"New" Da Vinci painting unveiled

[Gimpy]

Its been a very long time since I've studied Leonardo, but one thing that always stuck out to me was his dislike for the PTB and the ruling classes, even though his livilihood depended on them. He always had a reason for painting something the way he did...and it often included subtle slaps to the face of courtiers and their intrigues.

This is probably a lot of projection on my part, as I'm reading the "Vegetarian Myth" and am feeling tired of all the crap going on, but the impression I'm getting from this painting is that he's tired of all the machinations going on, and to deliver the message he wants to, he's deliberately making the image disturbing so that it will haunt the viewer and bring him/her back to figure out why that is.

This is a common ad tactic, though its often geared for the perception of a three year old. Da Vinci is using it to upset the viewer to ask "Why". That was what always drew me to his work in college. His images were not static, and there was something different going on in them. Which is why I loved investigating his work. (And I do apologize for not being specific here, my memory is rusty.)

His images are spiritual puzzles, and I stink at solving puzzles, but with him I do try. :D

 

[Gawan]

As I first have seen it I thought it is a woman and then a man. The hand has a touch of a B&W photograph to me.

I added two pictures with the edited out mustache and mirrored then the more female side again.

 

[Josi]

My first blink was seeing a resemblance to Mona Lisa. Fwiw.

 

[Mr.Anderson]

Mac

I agree that the eyes in the bw portrait are disconcerting.

I think he was very much aware of the Psychopath.

Its been a very long time since I've studied Leonardo, but one thing that always stuck out to me was his dislike for the PTB and the ruling classes, even though his livilihood depended on them. He always had a reason for painting something the way he did...and it often included subtle slaps to the face of courtiers and their intrigues.

IMO art is the greatest hoax. Especially when confused with artifact.

 

[Cosmos]

how can they know that this is a painting from Leonardo ?
is the painting really in black and white ?
I could imagine that they intentionally just released it that way,
so that they can show the colour painting on the opening for the public for the first time.

Edit: spelling

 

[dannybananny]

The picture seems to be a portrayal of both male and female aspects in one body?

Maybe it represents androgynous, female and male united in one body, and this ball maybe represents a "stone", a way of communicating with other realities. Just a thought.

 

[NewOrleans]

I've studied Leonardo's works for a very long time and one major underlying theme of his was the concept of Opposites: light and shadow, male and female, etc.

So it's no surprise that this one surfaced. I have some reproductions of sketches of his that are divine looking, this isn't one of them. This has a creepy effect.

Remember too that you're looking at a pixeled screen image in black and white, not even a high rez portrait. He obviously painted this in color and the oil-painted veils of luminosity he added were pretty marvelous. The effect is called sfumato. A hazy shading of edges that reveals a more realistic clarity.

The first thing I notice is that turning it into black and white does play tricks with perception. The head looks like it's floating. This looks like an optical experiment - mirrored split image - on top in the facial area - which is the reason it strikes one as odd looking.

A few years back the British painter David Hockney more or less proved that many painters of that period, both Dutch and Italian, used lenses as tools of the trade. At this time lenses were thought by The Church to be DEVILISH, so it was pretty well hidden that painterly effects of such this almost photographic realism were, in fact, their version of Photoshop tricks and rudimentary image projection.Da Vinci was so advanced- imagine what he'd do with a modern computer.

 

[mkrnhr]

Does anyone find a color picture of this painting?

 

[anart]

Does anyone find a color picture of this painting?

It's hit the mainstream news again today and here is a color version (not super clear though and this version actually looks quite different from the original, I think?):

 

[Gawan]

Does anyone find a color picture of this painting?

It's hit the mainstream news again today and here is a color version (not super clear though and this version actually looks quite different from the original, I think?):

Thanks for the update. The difference maybe due that it is not B&W anymore (no pun intended) and lost it's contrast cause of it and who knows if they increased the contrast for the B&W picture.

 

[clerck de bonk]

The eyes border on creepy, but why?

It's because they are "sleepy"* and(IMO) no skilled artist would paint/draw them that way unless (s)he knowingly wanted to.

* the eyelid reaches/almost covers the pupil and renders the face sleepy. I think there was a thread about this specific thing.

Edit wording

 

[Al Today]

For some reason, I am fascinated by the glass/crystal ball being held with the left hand. I zoomed in and the pixels got all messed up. While trying to look into the ball, I was reminded of all those poor quality pictures of moon bases and buildings on Mars.

 

[AdamJM]

whats with the 3 white dots in the crystal ball, they look like they could be part of a constellation? also, i noticed that the top half of the face looks feminine and the bottom looks masculine. its a very intriguing picture.

 

[Cosmos]

whats with the 3 white dots in the crystal ball, they look like they could be part of a constellation?

maybe color crumbling of the painting becouse of the age ?

 

[AdamJM]

i had a little skulk around and found a larger image here: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02048/Salvator-Mundi_2048281b.jpg and they definitely appear to be intentional.

unless its supposed to be the light reflecting of his/hers? finger tips being distorted in the sphere?