Art Gallery

Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as the most famous painter of the world, even after 500 years from the high renaissance period. A philosopher, scientist, engineer, architect -a complete human embodiment of a great genius. He compares with no one in history, others compare with him in artforms, scientific foresight, engineering details. He was handsome and a fine musician and with a persuasive power in conversation, he could win the hearts of all he came across.

Leonardo da Vinci did not paint a large number of paintings compared to his contemporary renaissance artists. He could not complete most of his paintings. Many of his paintings were left unfinished, when he died. Some of the paintings were destroyed by enemy forces, some were mutilated. Many of his paintings were stolen and sold out. Later artists touched upon them to give completeness.

Leonardo da Vinci was also engaged in freso paintings. Between 1503 and 1506, he worked on a large fresco of the battle of Anghiari for a wall of the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo della Signioria, florence facing a fresco by Michelangelo. He experimented with different techniques of fresco art. The painting was eventually lost.

Madonna litta is unquestionably one of the most lovely painting, the world has preserved. The painting may have been completed after later artists or two of his pupils rendered finishing touches on the finer aspects of smoothness of the figures, coloring of the dress against the serene atmostphere of the landscape and facial expression of child christ. The exact history of the painting is still not known. From Venice it reached Litta family in Milan. Russian Emperor Alexander II purchased the painting for the Hermitage collection in 1865 and at last deposited the painting in the Hermitage Museum, where it has been exhibited to this day. The painting was briefly featured in the 2006 film The Da Vinci Code.