Renaissance

Painting of the Week: Portrait of A Man in Red Chalk (aka Leonardo da Vinci)

Magda Michalska 15 April 2018 min Read

Hello, it’s me,  I was wondering if after all these years (exactly 566 today) you’d like to meet…

Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of a man in red chalk, c.1512, Portrait of A Man in Red Chalk
Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of a man in red chalk, c.1512, Biblioteca Reale, Turin

I guess it’s a cult portrait by now, probably almost everyone knows my face. It’s kind of awkward, though, that I made such a grumpy expression (some people say that it’s because I don’t have two front teeth, but well…). Usually I’m not grumpy at all, I like coming up with new games and toys, and since I’m a big boy, I make big toys, like war machines and stuff…

I’m especially proud of my long beard on this portrait. Renaissance men did not usually grow such long beards, but since it’s symbolic of sagacity I picked it… As I turned 60 in 1512, I thought it suited me..

Nobody really paid much attention to this drawing until the nineteenth century when scholars realized that I looked very similar to my other portraits: in Raphael’s The School of Athens and in the frontispiece of Vasari’s second edition of The Lives of the Artists.

Some people say, however, that it’s not my self-portrait. They believe that the man portrayed looks older than 60 and hence he could rather be my father Piero da Vinci or my uncle Francesco, as they both lived until the age of 80. I won’t tell you the truth, as you know I really like riddles, hihihi, so you have to make your own judgment. Or rather a guess, since you can’t see this drawing live: it’s too fragile and in a too poor condition to be viewed.

Anyway, happy birthday to me! I’m going to celebrate by coming up with a yet another groundbreaking project, wish me luck!

Find out more:

[easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”1501139150″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/61ACCcC4wWL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”106″] [easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”3836527014″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/41udGAOlOZL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”110″] [easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”0448443015″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/516X1euq5UL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”110″]

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

Michelangelo Renaissance

Did You Know That Michelangelo Was an Art Forger?

Michelangelo Buonarroti is undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed artists in history. Some of his creations, such as David or the ceiling of the...

Javier Abel Miguel 6 March 2024

Fresco in the Sassetti Chapel, Florence. Renaissance

Redemption of Sins: Frescoes in Florentine Family Chapels

Renowned for its artistic flourishing, Renaissance Florence saw prominent families investing their fortunes into the city’s artistic...

Nikolina Konjevod 30 November 2023

Andrea Mantegna, Bridal Chamber, Ocluus. Mantua, Italy. Renaissance

Fooling the Eye: Illusionistic Games in Andrea Mantegna’s Bridal Chamber

A masterpiece of the early Italian Renaissance, Andrea Mantegna’s Bridal Chamber has been described as the most beautiful room in the world.

Natalia Iacobelli 30 March 2023

Pieter van Aelst, Christ's Charge to Peter, from the Acts of the Apostles Renaissance

Renaissance Tapestries 101: Religious, Political, and Magical

Renaissance tapestries are the most underestimated subject in art history. As expensive and enormously large works of art, tapestries attributed to...

Anna Ingram 2 December 2023