Many artists, it seems, enjoy teasing their audiences this way, so why should Leonardo have been any different?
Just what Leonardo da Vinci actually looked like Iis a question that has fascinated art historians for centuries, because the Renaissance genius left no youthful self-portraits, or indeed any likeness that he claims to be his own, although art lovers have long believed that he might have painted himself as a figure in one of his many masterpiece paintings.
One art expert, a great devotee, recently proposed, tantalisingly, that Leonardo may actually have done this on at least two occasions, most notably in arguably his greatest work, and one of art’s most famous paintings, the Last Supper. This man – Ross King -author of the book Brunelleschi’s Dome – stated his belief that the genius artist depicted apostles Thomas and James the Lesser in the 500-year-old mural in Milan using his own image.
King thinks he found evidence for this within the lines of a little-known, 1490s poem by author Gasparo Visconti – a friend of the artist and also employed at the Sforza court –at the time when was composing his iconic masterpiece. This humorous verse mocks an unnamed artist for putting his self-portrait into his paintings, and since Leonardo was possessed of legendary good looks – as recorded by his 16th century biographer, Giorgio Vasari – it seems possible that it could be true, since the upraised finger of Thomas was famously a Leonardo trademark.
A red chalk drawing, believed to have been sketched by one of his assistants in 1515 depicts Leonardo as a classically handsome man with, unusually for Italians in those times, a Greek nose, flowing hair and a long beard. Both Thomas – to the right of Christ – and James the Lesser – second from left – in the famous painting reflect this same image with those mentioned characteristics.
In actual fact, not much of Leonardo’s original mural – within the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery refectory – still survives, because time, exposure to the elements, exacerbated by WWII Allied bombing caused a lot of damage, the subsequent restoration leaving critics divided about the veracity of the imagery.
All that is actually certain is that Leonardo was known to be a great believer in asking questions rather than accepting what people tell you, and if he were to have wanted to paint himself into the work, then Doubting Thomas would almost certainly have been his chosen apostle. Not that he is alone in having performed such self-depictions.
Michelangelo is, by some, believed to have depicted himself – in The Last Judgment, 1533-41, in the Sistine Chapel – as one of the damned, a flayed figure, and Benozzo Gozzoli – painter of the 1459 Procession of the Magi fresco – placed himself in the regal entourage, the words Opus Benotii on his red hat. Many artists, it seems, enjoy teasing their audiences this way, so why should Leonardo have been any different?
Just what Leonardo da Vinci actually looked like Iis a question that has fascinated art historians for centuries, because the Renaissance genius left no youthful self-portraits, or indeed any likeness that he claims to be his own, although art lovers have long believed that he might have painted himself as a figure in one of his many masterpiece paintings.
One art expert, a great devotee, recently proposed, tantalisingly, that Leonardo may actually have done this on at least two occasions, most notably in arguably his greatest work, and one of art’s most famous paintings, the Last Supper. This man – Ross King -author of the book Brunelleschi’s Dome – stated his belief that the genius artist depicted apostles Thomas and James the Lesser in the 500-year-old mural in Milan using his own image.
King thinks he found evidence for this within the lines of a little-known, 1490s poem by author Gasparo Visconti – a friend of the artist and also employed at the Sforza court –at the time when was composing his iconic masterpiece. This humorous verse mocks an unnamed artist for putting his self-portrait into his paintings, and since Leonardo was possessed of legendary good looks – as recorded by his 16th century biographer, Giorgio Vasari – it seems possible that it could be true, since the upraised finger of Thomas was famously a Leonardo trademark.
A red chalk drawing, believed to have been sketched by one of his assistants in 1515 depicts Leonardo as a classically handsome man with, unusually for Italians in those times, a Greek nose, flowing hair and a long beard. Both Thomas – to the right of Christ – and James the Lesser – second from left – in the famous painting reflect this same image with those mentioned characteristics.
In actual fact, not much of Leonardo’s original mural – within the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery refectory – still survives, because time, exposure to the elements, exacerbated by WWII Allied bombing caused a lot of damage, the subsequent restoration leaving critics divided about the veracity of the imagery.
All that is actually certain is that Leonardo was known to be a great believer in asking questions rather than accepting what people tell you, and if he were to have wanted to paint himself into the work, then Doubting Thomas would almost certainly have been his chosen apostle. Not that he is alone in having performed such self-depictions.
Michelangelo is, by some, believed to have depicted himself – in The Last Judgment, 1533-41, in the Sistine Chapel – as one of the damned, a flayed figure, and Benozzo Gozzoli – painter of the 1459 Procession of the Magi fresco – placed himself in the regal entourage, the words Opus Benotii on his red hat. Many artists, it seems, enjoy teasing their audiences this way, so why should Leonardo have been any different?
