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Sara Pikowski
Art 109 Leonardo da Vinci was a great artist during his time and even presently. He is very well known and one of his most pieces is the Mona Lisa. In most of his artworks, there is a common theme that is seen as a very important aspect of who he is as a person. The most common theme is religion. He makes this work in his paintings because he has various artworks that contribute to the theme of religion. His other most well-known piece is The Last Supper. This also contributes to the theme of religion. Leonardo da Vinci created many beautiful and interesting pieces but the most common theme of religion, creates a background for most of his pieces. The two artworks that seemed to have the same aspect of religion are Leda and The Virgin and child with St. Anne. The three ways that these artworks suggest the theme of religion are hidden symbols within the artwork, the attitude of the people in the artwork which comes off as very peaceful and caring, and lastly the aspect of human life. Leonardo da Vinci was known as the master of perspective and composition during his time (Kuiper 13). He was also a Renaissance man which could have had some impact on most of his paintings being mostly religious. Da Vinci also learned when he was younger, how to express lighting in his paintings. Da Vinci appreciated this way of painting because it put everything in a new perspective when the artist can play with the lighting more. An example of this would be in one of paintings which will be mentioned later. Da Vinci used light to show the different ways the sky can look in various areas in the artwork. He was also very interested in flight; he would draw multiple pieces of birds flying in his notebooks (Strickland 34). This can relate to the theme of religion in his pieces because angels and God are floating above us and da Vinci appreciated that greatly. He was very curious when thinking about what he should draw or sketch next and some of the things that he thought about were the way running water adheres to rocks, the way plants grow, human anatomy, and the distribution of weight in a body that has been hung by the neck (O’Neill 84). His curiosity of human anatomy made him appreciate people more and appreciate the way God made people and this can relate back to the fact that his work consists of religious ideas. He also loved to make artworks of people, such as the Mona Lisa, and this can show that since he loved painting artworks of people, he loved the subject of human anatomy and this leads back to God’s creation of humans and how he looked at humans as objects of beauty. The two artworks of Leda and The Virgin and child with St. Anne have religion as more of a focal point. In the first painting, Leda, the point of new life and peacefulness is evident. It makes the viewer think that this could be about religious aspects because of the babies being hatched out of the eggs. In the painting, there is a woman and a swan in a fenced in area and on the ground, there are broken eggs which appear that the babies have just been hatched from the eggs. This might make the viewer think of religion because realistically, everyone knows that babies are not born through the process of hatching eggs. In a way, religion could be looked at as a possible theme for da Vinci because it is the birth of possibly a new beginning and showing life into the world. This in turn, might make the viewer think that with new life being born, there is the presence of God. Another part of this painting that resembles religion is the swan. The swan resembles religion because swans are usually viewed at as graceful and peaceful and we think of God as having the same attributes as the swan which is peaceful, caring, and graceful. The swan also is looking up at the woman and appears to have a very loving and caring look on its face so this might mean that the swan is there as an actual form of God and is there to care for and look after the woman. The last part of this painting that makes me think that the theme here could be religion is the sky. It appears to be light and possibly sunny in some areas on the woman and the babies because of the way the light is portrayed on the people. However, what appears to be in the middle of the painting, the sky looks like it is very dark. Possibly like a storm is about to come because of how da Vinci painted the sky in that particular area by using dark colors and more swirling motions. Farther back in the distance, the sky is light again. This might make the viewer refer to this as religion because when there is light on the woman and the babies, the presence of God could be over them to watch over the birth of the new babies. The sky could also be lighter far in the background because the presence of God is so strong, that it could be a symbol of positive new beginnings and the reason why it is so dark in the middle, is because there could be something evil that is trying to take over. With it being lighter farther back, it could be that God, as the greater force, is trying to take over anything evil that could potentially happen to the woman or the babies. The next artwork I have chosen is called The Virgin and child with St. Anne. This artwork might look very religious to the viewer because of the people involved in the painting. There is a woman who appears to possibly be the mother of the child who is also shown in the painting. The mother looks like she is sitting on the lap of another woman. However, I think the woman who is sitting back and observing everything is a saint. Realistically, she might not be there but in the painting, da Vinci probably wanted that particular woman to be viewed at as a saint. The mother has a very caring look on her face for the baby who she is bending down to pick up. In the background, there is a lot of open space and there are mountains that give this painting a very mystical look. Right by the baby, there is lamb that the baby was petting. The lamb could also be a symbol of God because just like in Leda, how the swan could have represented God, I think the lamb could have represented God as well. The way the people look in the painting also could add a very religious tone to the artwork. The two woman in this piece look like they are very caring by the way their eyes look very relaxed and their mouths are in half smiles. I think the overall tone of this artwork gives off a religious feeling, which I believe is how da Vinci intended it to be. Overall, I think Leonardo d Vinci’s main theme in these two artworks is religion because of the way the artwork makes the viewer feel and by the people he chose to paint. I also think the background in both of the paintings is very important because it shows that the presence of God is there and this could also be tied into why da Vinci chose the lamb and the swan to be a part of these paintings. Those two animals are usually looked at as very graceful and could possibly be in resemblance to God himself. The attitude of the people in the artworks also puts the religion aspect into place because they look very caring and generous, not mean or evil. Also, the aspect of human life, especially new human life, is a religious aspect by having new born babies present in both of these paintings. I believe Leonardo da Vinci wanted everyone to see how important religion really was to him and this is evident in not only these two art pieces, but in all the paintings he made throughout his lifetime.

Work Cited
Kuiper, Kathleen. The 100 Most Influential Painters & Sculptors of the Renaissance. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, 2010. 13. Print.
O 'Neill, John. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. 84. Print.
Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa. Wilton: John Boswell Management Inc., 1992. 34-35. Print.

Cited: Kuiper, Kathleen. The 100 Most Influential Painters & Sculptors of the Renaissance. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, 2010. 13. Print. O 'Neill, John. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. 84. Print. Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa. Wilton: John Boswell Management Inc., 1992. 34-35. Print.