Tag: Leonardo da Vinci

The Insect Used to Produce Ink Throughout History

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The andricus kollari wasp in particular has played a significant role throughout human history as it is one of the main ingredients of ink. Crushed andricus kollari wasp galls are crushed and mixed with water, then added to crushed iron sulphate and gum Arabic to produce a cost effective and extremely long lasting ink. This specific type of ink is the most important ink used during the last 1000 years of European and subsequently western history as its indelible and essentially ever lasting whether just written or having been dried for hundreds of years. This incredible ink was used to write the Magna Carta and the American Declaration of Independence, has brought forth the recorded musical genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach, was used to produce the artwork of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Leonardo da Vinci, and was utilized to produce the theories of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin

The Difference Between Art and Fine Art

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The difference between “art” and “fine art”, is that “art” is a “piece which moves the observer” whilst “fine art” is a “piece which moves the observer without directing them where to go and allows the observer to feel as though they understand the artists intention when creating the piece”. Fine art can relay messages across generational time gaps accurately, with force and measure. This is why many fine artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Pablo Picasso are so famous across decades and centuries; everyone who views their work, appreciates their work, and understands that their work is not just a picture, for the sake of creating a picture

Leonardo da Vinci’s Sfumato Technique

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Leonardo da Vinci worked for the Parisian court as the head artist, and much of his work can be seen hanging in the Louvre. The technique da Vinci invented to create the illusion of distance is called “sfumato” derived from the Italian term “fumo” which means “smoke”. The technique involves blurring and softening a background or foreground to make it more vague and therefore provide an illusion of depth, with an excellent example of this technique being used within the background of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting. Da Vinci is quoted as saying that sfumato is “without lines or borders”