Calliope articles from March 2002

Calliope archives from March 2002

May I be deprived of movement, before I tire of being useful--Leonardo da Vinci. (Musings).(notes about the life of an artist)
March 1, 2002... SOME WORDS BECOME SO CLOSELY LINKED THAT TO MENTION OR READ ONE OF THESE WORDS AUTOMATICALLY CAUSES YOU TO THINK OF ANOTHER. SOMETIMES such words become expressions in themselves. A simple example is "bread and butter." A more complex example...

Omo sanza lettere: `a man without formal education'.(childhood of artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... LEONARDO DA VINCI'S CHILDHOOD IS A BIT OF A MYSTERY. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED AS TRUE, THE TASK OF CONSTRUCTING A CONVINCING ACCOUNT OF LEONARDO'S LIFE AS A YOUNGSTER IS DIFFICULT. THIS IS BECAUSE, FOR CENTURIES, AUTHORS...

Apprentice to Verrocchio.(artistic training of Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... A SUCCESSFUL PAINTER AND SCULPTOR, ANDREA DEL Verrocchio ran a bottega (workshop) that was one of the busiest in Florence during the late 1400s. Biographers agree that Leonardo da Vinci started working in Verrocchio's shop no later than...

Light & shadow: Leonardo's painting and underpainting.(painting techniques used by painter Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... THE YELLOW OCHER AND SEPIA BROWN INK TONES of Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi may seem very dull and uninteresting at first glance. In fact, a visitor to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence might even miss this rather large work of art....

Leonardo's notebooks.(artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE STORIES OF LEONARDO'S GENIUS ARE THE notebooks that provide proof of his genius. His notes are written mostly from right to left, * although the reason for this is unclear. Perhaps he wished to keep his ideas secret, or...

Leonardo in Milan.(artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... ACCORDING TO AN OLD SOURCE, LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT, THE HEAD OF THE MEDICI FAMILY IN FLORENCE, SENT 30-YEAR-OLD LEONARDO TO DELIVER A LYRE TO THE DUKE OF MILAN. IT IS unclear why Lorenzo sent a gifted artist such as Leonardo on such a mission....

A gift to Italy.(construction of sculpture designed by Leonardo da Vinci to give to the people of Italy)
March 1, 2002... IMAGINE A HORSE AS BIG AS A TWO-STORY HOUSE. LEONARDO DID THAT WHEN HE BEGAN his greatest artistic challenge in the 1480s. Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan, had hired Leonardo in 1482 to design and build the largest equestrian (horse and...

Fun with words.(words related to art; expressions about the colour red)
March 1, 2002... WORD ORIGINS Palette To arrange and mix their paints, artists commonly use a palette, a thin board that sometimes has a hole at one end so it can be held by the thumb. Etymologists (people who study words) trace palette's roots to the...

The master works.(paintings of artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... LEONARDO DA VINCI COMPLETED VERY FEW PAINTINGS, AND EVEN FEWER SURvive. His three great works--the Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, and the Battle of Anghiari--were all done within a period of about 10 years. Of them, only the Mona Lisa is in...

Preparing pigments and paint. (Activity).(painter Leonardo da Vinci; how to make paint)
March 1, 2002... AS AN APPRENTICE IN VERROCCHIO'S STUDIO, LEONARDO WOULD HAVE RECEIVED TRAINING IN PREPARING PAINTS, GRINDING MINERALS such as cinnabar or azurite (an ore of copper that is blue), or sifting and washing colored earths to make pigments. He would...

His legacy: to illustrate the proportions of a human figure, Leonardo drew one view of the torso and head and then two different positions for the arms and the legs. (From Past to Present).(artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... Art experts have celebrated Leonardo da Vinci's use of light, shadow, and color for centuries. At the same time, they also praised his draftsmanship (ability to draw plans of structures or machinery), technique, and creativity. Ironically, only...

The issue of art restoration.(restoration of paintings by artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... ART RESTORATION HAS EXISTED FOR NEARLY AS LONG AS ART ITSELF. As SOON AS ARTISTS BEGAN MAKING WORKS, THERE WAS THE NEED TO REPAIR THEM. DURING THE RENAISSANCE, ANCIENT STATUES WERE OFTEN FOUND WITHOUT HEADS OR WITH BROKEN LIMBS, AND SCULPTORS...

ArtWatch International.(organization that protects art from damaging restorations)
March 1, 2002... One organization that seeks to protect works of art from damaging restorations is ArtWatch International. Founded in 1992 by Professor James Beck of Columbia University after the controversial cleaning of Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine...

The Quintessential Schoolmaster. (Calliope's World).(Poem)
March 1, 2002... As the fourteen-year-old boy sits with the schoolmaster, he has a mysterious, devilish sparkle in his eyes. He asks deceptively simple questions such as, "How do birds fly?", purposefully pushing the limit of the...

The Last Supper. (Calliope's World).(painting by artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... Leonardo's da Vinci's painting the Last Supper has captivated the world since its creation. Leonardo painted it in Milan, Italy, for a dining hall wall in a Dominican monastery. The painting tells the story of two things. The first is Jesus...

A true masterpiece. (Calliope's World).(Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper)
March 1, 2002... The Last Supper is one of Leonordo da Vinci's most famous works... Leonardo's geometric layout is quite interesting in this painting. He paints it so that there are many lines, all centering on the face of Jesus. He also includes symbolism in...

Books. (Off the Shelf).(books about artist Leonardo da Vinci)(Bibliography)
March 1, 2002... Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley (HarperCollins, 1996) simply but clearly details the life and career of the Italian artist and inventor. Crisp, detailed illustrations with images of a few of Leonardo's actual pieces greatly enhance the text....

Media. (Off the Shelf).(Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture, multimedia teaching programme)
March 1, 2002... Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture by Ann Campbell (Alarion Press) has a program geared to grades 5 through 12 that includes 4 still video programs, 2 teaching manuals, a workbook, and a wall poster.

Cobblestone resources. (Off the Shelf).(sources for information about artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... Materials that complement this issue's theme, "Leonardo da Vinci, Master Artist," and are available from Cobblestone Publishing include: CALLIOPE Introduction to the Renaissance (May/June 1994) The Doges of Venice (March/April...

Also recommended. (Off the Shelf).(books about the Renaissance and artist Leonardo da Vinci)
March 1, 2002... A Renaissance Town by Jacqueline Morley and Mark Peppe (Peter Bedrick, 1996) The World of Leonardo by Robert Wallace and the editors of Time-Life Books (Time Incorporated, 1966)

On the Net. (Off the Shelf).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... For information on the life and works of Leonardo, go to this site sponsored by the Museum of Science in Italy: www.museoscienza.org/english for brief biography of Leonardo as well as images and information about his paintings, see:...

Ticking time bombs in the art world.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... We take works of art for granted, assuming that they will continue to exist in museums forever. But, in some cases, they can have short lives. Preserving works of art by identifying the natural qualities of their components and the...

An interview with Paul Whitmore, director of the Artists' Materials Center at Carnegie Mellon University.(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 1, 2002... How did you become interested in using your scientific skills to help preserve artists' works? What special training did you need? I first heard about this field when I was in college, training to become a chemist but still unsure what kind...

Buying time for the Library of Congress. (At Work With the Scientist).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A major problem for all libraries is the gradual deterioration of the older books in their collections. CMU's Artists' Materials Center has worked with the Library of Congress--the repository of much of the world's literature--to evaluate a new...

When blue is not blue.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ever buy a jacket and then try to find a pair of pants or skirt that matches its color exactly? Or, do you have a jacket and pants that you bought as a set, but, after months or years, the two pieces are now two different colors. Wonder why?...