Leonardo da Vinci: Looking Closely at Paintings and Drawings - Yenra

Begin with a face, a fold and a plant

You need a screen large enough to enlarge an image, or a museum reproduction, plus paper for a few notes. Open the museum links in the sections below and use Back to return to the guide. The original works, rather than the conceptual illustration above, supply the evidence for these observations.

Leonardo (1452–1519) worked across painting, design and investigation of the natural world. Drawing connected those pursuits: it could record something seen, develop a project or explore an imagined form. The Royal Collection Trust’s overview of his drawings provides that wider context. Here, begin with three manageable examples instead of trying to absorb a whole career at once.

Read light and expression in Ginevra de’ Benci

Open the National Gallery of Art’s Ginevra de’ Benci, an oil painting on panel dated about 1474–1478. Look at the face at normal viewing size before enlarging it. Follow the transition from the lit forehead to the side of the face. Compare that gradual change with the sharper foliage behind the head.

1. Describe the pose. Record the direction of the shoulders and the direction of the face separately.
2. Locate three edges. Choose the cheek against the background, a curl of hair and an edge of clothing. Which appears sharpest?
3. Test an interpretation. If the sitter seems reserved, name the visible features that prompt that response. Then consider a second possible reading of the same expression.

The Gallery’s explanation of texture and Leonardo’s technique describes thin paint layers and evidence of finger smoothing. It connects soft transitions with sfumato, the smoky blending of tones. A digital image helps you notice the effect; the material evidence comes from examination of the painting.

The panel was cut down at the bottom. The Gallery discusses a possible reconstruction in its account of the portrait. Keep the surviving object and a proposed reconstruction distinct when describing the composition.

Follow a study into a painting

In the Royal Collection Trust’s illustrated selection of Leonardo drawings, find The drapery of a kneeling figure, about 1491–1494, RCIN 912521. The museum connects it to the kneeling angel in the London version of The Virgin of the Rocks.

Start with the large shape of the bent leg beneath the cloth. Then follow a light fold into a darker hollow. The fabric makes an underlying volume legible while adding its own weight and rhythm. A study isolates this problem so the artist can work on it closely.

Look for structure in a plant drawing

In the same Royal Collection selection, find A star-of-Bethlehem and other plants, about 1506–1512, RCIN 912424. Trace one long leaf from its base to its tip. Notice where it curves, overlaps another form or disappears. Then follow a different leaf. This turns a tangle of lines into individual structures occupying space.

Contour means the boundary of a form; overlap is one way a drawing makes depth visible. Ask which lines describe an edge and which suggest a surface turning toward or away from light. A botanical drawing can combine careful observation with arrangement for a larger artistic purpose.

Try a ten-minute observation study

Place a leaf or folded cloth under steady light. This is a modern learning exercise, not a reconstruction of Leonardo’s studio method.

1. Spend two minutes looking. Name the largest shape and deepest shadow.
2. Draw the outer contour for three minutes, checking it against the object frequently.
3. Add three areas of tone for three minutes. Use lighter and darker marks to describe the form turning.
4. Use the final two minutes to annotate one discovery and one uncertainty. For example: “This fold widens toward the base; I need to check where its shadow ends.”

If the drawing becomes busy, return to the largest shape. The goal is an observation you can explain. Keep notes with the close-looking worksheet, then compare Leonardo’s attention to surfaces with Michelangelo’s studies of bodily movement.