Leonardo da Vinci Picture Study Aid and Art Prints

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Leonardo da Vinci Picture Study Aid

Included in this 25-page Leonardo da Vinci Picture Study Aid (see a sample Picture Study Aid here!) is the following:

  • a summary of the childhood of Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
  • a synopsis of seven of his works (see right).
  • resources for additional reading can be found in the Living Art Book Archive.
  • printable versions of the pieces covered in the PDF version.
  • a brief discussion about Charlotte Mason’s ideas and methods for implementing picture study at different ages is also included.
  • the printed book, which is saddle-stitched with high-quality, 100-lb., smooth paper and full color, includes a portrait of Leonardo at the end.

There is also an option to order separate, professionally-printed copies of each piece for use during your picture study time in the drop-down menu below as well. These are printed on durable cardstock with a smooth finish and display beautifully. The prints do not include the Picture Study Aid PDF download – this is a separate purchase.

The pieces discussed are:

  • Madonna of the Carnation (1472-1478)
  • Ginevra de’ Benci (ca. 1474-1478)
  • Virgin of the Rocks (1482-1486)
  • The Lady with an Ermine (1489-1490)
  • The Last Supper (1490s)
  • Mona Lisa (ca. 1503 – 1506 [or 1517])
  • The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right (1510-1513)

The greatest gifts are often seen, in the course of nature, rained by celestial influences on human creatures; and sometimes, in supernatural fashion, beauty, grace, and talent are united beyond measure in one single person, in a manner that to whatever such an one turns his attention, his every action is so divine, that, surpassing all other men, it makes itself clearly known as a thing bestowed by God (as it is), and not acquired by human art. This was seen by all mankind in Leonardo da Vinci, in whom, besides a beauty of body never sufficiently extolled, there was an infinite grace in all his actions; and so great was his genius, and such its growth, that to whatever difficulties he turned his mind, he solved them with ease. In him was great bodily strength, joined to dexterity, with a spirit and courage ever royal and magnanimous; and the fame of his name so increased, that not only in his lifetime was he held in esteem, but his reputation became even greater among posterity after his death.

GIORGIO VASARI (LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, & ARCHITECTS)

Leonardo was the ultimate tortured genius, and this is part of what I truly appreciate about him: the frenetic pace of his mind. He moved from one project to another project, from one medium to another medium, from one study to another study, from one city to another city. He was so consumed by the myriad paths his mind traveled that many of his pieces were unfinished. Aside from the creations we have in his journals, had he been gifted with more regular patrons or even a little more self-discipline, it’s incredible to think about the things he may have accomplished.

The intention of this picture study aid is to equip the home educator with some basic facts and understanding of a sampling of the work of Leonardo da Vinci. It is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis or study of each piece or a complete biography of the artist.

About picture study, Ms. Mason recommended keeping learning as simple as possible, especially in the younger years, and put extra emphasis on the images by themselves.

There is no talk about schools of painting, little about style; consideration of these matters comes in later life, the first and most important thing is to know the pictures themselves. As in a worthy book we leave the author to tell his own tale, so do we trust a picture to tell its tale through the medium the artist gave it. In the region of art as else-where we shut out the middleman. (vol 6 pg 216)

Definite teaching is out of the question; suitable ideas are easily given, and a thoughtful love of Art inspired by simple natural talk over the picture at which the child is looking. (PR Article “Picture Talks”)

…we begin now to understand that art is not to be approached by such an acadamised road. It is of the spirit, and in ways of the spirit must we make our attempt. We recognise that the power of appreciating art and of producing to some extent an interpretation of what one sees is as universal as intelligence, imagination, nay, speech, the power of producing words. But there must be knowledge and, in the first place, not the technical knowledge of how to produce, but some reverent knowledge of what has been produced; that is, children should learn pictures, line by line, group by group, by reading, not books, but pictures themselves. A friendly picture-dealer supplies us with half a dozen beautiful little reproductions of the work of some single artist, term by term. After a short story of the artist’s life and a few sympathetic words about his trees or his skies, his river-paths or his figures, the little pictures are studied one at a time; that is, children learn, not merely to see a picture but to look at it, taking in every detail.” (vol 6 pg 214)

This Picture Study Aid is meant to offer basic information about the artists as well as ready answers should your student ask about a particular aspect of a piece and the explanation isn’t readily evident. Ms. Mason emphasized not focusing on strict academic discourse when doing picture study, but rather simply exposing students to the art itself:

His education should furnish him with whole galleries of mental pictures, pictures by great artists old and new;––…––in fact, every child should leave school with at least a couple of hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of his imagination, to say nothing of great buildings, sculpture, beauty of form and colour in things he sees. Perhaps we might secure at least a hundred lovely landscapes too,––sunsets, cloudscapes, starlight nights. At any rate he should go forth well furnished because imagination has the property of magical expansion, the more it holds the more it will hold. (vol 6 pg 43)

7 reviews for Leonardo da Vinci Picture Study Aid and Art Prints

5.0 Rating
1-5 of 7 reviews
  1. Excellent materials. Quick delivery.

  2. Beautiful and thorough as always! A wonderful resource for homeschool families!!! These packets make artist study something we all look forward to in our family.

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