The Artistic Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci
Denise Budd teaches in the Core Curriculum program at Columbia University and has also taught a wide range of Renaissance art history classes at Rutgers University. She has published several articles on Leonardo da Vinci based on her studies of the artist and his documentary evidence. Following this interest in archival work, her current research has extended to the history of collecting Renaissance art in Gilded Age America, with a focus on the tapestry collector and dealer Charles Mather Ffoulke.
Overview
When considering artistic geniuses in the Italian Renaissance, the individuals who most commonly come to mind are the great triad of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. These three often contentious rivals have been categorized as Universal Men, gifted in many arts and areas of intellectual pursuit. However, it is Leonardo who is most often imagined in this multifaceted way, as artist, scientist, engineer, and musician. This course will discuss Leonardo’s career, examining several of his most canonical works, as well as considering his most ambitious plans that never came to fruition.