To understand why in the painting “Savior of the World” by Leonardo da Vinci, why the glass orb in the Salvator Mundi painting shows no signs of the refraction and reflection of light that might be expected, scientists from the University of California at Irvine had to create a 3D model of the canvas. Only after that they were able to confirm the master’s idea. This once again speaks of the talent of da Vinci, who, even without ultra-modern devices, managed to create masterpieces, and even put so many meanings into them that to this day researchers struggle with conjectures.
We at Happy Worthy Life have already written about the secrets of Leonardo’s works, but there are so many of them that it will be enough for several articles.
1. A manner that speaks for itself
You won’t find a single portrait by Leonardo, where he depicted his character completely full face. His models are always half-turned to us. It doesn’t matter whether you look an early work or the latest one. Leonardo did it intentionally. By using a more complicated pose, he tried to breathe life into his characters to impart them at least a bit of dynamics.
2. Minor details matter more than they seem
Madonna stands on the background of two arched windows. Through which you can see the landscape: blue mountain ranges and the sky. Exactly the same view opens from the windows, where Leonardo placed the characters of his other painting – “The Last Supper”, which may indicate the connection that da Vinci wanted to show between two painting.
There are 2 breastfeeding cutouts on the Madonna’s dress. They were neatly sewn up. This can be seen from the incision on the left breast. However, the stitches on the right are broken. This may indicate that Madonna was planning to wean the baby. Therefore, the cutouts were sewn up as unnecessary. However, she could not resist the cry of the child and ripped open the dress.
The fact is that from about 1300, noble ladies in Europe stopped breastfeeding by hiring wet nurses. Leonardo’s mother, most likely, was breastfeeding. After all, she was a girl from the lower class, a peasant.
But at the age of 5 he was separated from her. The noble father wished to see his illegitimate son next to him. This is probably why Leonardo painting the image of a mother, merciful and loving.
3. An opinion that did not always coincide with everyone
This is the first picture in the history of art when people are depicted not in front of the landscape, but inside it. Heroes are sitting by the water. Behind them are rocks. They are so old that they look more like stalactites.The Virgin of the Rocks was ordered by the monks of the St. Francis brotherhood for one of the churches in Milan.
But customers were disappointed. Leonardo delayed the timing.
They also did not like the lack of halo. They were also embarrassed by the gesture of an angel. Why is his forefinger pointing at John the Baptist? After all, baby Jesus is more important.
4. An ending that you might not expect
This is perhaps one of the master’s favorite tricks. Virtually none of his works are completed . He could do a couple of brush strokes and go for a walk in the valleys of Lombardy, switch to creating another apparatus.
This is because Leonardo perceived time differently . Among his contemporaries, he was the first to argue that the Earth is older than it is commonly thought, and that there were once seas instead of mountains. Therefore, it was common for him to paint a picture for decades. What is this compared to the age of the Earth?
Da Vinci carried the well-known Mona Lisa with him until the end of his life, constantly adding something to the portrait. In total, he painted her for 16 years.