But was Leonardo da Vinci really a supreme genius? Can you compare him to Michelangelo and Raphael? The question, which for us Italians is irreverent, but remains scientifically correct, obviously comes from the Anglo-Saxon world and more precisely, has appeared in a long article dedicated to the world-wide celebrations of the 550th anniversary of the death of Leonardo, published in the April 20 Economist issue. The author writes: “Even his artistic work, although sublime, is tiny. Less than 20 finished projects are generally attributed to Leonardo. He failed to complete some of the most important works that were commissioned to him, such as the Adoration of the Magi, the failed experimentation of the materials has ruined others, included the Last Supper. This would be the cause of the limited number – or better, the very small size – of the exhibitions devoted to the artist in this anniversary year.
The anti-clerical cult
Not that the British weekly magazine does not recognize his merits, especially in the study of physics, botany, anatomy, and painting techniques. Nothing to say about the numbers, also: the Mona Lisa is the most popular painting in the world, and the Vitruvian Man, the most well-known drawing. “But is this enough ” asks the Economist “to make him the greatest artist of the Western world?” The implicit answer is obviously no, because according to the article’s thesis, the comparison with Michelangelo and Raphael is relatively recent: “According to historian Donald Sassoon’s thesis, it was the anti-clerical French historians who led the “cult of Leonardo”, considering him an ally in the battle against the obscurantism of religion”. In short, it was appreciated for political more than artistic purposes. Never the less, concludes the weekly magazine, perhaps Leonardo matches the contemporary artist more and that’s why we end up with liking him: unconventional, original even in his lifestyle, cryptic in his works… and even vegetarian.
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He failed to complete some of the most important works that were commissioned to him, such as the Adoration of the Magi, the failed experimentation of the materials has ruined others, included the Last Supper. This would be the cause of the limited number – or better, the very small size – of the exhibitions devoted to the artist in this anniversary year.
from he failed, he learn many problem and it is good