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How Leonardo da Vinci Created a Metaphorical Battle of Light and Dark in His Brushstrokes
Exploring the cryptic techniques of the Italian master
Christopher P Jones is the author of How to Read Paintings, an introduction to some of the most fascinating artworks in art history.
Leonardo da Vinci painted Saint John the Baptist in about 1516. The figure appears to materialise — perhaps miraculously, certainly enigmatically — from a deep-black background.
The effect is achieved through a technique that Leonardo pioneered: the deliberate softening of lines and contours so that the figure seems to blend in with — or in this case, out of — the darkness.
The light in the painting has a measured quality, the sort of wavering glow that is reminiscent of candlelight. The shadows are gradual; they move from light to dark only serenely, even hesitantly.
What is Leonardo signalling to us through this faded light? Why did he choose to give the painting this particular feel?
Invention of Sfumato
Most of us are acquainted with at least some of the paintings of Leonardo. His images tend to have an air of foggy indistinctness, especially the later works.
