The Virgin and St. Anne with Christ Child and John the Baptist Assessment
The Virgin and St. Anne with Christ Child and John the Baptist Assessment
When considering which of the three purposes of drawing that applies to Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Virgin and St. Anne with Christ Child and John the Baptist,” is a drawing made as a preliminary sketch for a future painting. This can be proven with two supporting examples. First that the drawing is done in charcoal and black and white chalk, and second that the figures in the drawing are not proportional in size.
The first indication that this piece is a preliminary sketch is that Leonardo Da Vinci uses dry media such as chalk and charcoal. In the drawing Leonardo Da Vinci uses white chalk for the lighter colors, and black chalk and charcoal for the darks values on a middle value brown paper. Charcoal creates soft, scattered lines that smudge easily and can be erased with a few flicks of a cloth. Leonardo Da Vinci was known as a great master of chiaroscuro, where the artist utilizes values of light and dark to record contrasts of light and shadow in natural form. Most artists use dry mediums such as charcoal and chalk when working on sketches and outlines in order to get the gestures and scale correct on the final product.
The second example that the drawing is a preliminary sketch is that the figures in the drawing don’t seem to be proportional. In the drawing the Virgin Mary is seated on the knees of St. Anne and is holding the Child Christ while St. John the Baptist, stands to his right, leaning on another leg. When you look to the drawing you notice that the Virgin Mary’s arm seems to be longer than necessary, when in fact it actually transforms into a part of the child Jesus’ body. Also it is hard to tell which leg belongs to which woman and there is also one extra leg that seems to belong to no one. The hand of St. Anne between the heads of the two children seems to be an outline as well as some of the Virgin Mary’s feet, with little detail. More than likely Leonardo Da Vinci purpose
When considering which of the three purposes of drawing that applies to Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Virgin and St. Anne with Christ Child and John the Baptist,” is a drawing made as a preliminary sketch for a future painting. This can be proven with two supporting examples. First that the drawing is done in charcoal and black and white chalk, and second that the figures in the drawing are not proportional in size.
The first indication that this piece is a preliminary sketch is that Leonardo Da Vinci uses dry media such as chalk and charcoal. In the drawing Leonardo Da Vinci uses white chalk for the lighter colors, and black chalk and charcoal for the darks values on a middle value brown paper. Charcoal creates soft, scattered lines that smudge easily and can be erased with a few flicks of a cloth. Leonardo Da Vinci was known as a great master of chiaroscuro, where the artist utilizes values of light and dark to record contrasts of light and shadow in natural form. Most artists use dry mediums such as charcoal and chalk when working on sketches and outlines in order to get the gestures and scale correct on the final product.
The second example that the drawing is a preliminary sketch is that the figures in the drawing don’t seem to be proportional. In the drawing the Virgin Mary is seated on the knees of St. Anne and is holding the Child Christ while St. John the Baptist, stands to his right, leaning on another leg. When you look to the drawing you notice that the Virgin Mary’s arm seems to be longer than necessary, when in fact it actually transforms into a part of the child Jesus’ body. Also it is hard to tell which leg belongs to which woman and there is also one extra leg that seems to belong to no one. The hand of St. Anne between the heads of the two children seems to be an outline as well as some of the Virgin Mary’s feet, with little detail. More than likely Leonardo Da Vinci purpose