Leonardo Da Vinci Research and Analysis

Leonardo Da Vinci 

'Study of Hands' (c. 1474)

Metal point, ink

www.wikiart.org/en/leonardo-da-vinci/study-of-hands

Leonardo Da Vinci was born in April 1452 in Florence, Italy. Not a lot is known about Da Vinci's early life, but he spent the first few years of his life living with his mother, then he moved to the town of Vinci to live with his father in 1457. As a child Leonardo's education consisted of learning Latin, geometry and mathematics. Today he is still considered to be one of the greatest minds to have ever lived. He grew up to be a talented painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Leonardo played a large part in the Renaissance movement, painting some of the most famous pieces in the world: 'Mona Lisa', 'The Last Supper', 'Then Vitruvian Man' and 'Lady with an Ermine'. Da Vinci died on May 2, 1519. 

In Da Vinci's 'Study of Hands', you can see sketches of two hands in different positions. Da Vinci has used a metal point and ink to produce a study containing various uses of tones and lines, showing the intricacy of the sketch. 

Da Vinci has used construction lines to create marks that give the different techniques and a unique outlook. The lines have been drawn at various angles to give the hands a 3D effect, as it looks like they are reaching out of the page. 

A contrast of dark and light tones have been used here to juxtapose black and white within the piece. Lighter tones subtly graduate into darker tones creating a shadow effect as the use of light and dark creates the layering of many different densities creating a 3D effect. 

The use of this sort of tones creates a smoother texture on the hands, as the subtly graduated create soft changes in the light making the texture seen more smooth. The contrasts however with the lines on the arms, which are much sharper, creating a rougher, more expressive texture. 

This piece could relate to my work on hands because I could incorporate the contrast of soft textures and more harsh textures, perhaps the texture of the hands contrasting with the background. 

                                       

Own Photos of Hands

Different positions

I used these photos as starting points for some of my experiments. With these photos I did nothing with the colour or effect to give them more simplicity and so that the focus is mainly on the hands.

Black and white 

Looking at different hand positions again, I tried out some photos in black and white. I like the contrasting colours in these, and particularly like the last photo as the hands in it stand out very much against the background.

Here I did black and white photos of my hands covering my face. This could be representing shying away from people in society. The black and white adds to the contrast of the photo.

Painted hands

To juxtapose with the black and white, I decided to cover my hands in brightly coloured paint to show the freedom and creativity that are often connotations of hands. I like these photos because the colours and shape on the hands reminds my of a map, perhaps linking to freedom and creativity as these can go hand in hand with travel.

Gloved Hands

As an opposite to the colourful, painted hands representing freedom, these gloved hands link with restraint and separation or hiding from other things. I think that these photos would be interesting to draw from because of the textures and contrast of a lighter background and darker foreground.

Use of lighting 

These photos show a different light setting, creating a strong juxtaposition in light and dark. The colours in the photos are mainly cold, highlighting this contrast. I think that they would be interesting to draw with a medium such as charcoal because this would depict the strong dissimilarity in the tones.