Discussion 4: Artistic Theory in the High Renaissance

 Artistic Theory in the High Renaissance: Leonardo compared to Michelangelo

Sir Anthony Blunt, Artistic Theory in Italy (pp. 23-38, 58-81)

         It is acceptable to say that Leonardo and Michelangelo begin as scientists in art, and rely on the sciences in order to formulate their works. Both were raised in the Humanist era and therefore studied the arts and sciences. Foundations in linear perspective and accurate proportion developed a standard for accuracy in art. The exactitude of the portrayal of 'man' came only through much schooling and personal study (dissection). Leonardo and Michelangelo had much of the same upbringing; being apprenticed to great artists and eventually surpassing them significantly in skill and theory. Beyond their similar roots these two great artists of the Renaissance formulate different ideas of what art is, and how it should be depicted and thought of.

         Leonardo judges art by its completeness of rendering nature (Blunt, 27). “For leonardo, painting is a science because of its foundation on mathematical perspective and on the study of nature” (Blunt, 26). Through Leonardo's words one can see how he judges other artist's for not being at the same skill level as himself. Leonardo has

“...a particular scorn for those who ignore theory and think that by mere practice they can produce a work of art: 'Those who devote themselves to practice without science are like sailors who put to sea without rudder or compass and who can never be certain where they are going. Practice must always be founded on sound theory.' He also disapproves of those who rely on devices for exact imitation, like Alberti's net for the method of painting on a piece of glass held in front of the view. These short-cuts should only be used by those who have enough knowledge of theory” (28).

He believes that one can only truly be a true master of realism, of accuracy of nature, with study and underlying understanding of the subject; a true traditional master. This obsession, or thirst, for perfection is apparent due to the numerous amount of notebooks Leonardo filled throughout his lifetime. Leonardo judged his own artwork by the exactness that it imitated real life or nature. He used a mirror to check life-likeness, and “the reflection in a mirror as 'the true painting'” (Blunt, 30). This mirror method is still used by artists today.

         For through all of Leonardo's obsession with understanding how the world worked, he became a genius before his time. “His knowledge of human anatomy was not attained by members of the medical profession for half a century after his death, and many of the facts which he observed had to wait still longer before they could be properly fitted into man's scheme of the universe” (Blunt, 25). Perhaps because of his studies, Leonardo comes to conclusions about what is the greatest art, “Leonardo maintains that painting is the finer art, [not poetry], because 'it makes images of the works of nature with more truth than the poet'” (Blunt, 27). The same idea comes out when Leonardo claims superiority for painting over sculpture because “the latter cannot use color, or aerial perspective, or depict luminous or transparent bodies, clouds, storms, and many other things” (Blunt, 27). It is known that Leonardo and Michelangelo disliked each other. One can only imagine Leonardo says these things against poetry and sculpture so that Michelangelo, who was foremost a sculpture and privately a poet, would hear them or that their social circle or contemporaries would know how Leonardo felt. Leonardo felt that the most beautiful and successful of art was that which could allude the most exactly to real life.

         Contrastingly, Michelangelo, by the end of his life does not believe that art should be the “exact imitation of nature” (Blunt, 61). Michelangelo was not just trained in Humanism, but also Neoplatonism, which “spoke of spiritual beauty” (Blunt, 61). His training in Neoplatonism “led to a belief in the beauty of the visible universe, above all in human beauty” (Blunt, 60). To Michelangelo, beauty (especially in the depiction of man) was a reflection of the divine (Blunt, 62).

Unlike Leonardo, Michelangelo was an extremely devout man. He wrote a poem that said, “nowhere does God, in his grace, reveal himself to me more clearly than in lovely human form, which I love solely because it is a mirrored image of Himself” (Blunt, 69). This explains his attention to the male figures in his artwork, as well as the masculinity of his females, because men are the likeness of God in Michelangelo's eyes. One can see this especially with the Sibyls in the Sistine Chapel fresco (1508-12), which is “a worship of the beauty of the human body” (Blunt, 60).

         Many years later Michelangelo paints “The Last Judgement” in the Sistine Chapel (1536-41) and one can compare this fresco to the ceiling and see that, “physical beauty is not the most important but the portrayal of the soul is what occupies Michelangelo's thoughts” (Blunt, 66). Michelangelo became consumed with getting into heaven, wrought with emotion of whether his soul was good enough to avoid damnation. His thoughts became that “love of physical beauty is a cheat, but the true love, that of spiritual beauty, gives perfect satisfaction, does not fade with time, and elevates the mind to the contemplation of the divine” (Blunt, 67).

         Michelangelo's artistic theory concludes that physical portrayal of beauty is not as important to the portrayal of spiritual beauty. This might be why many of his sculptures, like those in the Medici Tombs, have unfinished faces. This unfinished quality might have meant something to Michelangelo and his relationship with God that onlookers won't ever comprehend. Leonardo also had many unfinished artworks in his lifetime, but these were probably not intentional. His artistic theory was that art should imitate life's beauty exactly; which can only be accomplished by a thorough study of the sciences and only truly through painting. Leonardo said to “never imitate another painter, or you will be their 'grandson' and and not a son of nature in your art” (Blunt, 33). This is because this copying leads to Mannerism. Leonardo disapproved of Mannerism because “it was away from the real nature of things” (Blunt, 33). It is because of Michelangelo and his theories and depictions in art, not Leonardo's, that the Renaissance leads into Mannerism. Despite their similar roots, these two artists arrived at very different opinions on what art should be.

…This begins the debate of which great Master had a more profound influence on the art world then and now?