Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519)  - Italy
              Artwork of the Week - The Head of a Woman
Drawing

MONDAY:  Leonardo da Vinci - a master at drawing

Leonardo da Vinci was a leading artist and intellectual of the Italian Renaissance.

sel-portrait by da Vinci

He is famous for his paintings of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, but he was also a master of the art of drawing.  

Last Supper by da Vinci

Mona Lisa by da Vinci

Da Vinci's Tuscan Landscape

Only about a dozen of da Vinci’s paintings exist, yet we have over 13,000 pages of da Vinci sketches and drawings.

​Our artwork of the week is the Head of a Woman or La Scapigliata, a drawing by da Vinci that dates from around 1500. ​​​​

Head of a Woman by da Vinci

YouTube video - Leonardo da Vinci - quick summary of his accomplishments and the Renaissance (1:03 min.)

YouTube video - Art with Mati and Dada – Leonardo Da Vinci (3:21 min.)

YouTube video - How to Draw Like Leonardo da Vinci Speeded Up (3:04 min.)

TUESDAY - da Vinci's drawing notebooks

Leonardo da Vinci was a great artist and draftsman.  A draftsman is someone who is skilled at technical drawing.  Da Vinci had many interests besides art, including plants, animals, engineering, architecture, and anatomy.  Drawing was an art form for him, but it was also a useful tool to record his studies and ideas.  He kept his drawings and notes in notebooks which he worked on daily throughout his life.  

The notebooks contain compositions for paintings, details of drapery, studies of faces, animals, babies, plants, rock formations, whirlpools, war machines, flying machines, and architecture.  

​Da Vinci even made a drawing for shoes designed to walk on water! ​​​

YouTube Video - Da Vinci's Notebooks (6:23)

WEDNESDAY - Leonardo da Vinci and drawing tools

Lascaux Cave drawing

Drawing is the oldest art form.  Drawings were done by prehistoric people in caves over 17,000 years ago.  Throughout history, drawing has always been the most common and efficient way to communicate visual ideas.  ​

YouTube video - Caves of Lascaux (2:14 min.)

Sanguine drawing by da Vinci

Sanguine drawing by da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci liked to use a red chalk called sanguine for many of his drawings.  

Black chalk by da Vinci

Combination of red and black chalk by da Vinci

He also used black chalk or a combination of the two.  Charcoal is a common tool for drawing today.

brush and ink by da Vinci

pen and ink by da Vinci

Some of the other drawing materials da Vinci used included a brush and ink and pen and ink.   ​​

Pen and ink drawing by Arthur Rackham

pen and ink drawing by Mrs. Hurdle

Pen and ink are still widely used by artists although the pens are much improved. ​

Silverpoint drawing by da Vinci

pencil drawing

In da Vinci's time, pencils had yet to be invented, and metal point was a drawing tool, which took much more effort.  Today, pencil drawing is the most common and popular drawing method.

THURSDAY - Da Vinci and Drawing Techniques

Da Vinci - using hatching

Da Vinci - using hatching

Leonardo da Vinci used a drawing technique called “hatching”.  Hatching consists of straight or curved lines drawn close to each other to give the illusion of value.  Da Vinci was left-handed, and his hatching lines went from the upper left down to the lower right.  Right-handed artists hatch from the upper right down to the lower left.  

Crosshatching

Crosshatching

“Crosshatching” draws lines crossing over each other in two or more different directions to create a darker tone.

Stippling

Another drawing method is “stippling”.  Stippling covers an area with dots to show value. 

Scribbling

Blending

 “Scribbling” uses random marks to show shading.  “Blending” uses a finger or smudge tool to smear drawing marks to give a drawing a smooth look of shading.

YouTube video - Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques (2:57 min.)

YouTube video - Graphite or pencil drawing techniques (3:28 min.)

FRIDAY - Color drawing

Drawing is using any medium to make a mark on paper or other two-dimensional surface. There are many drawing tools that create color.  ​  Pastels have been a favorite method of drawing for many years. Pastels are like chalk sticks, and they are usually applied dry to paper.  Oil pastels produce deep color and tend not to smudge as much as regular pastels, but they are harder to blend. ​

The Singer in Green - pastel by Degas

pastel drawing by Degas

 Impressionist Edgar Degas was known for his pastel pictures.  

YouTube video - How to Draw Clouds with Pastels (5:58 min.)

Colored pencil pansies

Colored pencils

Colored pencils are readily available drawing tools, but there can be a big difference in quality.  Artists layer color when using colored pencils to create different tones and shades.  

YouTube video - Drawing cherries with colored pencil (3:15 min.)

Pen and colored ink

Colored markers

Colored inks can be used with an artist’s pen and are great for showing details.  Colored markers are a popular drawing tool also.  They are generally not used for creating permanent works of art, because they are not reliably lightfast.  Crayons can also be used for drawing, and they are just some of many more tools that can produce color drawings.

Website:  Learning How to Learn How to Draw

Website:  Sketching Tips for Beginners

Sources:

Alexander, heather, A Child’s Introduction to Art: the world’s greatest paintings and sculptures.

Deborah Mends How To Draw Journey,. 'Leonardo Da Vinci Drawings'. N. p., 2015. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.

Metmuseum.org,. 'Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline Of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum Of Art'. N. p., 2015. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.

Slideshare.net,. 'Fundamentals Of Drawing'. N. p., 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

Slideshare.net,. 'Pen And Ink'. N. p., 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.