Art Crush: Leonardo da Vinci

Happy Birthday, Leonardo da Vinci! 

Happy Tax Day said no one!

Pupil by Leonardo da Vinci & my interpretation.

In college I took every single art history and fine art class available. I remember staring at a photo of Leonardo da Vinci's La Scapigliata, (I am also a lady with disheveled hair), and thought, ok, I understand why he is so loved. 

I sometimes wonder what he would think of the book, The Da Vinci Code. Ha! After college I read the book in 2005 with my ex, well, my boyfriend at the time. We loved the book. Our best moments were in bed while listening to ridiculously dramatic classical music, reading books, and drinking 40's or Olde English. Um, I always aimed for Wine or Wine Cooler type of drinks. Or a Guinness. Very rarely a 40, I promise. 

After the movie, The Da Vinci Code came out, it was like Langston Hughes' poem, "Goodbye Christ." There are so many products named after him: Flavoring syrup, cbd products, acrylic paint, wood panels, robotic surgical systems, vitamins, shampoo, software, hotels, pizzerias, dietary supplements, hair dye, cribs, paint brushes made out of badgers, etc. The list goes on and on and... Everyone saw the potential in being associated with his name. 

I used ink & spirograph behind this drawing because I forgot it was there. 😢 

Above and below are drawings that looks nothing like the original. But I love it! I think it is a great start and can only get better with extreme practice and intense patience. I learned recently that Leonardo da Vinci was ambidextrous. I am too and I posted a video of me drawing with both hands a couple of months ago. I plan to make more. He was also a procrastinator, often not finishing anything because he had so many interests that he pursued.   

Another drawing of mine that looks nothing like the original. lol

I want to learn from all the artists I love, but keep returning to da Vinci's drawings from time to time. Kind of like how people want to re-read Catcher in the Rye. I actually only read a few books twice. It is never as good as the first time. You know what was painful? Finishing the last Harry Potter book in 2007. You can't rebound immediately and start a new book. You have to go through a grieving process. 

But I digress... 

La Scapigliata by Leonardo da Vinci

La Scapigliata
1506 - 1508

Oil, umber, white lead pigments on poplar wood panel.

9.7 x 8.3 inches

Here's maybe one of the most beautiful paintings by Leonardo da Vinci in my humble opinion. I would love to see this in person. I would love to explore Italy and Sicily for a month. Hopefully with a friend. 

I did see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum September 2019. I will let my Instagram story below speak for itself. 

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The line for the Louvre Museum tickets was insane, but I scheduled my Tiquets in advance and skipped the line, no wait at all. However the line for the Mona Lisa was longer than your intestines. To keep the analogy going, excellent digestion. It went so fast! High metabolism! Underwhelmed a bit. One guard yelled at me to move, and I winked at him and still took the photo. His jaw dropped, smiled while he laughed. I will never know if he was amused or pissed. Ok, let's end this with two quotes I love by Leonardo da Vinci. 

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”

💙