25. Postcard from Croatia

Exposition Leonard de Vinci, I'inventeur au Vieil Arsenal de la Fondation Pierre Gianadda
Autoportrait, vers 1516
Sanguine, 333x213mm
Bibloteca Reale, Turin (1571r) 

 
Autoportret Leonarda da Vinci.
Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. 

Rysunek stworzony w 1513 r. przez włoskiego artystę renesansowego, Leonarda da Vinci.

Nie ma całkowitej pewności co do autorstwa Leonarda. 

Niewykluczone, że jest to falsyfikat z XIX w.

Leonardo da Vinci, właściwie Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (ur. 15 kwietnia 1452 r. w Anchiano niedaleko Vinci we Włoszech, zm. 2 maja 1519 r. w Clos Lucé we Francji) – włoski renesansowy malarz, architekt, filozof, muzyk, poeta, odkrywca, matematyk, mechanik, anatom, wynalazca, geolog.

 W rozumieniu współczesnym nie miał nazwiska, człon "da Vinci" oznacza bowiem "z miasta Vinci". Jego pełne nazwisko, nadane mu przy narodzinach, to "Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci", czyli "Leonardo, syn ser Piera z miasta Vinci".

Leonardo często był opisywany jako archetyp "człowieka renesansu", którego wydawałoby się niespożytej ciekawości dorównywała tylko siła jego kreatywności. Szeroko uważa się go za jednego z największych malarzy wszech czasów i prawdopodobnie najbardziej wszechstronnie utalentowaną osobę w historii.

Self-portrait (Leonardo da Vinci)

It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci drew a self-portrait in red chalk at about the age of 60. The portrait has been extensively reproduced and has become an iconic representation of Leonardo as polymath or "Renaissance Man". Yet Leonardo appears to have drawn himself older than his age, and there is a sense of solemnness or disillusionment about him, especially around the mouth: at this time his career was largely behind him, and artistic fashion was beginning to leave him behind.

The work is far from universally accepted as a self-portrait. The idea that the drawing is a self-portrait did not appear until the 19th century. Frank Zöllner's Leonardo da Vinci (2000, Taschen) notes in its front matter, "This red chalk drawing has largely determined our idea of Leonardo's appearance for it was long taken to be his only authentic self-portrait. Nowadays it is thought to be a fake, or at best a copy."

If it is authentic, it is generally thought that this self-portrait is the only formal one executed by Leonardo. In the case of some other portraits depicting him, it is not certain whether they are by his hand. Leonardo did include himself subtly in works not intended as portraits, such as his much earlier Adoration of the Magi; critics suspect that the lower right shepherd in this painting represents Leonardo. In mathematician Luca Pacioli's De divina proportione, which Leonardo illustrated, the artist may also have included a self-portrait.

The drawing is housed at the Royal Library (Biblioteca Reale) in Turin, Italy, and is not generally viewable by the public due to its fragility and poor condition. The paper has brownish "fox marks" caused by the accumulation of iron salts due to moisture.

source, authors 

Distance: 1,402 km (871 miles)
Travel time: 17 days