Leonardo Compared With Piero

16 Pages 3949 Words

COMPARE THE THEORETICAL AND AESTHETIC INSTINCTS OF TWO OF THE THREE QUATTROCENTO PAINTERS: (PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA ANDREA MANTEGNA, AND LEONARDO DA VINCI). WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE PRINICPAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WORKS OF YOUR TWO SELECTED ARTISTS? ANALYSE ONE PAINTING BY EITHER ARTIST WHICH YOU FIND PARTICULARLY ABSORBING.

Leonardo da Vinci and Piero della Francesca had definite aesthetic and theoretical instincts in their approach to their artworks. Theory refers to the question of why a painting is painted a particular way and aesthetics refers to the question of what makes a painting invite and absorbs ones thinking. At this time in history Leon Battista Alberti wrote the first treatise on painting, the Della Pittura (1436). This treatise created an atmosphere of reflection and painting was elevated from a mere artisan trade to an intellectual exercise that required great skill. This intellectualization of painting had much to do with the development of perspective. The 15th Century was a time of certainty and measure. This could be seen in the Liberal arts that were taught at University. They were all arts of measure. Both Leonardo and Piero left written treatises on painting. Leonardo’s was entitled the Trattato della Pittura and Piero’s De Prospectiva Pingendi. These two works help in understanding their aesthetic and theoretical tendencies. Leonardo also wrote on many subjects outside painting in his notebooks which also help to further understand him and his aesthetics and theory. In this essay I will outline the similarities and differences in Piero and Leonardo’s aesthetics and theory. I will also analyse Leonardo’s Mona Lisa (1503) and define what I find absorbing in this work.

Both Leonardo and Piero theorized about painting in their treatises on art. For both perspective was an important aspect of painting in a time when ‘certainty’ was highly valued. Leonardo relied heavily on mathem...