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Mysticism and the Artistic Process in Early Modern Italy: The Case of Leonardo da Vinci with Christian Kleinbub

Leonardo da Vinci, Drawing of the Start of Bethlehem Plant, c. 1506-1508
October 25, 2021
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Zoom (Registration Required)

Given his reputation as an empiricist, Leonardo da Vinci is not often considered as an innovative artist of devotional images, although his innovations in individual sacred works are much discussed. This talk refocuses attention on Leonardo’s practice, showing how even his most empirical-seeming observations, especially his studies of the body’s anatomy, fit a model of Christian philosophical exploration and devotion well established in medieval and early modern Europe. By returning Leonardo’s process to this context, this paper offers a reevaluation of Leonardo as a sacred artist, not so much out of step with his time as fully immersed within it.

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