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Leonardo Da Vinci is known in history as an epitome of the
Renaissance man. A man known for his overwhelming passion and inquisitiveness
in all branches of study that mankind knows today, his zeal ranged from
painting, mathematics, sculpting, mechanical engineering, military warfare,
human anatomy, geology, botany, writing and many more.
Amongst his many great works such as the Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian Man, Lady
with an Ermine, the Last Supper; one great artwork that significantly
fascinates me is the Adoration of the Magi.
The Adoration of the Magi was commissioned to Leonardo in
1480 for the main altar of the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto, near
Florence. It is greatly revered for its complexity, rhythm, movement, and
especially the representation of emotion in artwork. Historians describes the
painting as a” turmoil of figures surrounding the serene Virgin and child are
frenzy of devotional attention, horses, turmoil of men and horses, using body
of horses to invest his composition with dynamic motion and energy, a sense of
frenzy”.
So what is so significant about the Adoration
of the Magi? Leonardo did a great deal of work after this particular painting
that left more remarkable influences on mankind even to this day. For me, as
someone unversed in the field of art, this particular painting goes beyond
artistic brilliance, beyond the application of mathematics and science in the
field of artwork and into the depths of Leonardo’s virtues.
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| The Adoration of Magi. |
History knew
Leonardo as someone who could not deal with “ordinary conditions of production,
clientage, of contracts and deadlines”. He got into a great deal of trouble
with his clients because of his incompliance to finish his commissions. He was
not an ordinary artist, not only in terms of his works but also in his beliefs.
His definition of success was known to be complicated where unlike the
ordinary; he did not measure it by money, popularity but rather in how he truly
felt about his own achievements. An epitome of his definition of success to me
is the Adoration of the Magi.
His virtue of
remaining true to his own principle was expressed by the fact that he left the Adoration
of the Magi, his first important artwork, incomplete. If he had completed the painting,
he would have had gained so much fame, opportunities and what stereotypically
composes the definition of
“success”. He is known to have said that he had already conceptualized
the ends of the painting in his mind and that was enough. He left it unfinished
stating “ To conceive an idea is noble, to execute the work is servile’.
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| The Baptism of Christ Originally by Verrochio, Da Vinci's teacher. Da Vinci Guided in drawing the angels on the left of the potrait. |
What did Leonardo
mean by that statement? What remarkable effects has it left behind? Modern day
historians and psychologists reasons he had Attention Deficit Disorder,
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Depression, etc. But why would a man who already
conceptualized the final idea of a masterpiece leave it undone? Why would he
give up the money, the fame, and the opportunity that would arise with the
completion? I believe that in giving up all these, the depth of Leonardo’s
moral artistic creativity arises.
In order to know how
he did that, it is important to be familiar with his struggles. His childhood was constrained by
circumstances beyond his control. Being born as a child out of wedlock, he was
never given the privilege of a formal education nor did he inherit his father’s
wealth. As he grew up he had to struggle enormously because of his “bastard”
status. He struggled not to be a “servant”. A servant to the societal idea of
the elements, standards and extent of success. This standard was what obstructed
him throughout his life and one that he with much perseverance successfully
overcame. The essence of Leonardo’s code was “To Push beyond the expected”.
History knows of him as a man who “immortalized himself by refusing to
compromise his own intellectual code in faces of adversity”
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| The two angels on the left drawn by Da Vinci in the Baptism Of Christ. |
So to me how did he
succeed in doing this in the Adoration of the Magi. By leaving it incomplete
Leonardo unintentionally or intentionally created a dichotomy/duality in the
painting so powerful, that if done otherwise would not have been possible. The
beauty of what he had done magnifies when one sees what he left undone. It is
almost like asking would we realize the beauty of a rose when amongst thousands
of its own kind or rather when amongst the grasses? If he had completed the
painting would we have realized the enormity and extent of his brilliance? The answer is no. I believe that
Leonardo never wanted to give mankind that satisfaction. He had struggled enough his whole life
to overcome and surpass what was expected that he did not want to risk others
putting a bar to what he expected of himself. Mankind will forever wonder what
the Adoration of the Magi would have looked like if only Leonardo had completed
it. For when he left it incomplete, we couldn’t measure the extent of his
brilliance. For him his success and brilliance was not guided or determined by deadlines,
contracts, reward or fame but what he thought of his achievements. And what did
he think of his own work we might ask? I believe he did not know himself. His
code is a mystery to him as much as it is to him .I believe that he did not
want to know. He was scared to know the extent of his own brillance. It is said
he regretted not having completed a single work of art during his life. If only
he knew the kind of ripple his work had left to this day I am sure he would
have thought otherwise.
To me the mystery of
his work and skill is a blessing to mankind, for he became the epitome of
dynamicity and immeasurability of the potential that resides in each and
everyone of us.
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