Leonardo Da Vinci’s numerous skills have earned him the title of renaissance master.

Da Vinci’s fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form.
Having lived until the age of 67, Leonardo experienced a very long career that was filled with times during which the painter was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away.
Leonardo da Vinci Rare Antique and Collectibles

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Famous Leonardo Da Vinci Baptism Of Christ

Baptism Of Christ (c. 1472)

Leonardo was 23 at the time it was painted and part of his contribution was the angel holding the mantle.

The Baptism of Christ is a painting finished around 1475 in the studio of the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Verrocchio and generally ascribed to him and his pupil Leonardo da Vinci. Some art historians discern the hands of other members of Verrocchio’s workshop in the painting as well. The picture depicts the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist as recorded in the Biblical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

The angel to the left is recorded as having been painted by the youthful Leonardo, a fact which has excited so much special comment and mythology, that the importance and value of the picture as a whole and within the œuvre of Verrocchio is often overlooked. Modern critics also attribute much of the landscape in the background and the figure of Christ to Leonardo da Vinci as well  The painting is housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The kneeling figure already shows signs of characteristics Leonardo would retain and develop throughout the rest of his career, particularly in the luminous tumbling locks of hair, the brightness in the eyes and the sweet look on the face.


Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci Famous Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings

Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci (1474-1476)

Ginevra de’ Benci is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de’ Benci (born c. 1458). The oil-on-wood portrait was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1967.

The sum of US$5 million—a record price at the time—came from the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and was paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein.

It is the only painting by Leonardo on public view in the Americas.

It is known that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci in 1474, painted in Florence possibly to commemorate her marriage that year to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini at the age of 16. According to Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists (second edition, 1568), however, Ginevra was not the daughter of Amerigo de’ Benci, and the wife of Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini. They married on 14 January 1474.
The painting’s imagery and the text on the reverse of the panel support the identification of this picture. Directly behind the young lady in the portrait is a juniper tree. The reverse of the portrait is decorated with a juniper sprig encircled by a wreath of laurel and palm and is memorialized by the phrase VIRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT (“beauty adorns virtue”).
Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci is now owned by National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC and is currently the only painting by Leonardo in United States.

Unlike Leonardo’s other portraits of women, this lady looks sulky, unforgiving and haughty. This is emphasised by the slightly smaller cast of one eye, making her look withdrawn.
leonardo da vinci madonna of the carnation

Madonna of the Carnation (1478-80)

The Madonna of the Carnation, a.k.a. Madonna with Vase or Madonna with Child, is a Renaissance oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci created around 1478-1480. It is permanently displayed at the Alte Pinakothek gallery in Munich, Germany.

The central and centered motif is the young Virgin Mary seated with Baby Jesus on her lap. Depicted in precious clothes and jewellery, with her left hand Mary holds a carnation (interpreted as a healing symbol). The faces are put into light while all other objects are darker, e.g. the carnation is covered by a shadow. The child is looking up, the mother is looking down — there is no eye contact. The setting of the portrait is a room with two windows on each side of the figures.

Originally this painting was thought to have been created by Andrea del Verrocchio but subsequent art historians agree that it is Leonardo’s work.

The Madonna and Child was a common motif in Christian art during the Middle Ages. This painting is the only work by Leonardo which is permanently on display in Germany.
The Virgin’s head, the apex of the triangular structure of this composition, is set off from the dark wall by light that comes from both sides to model her face in three-dimensional form–similar to the treatment in the portrait of Ginevra de’Benci. Behind Mary can be glimpsed a scene often repeated in Leonardo’s later work.


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The Adoration of the Magi is an early painting by Leonardo da VinciThe Adoration of the Magi (1481)

Leonardo was commissioned in 1480 to paint this work for the main altar of the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto, near Florence. He was to complete it within thirty months, but it remained largely unfinished and was left behind in Florence when Leonardo set out for Milan the next year.

Leonardo was given the commission by the Augustinian monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence, but departed for Milan the following year, leaving the painting unfinished. It has been in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence since 1670.
The Virgin Mary and Child are depicted in the foreground and form a triangular shape with the Magi kneeling in adoration. Behind them is a semicircle of accompanying figures, including what may be a self-portrait of the young Leonardo (on the far right). In the background on the left is the ruin of a pagan building, on which workmen can be seen, apparently repairing it. On the right are men on horseback fighting, and a sketch of a rocky landscape.

The ruins are a possible reference to the Basilica of Maxentius, which, according to Medieval legend, the Romans claimed would stand until a virgin gave birth. It is supposed to have collapsed on the night of Christ’s birth (in fact it was not even built until a later date). The ruins dominate a preparatory perspective drawing by Leonardo, which also includes the fighting horsemen.
The palm tree in the centre has associations with the Virgin Mary, partly due to the phrase ‘You are stately as a palm tree’ from the Song of Solomon, which is believed to prefigure her. Another aspect of the palm tree can be the usage of the palm tree as a symbol of victory for ancient Rome, whereas in Christianity it is a representation of martyrdom—triumph over death—so in conclusion we can say that the palm in general represents triumph. The other tree in the painting is from the carob family, the seeds from the tree are used as a unit of measurement. They measure valuable stones and jewels. This tree and its seeds are associated with crowns suggesting Christ as the king of kings or the Virgin as the future Queen of heaven, also that this is nature’s gift to the new born Christ. As with Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo the background is probably supposed to represent the Pagan world supplanted by the Christian world, as inaugurated by the events in the foreground.The artist uses bright colors to illuminate the figures in the foreground of the painting. Jesus and the virgin Mary are, in fact, painted yellow, the color of light. It is also interesting how the trees are painted blue, an unusual color for trees of any kind. On the right side the most credible self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci as a 30 year old can be seen, according to several critics. See Angelo Paratico [1]



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Virgin of the Rocks (1483-1486)

Virgin of the Rocks one in Louvre and one in London
This painting has 2 versions. One is in the Louvre, Paris, the other is in the National Gallery. The paintings are both nearly 2 metres (over 6 feet) high and are painted in oils.
Both were painted on wooden panel; that in the Louvre has been transferred to canvas.

Both paintings show the Madonna and Child Jesus with the infant John the Baptist and an angel, in a rocky setting which gives the paintings their usual name. The significant compositional differences are in the gaze and right hand of the angel.
There are many minor ways in which the works differ, including the colours, the lighting, the flora, and the way in which sfumato has been used. Although the date of an associated commission is documented, the complete histories of the two paintings are unknown, and lead to speculation about which of the two is earlier.

Leonardo Da Vinci Vergine delle Rocce in Louvre.jpgVirgin of the Rocks Louvre version

The Virgin of the Rocks in the Louvre is considered by most art historians to be the earlier of the two and date from around 1483–1486. Most authorities agree that the work is entirely by Leonardo.  It is about 8 cm (3 in) taller than the London version. The first certain record of this picture is in 1625, when it was in the French royal collection. It is generally accepted that this painting was produced to fulfill a commission of 1483 in Milan. It is hypothesised that this painting was privately sold by Leonardo and that the London version was painted at a later date to fill the commission.
There are a number of other theories to explain the existence of two paintings.

This painting is regarded as a perfect example of Leonardo’s “sfumato” technique.

Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of-the-Rocks National Gallery LondonLondon version

A very similar painting in the National Gallery, London, is also ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, and ascribed a date before 1508. Originally thought to have been partially painted by Leonardo’s assistants, study of the painting during the recent restoration has led the conservators from the National Gallery to conclude that the greater part of the work is by the hand of Leonardo. However its precise attribution is still the subject of a debate.

It was painted for the chapel of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Francesco Maggiore in Milan. It was sold by the church, very likely in 1781, and certainly by 1785, when it was bought by Gavin Hamilton, who took it to England.

After passing through various collections, it was bought by the National Gallery in 1880.


Lady with an Ermine (1489–1490)

Lady with an Ermine
The subject of the portrait is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, and was probably painted at a time when she was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan and Leonardo was in the service of the Duke. Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine is one of the most important woks in all of Western art.

The Last Supper (1498)

A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history, and The Last Supper is among the most sold of all Da Vinci posters.

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Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) (c. 1503-05)

Mona Lisa- Famous Leonardo Da Vinci Artworks
Mona Lisa
This infamous portrait of Lisa del Giocondo was completed some time between 1503-1519 and currently on display at the Musee du Louvre in Paris.

The Virgin and Child with St Anne (1510)

The Virgin and Child with St Anne was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci on 1510. It is Oil on wood and measures 168 x 130 cm. The original one is now located at Musée du Louvre, Paris.

St. John the Baptist (1513-16)

St. John the Baptist was painted by Leonardo da Vinci during 1513 to 1516, when the High Renaissance was metamorphosing into Mannerism, it is believed to be his last painting. This is an oil painting on walnut wood. The original size of the work was 69×57 cm. It is now exhibited at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France.