{"id":15088,"date":"2017-11-25T11:23:25","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T10:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/?p=15088"},"modified":"2022-11-17T09:29:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T08:29:47","slug":"leonardo-salvator-mundi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2017\/11\/25\/leonardo-salvator-mundi\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonardo da Vinci: recent miracles of science and restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
1. Leonardo da Vinci: Adoration of the Magi, a new San Girolamo and the Salvator Mundi <\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Leonardo da Vinci and The Adoration of the Magi: an interview with Marco Ciatti, who directed the restoration of the painting<\/strong> (by Antonio Carnevale) <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Why would Leonardo da\nVinci not complete his paintings? Vasari writes: \u201cIt is clear that\nLeonardo da Vinci, through his comprehension of art, began many\nthings and never finished one of them, since it seemed to him that\nthe hand was not able to attain to the perfection of art in carrying\nout the things which he imagined.\u201d Many scholars have interpreted\nVasari\u2019s remark as a reference to the battle between body and mind,\nbetween the technical possibilities of representing nature and the\nperfection of nature itself. In this regard, Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s\ninability to finish his paintings would derive from his belief in the\nimpossibility to technically render his mental images, his ideas.\nHowever, Vasari\u2019s remark can have a different meaning. The hand of\nthe artist might not able to better his artwork because the artwork\nitself has already reached perfection. Anything added to the painting\nat this stage would make it weaker, drawing it nearer to a mere\nimitation and further from the work of the intellect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A taste for the unfinished\nis not exclusive to Leonardo da Vinci. Throughout the history of art,\nMichelangelo and early Christian catacomb paintings are relevant\nexamples. In the latter case, naturalistic precision of the late\nHellenistic painting style could not properly convey the supernatural\nmessage of the new religion, hence the unfinishedness of the early\nChristian pictures. Despite these instances, Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s\npreference for the unfinished remains unique, since it is especially\ndifficult to pinpoint the reasons for this artistic choice in his\nwork. In fact, a quest for those reasons has been the starting point\nfor many scholars to study Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s paintings. The\nrestoration of The Adoration of the Magi at the Uffizi Gallery, one\nof the greatest masterpieces of the artist both in terms of actual\ndimensions and artistic achievement, has offered a great chance to\nunderstand his taste for the unfinished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, 1481, Uffizi, Florence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We discussed the subject with Marco Ciatti – head of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence – who directed the restoration of the painting from 2012 until its end in 2017 along with Cecilia Frosinini. The results of this long effort were presented last November in an international symposium at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome titled Leonardo da Vinci and his Circle: Painting Technique in the Light of Restorations and Scientific Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were the main reasons\nfor this restoration?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Ciatti: On the one hand, the restoration was needed to consolidate the wooden support of the painting. On the other hand, it made the picture more legible by removing unoriginal layers of different materials that were concealing the figures–and meanings–initially intended by the artist.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What emerged from the more\nlegible portions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Ciatti: Before the restoration, the individual figures were almost undefined, some barely stood out. There were even bleached paint patches. More generally, legibility of all expressive values was greatly penalized, and the strong chiaroscuro was almost gone. The spread of colored materials and patinas was creating a flattening effect. For example, it was removing any depth of the background, which actually opens towards a landscape. The immersion of the figures in the wider environment is one of Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s typical aesthetic choices.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you find out about the painting being unfinished? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Ciatti: Before the restoration we suspected that the various incomplete parts were quite randomly distributed over the painting with different levels of detail. Throughout the works this suspicion turned out to be certainty.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n