Art & Thought Lessons from the Old Master Artists
This lens is a salute to the Old Master artists, the painters of the old world, and the lessons that they have left for us through their art. The Leonardo da Vinci is the first installment of many.
Vitruvian Man photograph by Luc Viatour
A Lesson from Leonardo: Let Science be Your Muse
By Alina Bradford
Many artists, myself included, complain that they have nothing to draw, that their muse has left them high and dry. On days like this I try to look towards the masters for inspiration.
One day in particular I came across the sketchbook entries of Leonardo da Vinci at ibiblio. These were not the usual sketchbook musings that an artist is used to seeing. Included in this collection were sketches of the womb, a skull, and of course, the Vitruvian Man. Leonardo loved to sketch in a scientific way, taking apart the body, diagramming it, measuring the parts.
No doubt this is one of the reasons he became such a great artist. To draw or paint something well, you must dissect it and learn every aspect of it's form. What we may think of as scientific mumbo-jumbo can actually make us better artists.
How can we let science be our muse?
· Pick up a science based magazine like Scientific American and try draw a diagram like one found in the magazine.
· Like to draw flowers? Find a book that describes the different parts of a flower, then try to draw them.
· If you like to draw people, take a long look at Leonardo's Vitruvian man and draw your own version. Also try making diagrams for babies and children. Don't forget to try your hand at drawing the bones themselves.
· Draw all the life stages of an object. For example, draw an apple seed, a sprout, an apple tree, an apple, an apple sliced, and finally, an apple core or a withered, brown apple.
· Take apart something mechanical like an old VHS tape, a broken radio, or a retractable pen and draw the pieces.
· Find simple machines and draw them. Remember to diagram the different parts.
Alina Bradford wrote and holds the copyright for the text of the article "A Lesson from Leonardo: Let Science be Your Muse". Permission to republish The Lessons of Leonardo da Vinci was granted by the author in writing. Photos of Leonardo da Vinci works by Luc Viatour, and displayed under a GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2, except for Studies of the Arm showing the Movements made by the Biceps, which the copyright has expired.
One day in particular I came across the sketchbook entries of Leonardo da Vinci at ibiblio. These were not the usual sketchbook musings that an artist is used to seeing. Included in this collection were sketches of the womb, a skull, and of course, the Vitruvian Man. Leonardo loved to sketch in a scientific way, taking apart the body, diagramming it, measuring the parts.
No doubt this is one of the reasons he became such a great artist. To draw or paint something well, you must dissect it and learn every aspect of it's form. What we may think of as scientific mumbo-jumbo can actually make us better artists.
How can we let science be our muse?
· Pick up a science based magazine like Scientific American and try draw a diagram like one found in the magazine.
· Like to draw flowers? Find a book that describes the different parts of a flower, then try to draw them.
· If you like to draw people, take a long look at Leonardo's Vitruvian man and draw your own version. Also try making diagrams for babies and children. Don't forget to try your hand at drawing the bones themselves.
· Draw all the life stages of an object. For example, draw an apple seed, a sprout, an apple tree, an apple, an apple sliced, and finally, an apple core or a withered, brown apple.
· Take apart something mechanical like an old VHS tape, a broken radio, or a retractable pen and draw the pieces.
· Find simple machines and draw them. Remember to diagram the different parts.
Alina Bradford wrote and holds the copyright for the text of the article "A Lesson from Leonardo: Let Science be Your Muse". Permission to republish The Lessons of Leonardo da Vinci was granted by the author in writing. Photos of Leonardo da Vinci works by Luc Viatour, and displayed under a GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2, except for Studies of the Arm showing the Movements made by the Biceps, which the copyright has expired.
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