The Italian Renaissance is definitely an important part of history, as it introduced new styles of art and architecture, created by some of the greatest artists of that time. Many of those artists are still talked about to this day, and some of the more notable ones are the big three of the High Renaissance. But out the big three, the most famous out of all them was Leonardo da Vinci, a polymath. Leonardo had many talents, and created many masterpieces that are still talked about to this day. It’s clear that this man had made his mark in history and he was known to have close relations with other artists, friends, and his assistants in his lifetime.

Leonardo has been a huge inspiration to many in the art world, and his style was very unique in everything that he created. Out of all the paintings that Leonardo created, two of them come to mind. This is because they are not only his most famous paintings, but they are his most memorable ones as well. Those two paintings are Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.” Those two paintings alone are regarded as masterpieces and I can definitely see why. I didn’t know much about paintings in school, but I still learned about some of the more famous ones.

To start off the painting information, lets talk about The Last Supper painting. Leonardo first started this working on this painting in 1495 and he finished the painting in 1498. Leonardo was originally working on this piece for the Dominican monastery, Santa Maria delle Grazie, which is in Milan, Italy. This painting was a very popular choice for the refectory walls of monasteries and convents in 15th-century Italy and this was done mostly so that nun and monks could eat their meals in the presence of Jesus’ final repast.

The picture itself depicts the scene where Jesus declares that one of his Apostles will betray him. The painting itself displays such a wide array of emotions from every person in the painting. Leonardo believed that things like posture, gesture and expression help to manifest the notions of the human mind. I think Leonardo was thinking with this notion is that if you give enough details to a painting, you can get an idea of what’s happening within it. This piece is one of the most recognizable paintings in the western world of art, and I can see why. This painting is very well done and really depicts a moment in history.

I’ve talked about some very famous works so far, but perhaps the most famous painting of all is Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa”. This one painting is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. It has been described as the best known, the most visited, the most written about, and the most parodied work of art in the whole world.

This one painting was started in 1503 and was finished in 1519. Leonardo spent 19 years of his life creating this, and he really spent his time well since the end result was a literal master piece. The woman in the painting has talked about for many different reasons, from her mysterious smile to her unproven Identity has made the painting one of the largest sources of investigation. For any of those wondering, the painting has been moved to the Louvre in Paris back in 1797 and has been there since.

Leonardo’s paintings have had such a huge impact to the world of art and I feel like that without them, we wouldn’t have the level of art we have today. Art has played such a huge roll with pretty much everything in todays age. Art can help to promote brands, sell products, but the most important thing about art to me, is that it brings things to life. Whenever I’m reading a book or writing a story, I’m always trying to picture things, like the characters in my head. That’s where art can really help you, since it helps to visualize what you’re thinking. To be honest, that’s why I like artwork. It helps people to bring the ideas in their heads to life for everyone to see and enjoy.

If anyone is curious about where to see the Mona Lisa for yourself, visit the Louvre’s twitter for more information. https://twitter.com/MuseeLouvre

Ryan Kinney

I’m currently a student in the Professional Writing program. I really like writing about superheroes and on my spare time I’m usually playing video-games or reading about mythology or fantasy.