During the Renaissance, the classical cannon of artistic techniques and subject matter, that we today may take for granted, became established- forever changing art as we now know it. The Renaissance today is know for an explosion of knowledge and progress in many fields, including art, culture, science, mathematics, and politics. Many people even view the Renaissance as the era that transformed the Middle Ages into the Modern era.

In the entire context of Renaissance art, there are three artists that define the era. As the Renaissance began in Florence, Italy, it should not be surprising these revolutionary artists were Italian. Leonardo da Vinci is single-handedly known as the iconic Renaissance Man. Outside of his artistic pursuits, he is well known for his scientific and militaristic inventions.

Leonardo da Vinci’s 3 Most Famous Paintings:

1. Virgin of the Rocks:

In his Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo works with modeling his forms through light and shadows. This particularly shows through the dark and craggy setting of the rocks, in which many details are revealed and obscured by the mystical light in this Leonardesque landscape.

This technique of blending and smudging the edges of forms is known as “sfumato” in Italian, which translates to “smoky”, and Leonardo has become famous for these types of landscapes. The landscape is important, because it creates a deliberate frame around the pyramidal figure setting, consisting of the Madonna, Child, and Saint John the Baptist.

Virgin of the Rocks 1485

2. Mona Lisa:

The painting of the Mona Lisa is probably his most famous painting, well known for her mysterious facial expression. In this painting, Leonardo is well appreciated for his innovative use of atmospheric perspective, subtle modeling of forms, and the feminine mystique it portrays. He creates this effect through his stereotypical Leonardesque landscape, again employing the “sfumato” technique.

The Mona Lisa has survived 500 years, including one theft in 1911, and numerous attacks on the painting. Most recently, in August 2009, a woman angry over being denied French citizenship threw red paint onto the case holding the painting.

Mona Lisa 1505

3. Last Supper:

The Last Supper is one of Leonardo’s most impressive works. The condition of this painting is quite frail, as he experimented quite drastically with the mediums he used. Instead of painting onto a wet plaster wall with tempera paint as in a true “fresco”, Leonardo painted onto a dry wall. The painting soon began to deteriorate just a few years after he finished the painting.

The painting depicts the 12 disciples of Jesus in a stark architectural setting, during their “last supper” in which Jesus informs them that one of them will soon betray him. This painting was also the center of many conspiracy theories, due its role in “The DaVinci Code”, but these theories have been invalidated by art historians.