Lectures

THEME 1 – THE EARLY YEARS

– Lecture 1: Verrocchio’s Apprentice

In 1467, Leonardo entered the workshop of Florence’s most celebrated sculptor, Andrea Del Verrocchio, in whose household he would remain even after becoming an independent professional artist. This lecture examines Leonardo’s contemporary artistic environment, his formative years as an apprentice, as well as the influence of his master on his work.

– Lecture 2: The Early Works – Annunciation and Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci

Leonardo’s earliest works were clear indicators of this unique artistic vision and talent. This lecture analyzes Leonardo’s earliest known professional contract for the church of San Bartolomeo a Monte Oliveto, and his groundbreaking portrait of a young Florentine woman named Ginevra de’ Benci.

THEME 2 – THE JOB SEARCH AND THE DUCAL SERVANT

– Lecture 3: Unfinished Florentine Paintings – Adoration of the Magi and St. Jerome

In 1481, Leonardo began work on a major altarpiece for the church of San Donato a Scopeto. At the same time, he sent his resume to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, in hopes of landing the position of court artist of the duchy of Milan. This lecture examines Leonardo’s paintings of the Adoration of the Magi and St. Gerome, both of which were left unfinished, most likely because of Leonardo’s departure for Milan.  

– Lecture 4: The Controversy of the Virgin of the Rocks

In 1483, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo and Ambogio and Evangelista de Predis to paint an altarpiece for their chapel at the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. Due to a controversy regarding payment to the artists, it appears that the painting was never delivered. This lecture examines the controversy surrounding the two versions of the same subject – one in the Louvre, while the other is in the National Gallery in London.

THEME 3 – THE MILAN SOJOURN

– Lecture 5: The Unrealized Equestrian Monument of Francesco Sforza

Duke Ludovico Sforza’s principal motivation for bringing Leonardo to Milan was most likely Leonardo’s experience in working with bronze. The duke was hoping to apply Leonardo’s experience and talent to create a colossal equestrian monument in honor of his father Francesco Sforza. This lecture examines the complex 20-year history of this never-realized monument.

– Lecture 6: The Vitruvian Man, the Lady with an Ermine, and the Sala delle Asse

Although Leonardo never realized his equestrian monument, his years in Milan were some of his most productive. From architectural drawings, to court portraits, to decorating the residence of the duke, Leonardo’s sojourn in Milan resulted in the some of the most iconic works of his career. This lecture examines those best-known from Leonardo’s Milanese period.

THEME 4 – THE LAST SUPPER AND THE MONA LISA

– Lecture 7– The Last Supper

Leonardo’s Last Supper was painted in 1495 in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and is celebrated as the first work of the High Renaissance. Few people realize that Leonardo’s painting of the subject was the culmination of nearly 1,000 years of iconographic tradition. This lecture explores the evolution of the subject of the Last Supper in Italian art, as well as Leonardo’s own unique expression of the subject.

– Lecture 8– The Burlington Cartoon and the Mona Lisa (Part I)

When Leonardo returned to Florence in the early 1500s, he immediately made his presence felt. Giorgio Vasari recounts how a Leonardo cartoon was put on display in the church of Santissima Annunziata and how great crowds “would gaze in amazement at the marvels he had created.” Shortly thereafter, Leonardo would receive the commission for his most famous work, a portrait of Mona Lisa del Giocondo – better known to the world as the Mona Lisa.

THEME 5: LEONARDO VS. MICHELANGELO: THE BATTLE OF THE BATTLES

– Lecture 9: The Mona Lisa (Part II) 

Leonardo’s portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, has generated a multitude of theories concerning her enigmatic smile. From the painting being a self-portrait of Leonardo as a woman, to the subject being pregnant, just about everything that could possibly have been written about the Mona Lisa seems to have been written about her. In addition to analyzing the formal aspects of the painting, this lecture also examines just why the painting is so famous.

– Lecture 10: Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari vs. Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina

In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great hall of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. While Michelangelo only got as far as producing a 1,300 sq. ft. cartoon in chalk, Leonardo actually began to paint. This lecture explores how the artists measured up to each other, and the search for this lost Leonardo painting in Palazzo Vecchio.

THEME 6 – THE LATE AND CONTROVERSIAL WORKS

– Lecture 11: The Late Works – Virgin, Child and St. Anne, and St. John the Baptist

Although Leonardo’s Virgin, Child and St. Anne may have been commissioned as early as 1503, it was still in the artist’s studio in 1517. The painting of St. John the Baptist is instead considered the master’s last known painting. This lecture examines Leonardo’s final years and those few works that were produced during this period.

– Lecture 12: The Controversial Works – Salvator Mundi, Litta Madonna, La Belle Ferronière, La Scapigliata, and Madonna of the Yarnwinder

There are almost as many contested paintings attributed to Leonardo as there are certain attributions. This lecture examines several of those best-known controversial works, including the controversial and fabulously expensive Salvator Mundi painting which sold for the record sum of $450 billion in November 2017.