Art is never finished; only abandoned.

stairwaytosun:

• Codex del vuelo de las aves, redactado con escritura especular, 1485-1490.
• Diseños de una máquina de Vuelo.
• El Codici Atlántico de Leonardo da Vinci como habría existido en 1600, con todas 1.119 hojas reunido por Pompeo Leoni. En realidad el libro es una caja.
  El Codici Atlántico es una colección encuadernada de dibujos y escrituras por Leonardo da Vinci que tiene doce volúmenes. 
  Consta de 1.119 hojas que datan de 1478 a 1519, tratando de una gran variedad de sujetos, de vuelo a armamento a instrumentos musicales y de matemáticas y botánica. Este códice fue reunido por el escultor Pompeo Leoni, hijo de Leone Leoni, durante los finales del siglo XVI, aunque Leoni descuartizó unos cuadernos de Leonardo durante su formación. Actualmente se encuentra en la Biblioteca Ambrosiana en Milán.

by: Leonardo Da Vinci.

stairwaytosun:

Analizando Arco Y flecha by: Leonardo Da Vinci.

loftcultural:

Leonardo Da Vinci - Anatomical Studies (1505)

milesmidza:

“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” - Leonardo

The drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

The smallest feline is a masterpiece.

Leonardo da Vinci (via mypoetcard)

I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.

Leonardo Da Vinci (via visionofagentlecoast)

dominusvenustas:

Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-98

Leonardo also executed in Milan, for the Dominicans of Santa Maria dell Grazie, a marvellous and beautiful painting of the Last Supper. Having depicted the heads of the apostles full of splendour and majesty, he deliberately left the head of Christ unfinished, convinced he would fail to give it the divine spirituality it demands. 

Vasari, 1568

This fresco of the Last Supper was perhaps Leonardo’s greatest challenge. Ross King has just written a new book on the subject. He reveals to us that Leonardo would sometimes sit for hours on end without touching his brushes, just looking and examining the painting, criticising the figures to himself. Other days he would come in and swiftly apply a few dabs of paint then go elsewhere. 

This was a long, thoughtful and time-consuming process. Ross King tells us that when he painted the face of Christ his hand trembled. As Vasari tell us, he wanted to capture the divine spirituality. This was a big deal. The face of Christ embodied all that was holy and true. Quite a challenge…

He was unwilling to look for any human model, nor did he dare suppose that his imagination could conceive the beauty and divine grace that properly belonged to the incarnate Deity.  (Vasari again)

So I shall leave it to you to decide if you think he succeeded in his mission or whether he did not live up to his own expectations.

Personally, I think he could not have reached any greater heights in his attempt to portray the Almighty. Leonardo’s Christ is humble, accepting and filled with love and humanity for all.