(Credits: Far Out / Royal Library of Turin / Louvre Museum)
Any fan of Renaissance or Baroque art will know that the most famous works that dominated these periods weren’t quick and easy paintings that took just a couple of weeks. On the contrary, these paintings, by the artists we consider today to be ‘Old Masters’, took years. Not only because they required immense precision as they were often painted on very large canvases, but there was also the question of oil paint taking a long time to dry, and other projects being commissioned simultaneously.
Like every other mere mortal, artists could get caught up in other projects, travels and, well, lose track of things. This was the case with none other than the most famous painting ever, Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
It is said that da Vinci began to paint his greatest work in 1503 but only finished it in 1517, so over ten years later. Critics have tried to explain the possible reasons for the delay, with the obvious first one being perfectionism.
It is no surprise that Leonardo was a perfectionist; all you have to do is look at his paintings to figure it out. At the time, the artist was known for his meticulous attention to detail, and this is evident in the smoothness of the paint, the palpability of the skin of the ‘Gioconda’, down to the individual strands of hair. It is said that to do this, he revisited and refined the same sections of the canvas multiple times and over long periods, which, thanks to the malleability and wetness of the oil paint, could be done.
Additionally, during this time, new painting techniques continued to emerge, which then became common practice during the later Baroque period. For example, the sfumato technique and chiaroscuro were used to create dramatic contrasts of light and dark for added dimension. Mastering these techniques took time, as Leonardo had to practice separately before applying his skills to the final product.
As an incredibly popular artist in very high demand by the wealthiest of patrons, he was often commissioned for multiple projects and found himself juggling different commitments, which meant that timelines on personal projects could be interrupted for months before being picked up again. The political context of the times also greatly influenced his patronage, and changing patrons often led to delays in the completion of a painting. Perhaps, if Leonardo had known how successful this artwork would be, he would have been quicker about finishing it!
As we said, completing paintings wasn’t a linear process where an artist would be painting one canvas from start to finish. Although completed many years before the Mona Lisa came to fruition, Leonardo’s The Last Supper fresco often required frequent visits for restoration and fixing, given that it was a mural, which took time away from working on the portrait.
Secondly, Leonardo wasn’t just a painter but an avid mathematician, scientist and creative thinker. During his lifetime, he became increasingly interested in studying anatomy, engineering and botany. A fascination for these studies is seen in his paintings, in the way he was able to replicate exact anatomical proportions, textures of specific plants, and proportions of buildings. Therefore, we can say that Leonardo’s scientific studies no doubt positively impacted his artistic skill.
When he died in 1519, the Mona Lisa was found completed in his studio. Careful observation found that multiple layers of thin oil glazes had been spread onto the canvas at different times, hence the different cracks of paint known as ‘craquelure’ appear throughout the canvas and on many paintings of that time. However, one can identify when different parts of the painting were completed by looking at the quantity of craquelure. For example, the hands have fewer and finer ones, corresponding to a later painting period.
Taking a look at the backstory to these masterpieces can often give us an insight into the minds and lives of the artists who produced them, hungry for inspiration, many times, finding it elsewhere, to create their legacy-defining works.
Related Topics
