Leonardo and Anatomy | Lecture Report CAFA Art Museum

Leonardo and Anatomy | Lecture Report

A lecture titled “Leonardo da Vinci and Anatomy” was held at the Lecture Hall, CAFA Art Museum on April 15, 2019. This is part of the lecture series co-organized by CAFAM and Istituto Italiano di Cultura that accompany the exhibition The Art of Leonardo Opera Omnia.

The lecture featured two speakers, Dr. Giampaolo Ghilardi and Dr. Nicola Di Stefano, both of whom are experts in the research of da Vinci’s anatomical drawings from Italy. The lecture was presented by CAFAM Deputy Director Prof. Wang Chunchen.

Dr Ghilardi began his lecture by directly crediting da Vinci as a versatile artist and scientist. Taking da Vinci's anatomical drawings of human body as an example, even though there are obvious mistakes, such as the redundant link between male body’s reproductive organ and spine, or the link of female’s breasts with uterus, Dr. Ghilardi believed that they show da Vinci’s initiative to dig into the facts beneath the surface visible to the naked eyes.

Many of da Vinci’s drawings and writings were preserved in Treatise on Painting, a collection compiled by his apprentice Francesco Melzi around 1540. The book also includes advice from the master to young painters:

“Those who become enamored of the practice of the art, without having previous applied to the diligent study of the scientific part of it, may be compared to mariners, who put to sea in a ship without rudder or compass, and therefore cannot be certain of arriving at the wished-for port. Practice must always be founded on good theory; to this, perspective is the guide and entrance, without which nothing can be well done.”

Dr. Di Stefano also highlighted da Vinci’s achievements in engineering and medical research, especially his research on our visual mechanism. Da Vinci believed that vision is a superior sense, as it is least limited by distance, which leads to the superiority of visual art over, for example, auditory art such as music and poetry. However, how shall we explain the difference between the painter and those being painted? This question provoked da Vinci’s interest in making anatomical drawings, as observation and expression play a great role in such drawings. Dr. Di Stefano discovered that anatomical drawings are a core to da Vinci’s creation for two reasons: to study human being’s limbs, muscle and neuro system, so as to reflect human body and its movements; and to reflect the uniformity between art and scientific research, which also answers questions of life’s origin and imitation.

Dr. Di Stefano showed two drawings of human brain by da Vinci, respectively from circa. 1490 and circa. 1504-1507. These two paintings differ greatly in the anatomical structure, because in between the two paintings da Vinci innovatively injected hot wax into the ventricular system of the ox, and sketched the mould after the wax cooled down. The discovery eventually led to da Vinci’s abandonment of Aristotle’s conception of soul.

This is an example of how da Vinci used science to grasp the truth of nature, in order to combine that truth with his art practices. This coincides with his belief that beauty is the loyal reflection of reality by hands.

Time: April. 15, 2019, 18:30

Venue: Lecture Hall, CAFA Art Museum

Speakers: Dr. Giampaolo Ghilardi and Dr. Nicola Di Stefano

Presenter: Wang Chunchen

| Lecture Photos |

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Event participants should be adults (people 18 years or older with full civil legal capacity). Underage persons must be accompanied by an adult.

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CAFA Art Museum Portraiture Rights Licensing Agreement

I. General Provisions

(1) Party A is the portraiture rights holder in this agreement. Party A voluntarily licenses its portraiture rights to Party B for the purposes stipulated in this agreement and permitted by law.

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The applicable geographic scope is global.

The media in which the portraiture may be used encompasses any media that does not infringe upon Party A’s portraiture rights (e.g., magazines and the internet).

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Use in perpetuity.

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The fees for images bearing Party A’s likeness will be undertaken by Party B.

After completion, Party B does not need to pay any fees to Party A for images bearing Party A’s likeness.

Additional Terms

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(3) This agreement exists in paper and electronic forms. The paper form is made in duplicate, with Party A and Party B each retaining one copy with the same legal efficacy.

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