Style Analysis - Da Vinci
Copying may be the highest form of flattery, but it is also one of the many ways to immerse oneself in a new technique. In Viscom, we were asked to choose a drawing from a spread, and copy that drawing onto A1 paper. Although copying is not my favourite method of learning, one does what one must. I chose this drawing of a hand because I like hands and because I haven't drawn one in great detail in a long time, so I welcomed the challenge. This was by Da Vinci, one of the great masters of the Renaissance, though I did not know this at the time. Medium used is charcoal (sticks).
They say the hand is the hardest part of the body to get right. Still, it's my favourite. Bullshit metaphors aside, it's the most interchangeable body part---look at it from a slightly different angle, or shift your fingers ever so slightly, or ask different people to draw the same hand---it's dynamic, and it's never the same. And it's the weirdest body part if you think about it. All of a sudden you have five mini-limbs sprouting out of your arm, and these tendrils often have a mind of their own (or so I say whenever I knock something over).
Though some of the proportions of my sketch are off (and some parts could be darker), I'd say it's not bad, especially since the last time I drew something realistically, with shading and everything, was almost a year ago. I don't say this enough, but Pak Teguh definitely influenced my strokes up there---by default, my lines are slightly curved, and there's a contrast in strokes. That's not Da Vinci, that's just my hand at work. Now back to Da Vinci.
In case you've been living under a rock under a pineapple under the sea, Da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath who lived in the Renaissance era, and could basically do everything under the sun, and more. According to Wikipedia, he was proficient in inventing, sculpting, drawing, writing, science, music, mathematics, geology, astronomy, botany, literature, engineering, and so on and so forth and we will have run out of paper by the time we list all he can do. He has been called the father of palaeontology, ichnology and architecture, and is recognised as one of the greatest painters of all time. He is also famous for his Codex, now widely popularised by Dan Brown's novels, in which he sketches all of his ideas and observations, from what we may call the earliest draft of a helicopter to dead-set anatomical studies (if you don't get that pun, he learned his anatomy from dead bodies).
Notable characteristics of his works:
- Clean, sharply defined lines (though this is not always the case, as with the self-portrait above).
- Use of chiaroscuro, or the contrast of lights and darks. Sometimes he uses lines to render, other times he blurs them to get soft edges.
- Sketches are precise---this is probably because back then, art was not really used for self-expression or merely for worshipping---it was used to observe and record information. Botanists, scientists, and engineers all had to be proficient in sketching, as there were no cameras yet. They all had trained eyes---imagine dropping dead one day from a wrongly prescribed root medicine, because the botanist drew it wrong! Back then, art was an academic skill, much like writing is still regarded today. This is also why many artists of that time were simultaneously scientists, engineers, writers, and many more in addition to being painters. Art was so entwined with academia that it was hard to seperate the two. Hence Da Vinci's approach to art---sharp, precise, and with a keen curiosity.
I wonder how he studied fetuses---did he slit a dead pregnant woman's uterus? Or did he apply the same knowledge of reptilian eggs and drew a hypothesis? Example of his mirror writing (in code) above.
As for his paintings:
- Use of sfumato, which is translated as "to evaporate like smoke", a fine lighting and shading technique that creates imperceptible transitions between colors and tones. This is an iconic painting technique of the Renaissance era---others include chiaroscuro, cangiante, and unione.
- Da Vinci shows a great deal of interest in the dynamic of movements, and portraying expressive emotions in his art. Even in the smallest gesture of the hand, or the curl of a fetus, or the render of an eye.
- Like the man himself, his works carry an air of mystery. Take the Mona Lisa, for example. Her eyes seem to follow you wherever you go, no matter what angle you look at it from. She seems to withheld a deep and powerful secret. Everything about her, from her posture to the way she crosses her hands, captivates you in its silent knowledge. Da Vinci demonstrates a deep understanding of his subjects, physically and emotionally. He captures not only anatomical accuracy but also vivid emotional portrayal, and does it in such a way that is subtle yet powerful.
Today, Da Vinci is regarded as one of the most brilliant people that has lived on the earth. Conspiracies have sprung around him---some say he is not fully human, others say he received enlightment from extraterrestials. I remember watching a documentary once that investigated his sketches of decidedly non-humans, and linking his temporary disappearance to meddling otherworldly forces. Films, books, video games, and countless other speculative and documentative medias have popped up around this man who seemed to be centuries ahead of his time. I am honoured to have learned a little bit more about him, even though it has barely scratched the surface of what his life, his works, and his analysis encompasses.
But for now, that is all! Rest well, Da Vinci, for the world will be forever baffled by the feverishly imaginative, inventive, and mindblowing innovations that riddled within your pages.