempera on a gesso background rather than in more reliably sturdy material such as fresco (paint applied to fresh plaster).
Benois Madonna
Among Leonardo's most celebrated earlier works during his time of Florence is "The Benois Madonna," a small painting of no more than 19 ¼ by 12 ¼ inches. In it, the Virgin Mary balances the child Jesus on her knee and shows him a flower. The wonder of the painting is the tenderness that seems to flow between the two. Absent from the painting are the characteristics of Leonardo's mentor, Verocchio--parti-colored walls, stairways, marble tables and thrones. Instead, the painting shows us the simply dressed Virgin and naked child, demonstrating Leonardo's growing independence from his teacher. Other notables paintings from this period include "The Baptism of Christ," "The Adoration of the Magi" and "Jerome in the Wilderness."
The Annunciation
Also from Leonardo's Florentine period, "The Annunciation," a painting of a little more than 3 feet high and more than 7 feet long, glows with bright color. It depicts a walled enclosure, trees and mountains in the distance, a slanting road cutting across the painting and an angel kneeling before the Virgin Mary, receiving the message with trepidation that she has been blessed above all women. The painting displays the hand of Leonard's undeniable genius, with its depiction of winds swirling through the cypresses and mountains gleaming in the early morning light, and the angel, with powerful wings, seeming easily able to take flight.
