Paintings
The Mona Lisa, or
La Gioconda as it is trechnically named, with her enigmatic
smile, is probably Leonardo's most famous painting. In fact, it
is probably the most well-known painting in the world. It took
Leonardo four years to complete.
Another of his most famous
works is the painting of The Last Supper which was painted
in the dining hall of the Dominican Monastery of Santa Maria della
Grazie in Milan. This exquisite work captured the expressions
of the twelves disciples at the moment Jesus announced his betrayal.
Progress on the painting was very slow because Leonardo spent
so much time just thinking and contemplating and perfecting his
ideas and less time in actual production. He felt that the need
for many revisions could be avoided by perfecting the ideas in
one's mind before actually beginning the work, and to some, he
appeared lazy as he spent so much time lost in thought.
On one occasion Leonardo
was commissioned to paint a dramatic mural and wanted his finished
work to surpass that of his rival Michaelangelo. He mixed a special
wax with his pigments to achieve a dramatic, vibrant finish; but
he did not use the correct proportions of wax and pigment, and
when the painting was completed and he attempted to cure the paint
the entire work melted and ran down off the walls into a puddle
on the floor. This work, like so many others, was never finished.
Here are a few of his other
portraits which are less well known.
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