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Robert Genn on da Vinci

Robert Genn publishes a bi-weekly newsletter about and for art / artists. Today’s post was particularly interesting (at least to me …. ). I asked and received permission to repeat the body of the newsletter here. I liked both the seven virtues, and the idea of different types of perspective: of line, of color, of clarity.

The da Vinci Mode
May 23, 2006
Dear Sarah,

Leonardo da Vinci’s life was a living demo of his “seven virtues.” For those artists of life and of art who might plot to develop higher levels of accomplishment and greater self-realization, here are his seven virtues, as I understand them:

· “Curiosita”–an attitude of curiosity and continuous learning. What, when, where, why, and how?
· “Dimostrazione”–an ability to learn and to test knowledge by experience. Experimental nature.
· “Sensazione”–a development of awareness and refinement of sight and other senses. High sensitivity.
· “Sfumato”–a tendency to embrace and accept uncertainty, ambiguity and paradox. Free thinking.
· “Arte/Scienza”–a development of balance between science and art, logic and imagination. Whole-brain thinking.
· “Corporalita”–a calculated desire to achieve poise, fitness and ambidexterity. Physical action.
· “Connessione”–a recognition that all things are connected. Systems thinking.

“How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day,” by Michael J. Gelb, and, “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,” edited by Pamela Taylor, are two of the noteworthy sources of Leonardo insights. In the latter, the first chapter, “The Painter,” is particularly valuable. For example, Leonardo neatly divides perspective into three types: “Linear perspective”–scientific diminution of objects as they recede from the eye; “The perspective of colour”–variations in colours as they recede from the eye; and “The perspective of disappearance”–the increasingly unfinished rendering of objects as they become more remote. Could anything be clearer?

In my daily evangelizing, I’m constantly devising ways to press creative people into thinking about things in a Leonardo mode. Whether we’re talking about flying machines, military engines or easel paintings, we are led to a greater realization of our potential through personal, self-generated knowledge of the what, when, where, why and how. Perhaps because of Leonardo’s charming admissions of personal weaknesses (procrastination, for one), we feel the uncanny presence of a contemporary who’s just dropped in from the local Brotherhood and Sisterhood. For many of us, an evening curled up with The da Vinci Mode would not be a waste of time.
Best regards,
Robert rgenn@saraphina.com , http://www.painterskeys.com


Sounds like an outline for self-education in art to me! Now, upstairs to make some art (well, at least I hope it will be artistic!).

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