Leonardo Da Vinci Incorporated His Val Di Chiana Map In .
Leonardo da Vinci incorporated his Val di Chiana map in his Mona Lisa painting“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”-Leonardo da Vinci.AbstractLeonardo arranged the landscape in the Mona Lisa to hold two disjoined halves of oneimage. That image can be reassembled by juxtaposing two copies of the painting sideby-side. The newly reconstituted landscape corresponds to an actual place as depictedin Leonardo’s Val di Chiana map. The identity of the sitter and opinions relevant to thebackground landscape will be considered. Leonardo’s developments in the depiction ofdepth will be outlined. His technique of topographic perspective will be introduced.Analysis of these observations, along with Leonardo’s investigations in perception,perspective, monocular and binocular vision, and cartography, will lead tounderstanding of his technique. Speculation as to Leonardo’s motivation will include apun on La Gioconda and his attempt at stereoscopy.IntroductionThe Mona Lisa painting is traditionally viewed as mysterious. (See figure 1.) Theenigmatic smile is emblematic of the notion that she and Leonardo are hiding secretsfrom the viewer. Efforts at solving this mystery or puzzle have largely focused on thesitter but perspective, as displayed in this work, will be shown to prove the answer tothis puzzle.Much effort on solving the puzzle has focused on the identity of the sitter, who isgenerally accepted as Madonna Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine merchant,Francesco del Giocondo (hence Mona Lisa or La Gioconda). (Greenstein, 2004, 17-38)Many alternate candidates as the subject, have been, and are still being proposed,(Zaperi, 2010, 40) including a self-portrait as a woman. (Schwartz, 1988, 40-48) Thetraditional view as above, from Vasari, (2008, 294) is well supported by Zöllner, (1993,115-138) and bolstered with recently discovered contemporaneous documentationdated October 1503. A handwritten note by Agostino Vespucci, a figure acquainted with
Leonardo, stated that he was working on three paintings, including a portrait of Lisa delGiocondo. (Dorfman, 2008, 39)Figure1. Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa / La Gioconda, from 1503, Oil on poplarpanel, 79.4 x 53.4 cm, Louvre, Paris, Photo Credit: Réunion des MuséesNationaux / Art Resource, NY
In his thorough review of the evidence that Lisa Gherardini is, or is not, the subject ofthe painting, Greenstein questions whether or not the identity of the sitter matters,(2004, 32) as will be shown. The term gioconda, could be translated from Italian as“playful or jocular lady”. Thus we can rephrase Greenstein’s conclusion as: whether LaGaconda is, or is not, Mona Lisa, she remains a gioconda. So the exercise of identifyingthe sitter leads back to the conclusion that the painting is a gioconda, i.e., a jocularprank or puzzle.The mystery has also been approached from the concept of the landscape as allegory.This has been thoroughly discussed by Webster Smith in “Observations on the MonaLisa Landscape.” (1985, 183-199) He summarizes the views that the Mona Lisalandscape reflects the analogy that Leonardo drew, figuratively and literally, betweenthe body of humans and the earth as a body. The article includes opinions such as thatof Kenneth D. Keele; “Mona Lisa represents Leonardo’s concept of the formulation ofthe earth and the analogy so vital to him of the macrocosm of the world and themicrocosm of man,” (Smith, 1985, 183) and Martin Kemp’s on the landscape as “ameditation on the human and terrestrial bodies.” (Smith, 1985, 184) This exploration, ofthe landscape as metaphor, does not help to solve the puzzle but does add to thepainting’s mystique. However Smith does contribute some key observations:[T]he surfaces of the upland lakes, both to the right and to the left, appearslanted or curved rather than horizontal, as though to indicate the curvature ofthe earth or, rather, ‘the sphere of water,’ and thus that the landscape representsnot a mere view but the globe, ‘the body of the earth’ itself. It does appear thatLeonardo introduced this effect of curvature on the basis of a concept rather thanempirical observation (how comparable expanses of actual water would reallylook in the distance as seen from Mona Lisa's balcony) Two sheets of water, one to the upper right, not far below the eye level ofthe figure, and the other, merely glimpsed, on the same level to the left, might beunderstood as parts of one enormous lake, and, seen together, these twoindications of water describe a curvature, a bowed effect, across the panel.
Additional, concentric curves are suggested by the tongues of shoreline on thelower lake to the left and the streaks of light on its surface. ‘The globe of ourworld,’ Leonardo says in MS A (fol. 58v) ‘. is composed of water and earth,having the shape of a sphere,’ although it is not perfectly round ‘excepting in theplaces where the sea is, or marshes or other still waters.’ In the Codex Hammer(fol. 34v) he specifies that the surface of any large and still body of water iseverywhere equidistant from the center of the earth, even ‘lakes placed at thetops of high mountains’ and ‘those that give rise to great rivers.’ His diagrams ofthe world, in MS A and the Codex Arundel and also MS L, show schematicallysomething like the Mona Lisa landscape as though in the full round: the entireglobe, ‘composed of water and earth,’ the water surfaces all spherical, the earthhere protruding above, there submerged beneath, the watery sphere. (Smith,1985, 190)The above does reiterate Leonardo’s cosmological view being demonstrated in thepainting, but it also illustrates the vast scale and depth portrayed in the landscape. Thescale is “global”. The distances portrayed require the inclusion of the curvature of theearth. This highlights the unusual perspective demonstrated by Leonardo.Reconstituted LandscapeAt first glance, the painting seems to be a simple portrait of a lady at a balcony; we seethe subject sitting in a loggia with a view behind her. (See figure 1.) But as we study thework, it becomes obvious that the perspective of the painting is most unusual. Theperspective of the sitter is shown as viewed from eye level; she is gazing directly at theviewer. While the perspective of the landscape is that of an aerial view; the vantagepoint is at, or above, the highest peaks, looking out onto a vast territory. The enormousdepth of this territory continues to a vaguely defined horizon – so distant that, asmentioned, the curvature of the earth is appreciable. A large section of the cosmos isrevealed. Furthermore, we see that the horizon on one side does not match the horizonon the other side. To reconcile this mismatch we can consider two copies of thepaintings viewed in tandem with a slight gap between them. (See figure 3a&b.) The
juxtaposed images allows the waters, referred to above as “two sheets of water, one tothe upper right, not far below the eye level of the figure, and the other, merely glimpsed,on the same level to the left, [to] be understood as parts of one enormous lake”. Withthe surface of this reconstituted lake aligned, we can see that the horizon is therebyaligned as is the edge of the balcony. The painting has been purposely created in a waythat the view of the balcony and the landscape on one edge continues on the other.(Bair, 2007, 173-177)Compared to the old landscape, with its ambiguous sense of flow of its waterways androadways, or waterways that resemble roadways, the new landscape shows a logicaldepiction of terrain. The newly reconciled landscape shows a distant mountain lake anda closer lake that flows into a meandering stream that joins a wider stream. That widerstream is crossed by a bridge that leads to a road which proceeds over a plain to a gapin a ridge of hills. The old landscape remains confusing; the new landscape couldresemble an actual place.Drs Carlo Starnazzi and Carlo Pedretti have identified features in the Mona Lisalandscape, as matching those in Leonardo’s Val di Chiana map. The bridge, behind thesubject’s left shoulder in the painting, matches the medieval bridge, Ponte Buriano, andthe lake behind her right shoulder matches Lake Chiana. (Owen, 2003) But that is nothow they should appear, relative to each other. The reconstituted landscape wouldplace these features, and others, in their proper relative positions. This new landscapedoes, in fact, resemble an actual place. It represents an aerial view over the Tuscanvalley region of the Val di Chiana, seen from above Castiglion Fibocchi in thePratomagno hills, looking in a south-south-easterly direction, towards Castiglione delLago, on lake Trasimeno. A review of the reconstituted landscape allows one to matchthe painting to the area. That area is depicted in Leonardo’s Val di Chiana map.HypothesisThese observations yield the key hypothesis of this article; that Leonardo incorporatedthe Val di Chiana, as depicted in his map, in the Mona Lisa landscape. To arrive at this
hypothesis it was necessary to reconstitute that landscape as described above. Tofurther develop the hypothesis, the Val di Chiana map will be examined and a point-topoint correspondence of the map to the landscape will be reviewed. Aspects ofLeonardo’s landscapes will be compared to his maps. His techniques in creatinglandscapes and maps will feature their resulting similar characteristics. Further supportfor the hypothesis and implications for accepting it will follow.ObservationsThe Val di Chiana map (see figure 2.) is a topographic map, created by Leonardo,which shows the Chiana flowing from right to left into the Arno. At the top right is LakeTrasimeno with Castiglione del Lago then Perugia beyond them. Siena is at the bottommiddle and Arezzo is in the top left. The bridge, Ponte Buriano, can be seen as itcrosses the Arno upriver from the confluence with the Chiana. This map correspondswell with present-day maps with some distortions, especially with the course of the TiberRiver. But the most obvious difference, from then to now, would be the Chiana itself.Leonardo’s map features, what was then, a wide dove-shaped lake which has now beenreduced to a narrow drainage canal. A road, which would correspond to a spur of theRoman road, Via Cassia, is shown in part, as it runs from the Arezzo plain, through thegap in the ridge of hills then along the base of the foothills below Cortina to LakeTrasimeno.
Figure 2. Leonardo da Vinci: Val di Chiana, (RL12278) 1502-3, 33.8 x 48.8 cm,pen and ink, watercolour, bodycolour and chalk on paper, The Royal Collection,Windsor, Photo Credit: Scala / Art Resource, NYOne can take Leonardo’s Val di Chiana map, and consider a line from Castiglione delLago to Castiglion Fibocchi (just off the left-hand edge of the map). Let us call this line,ligna castigliona. If one then rotates the map counter clockwise until the ligna castiglionais vertical, the line would correspond to the seam in the reconstituted Mona Lisalandscape. The reconstituted landscape, compared to the repositioned map, showsobvious correspondence. (See figure 4.)
Figures; 3a3b.4.3a and 3b show the reconstituted landscape of the Mona Lisa. Compare thefeatures along the seam of the juxtaposed halves with those along the line on theVal di Chiana map (fig 4.) This demonstrates the painting as a puzzle andreveals the solution.
A review of the reconstituted landscape allows one to match the painting to the map. Itmay also provide insight as to how the master created the work. As one follows theseam joining the two halves i.e., the ligna castigliona, from bottom to top, the landmarkscorrespond to the following sequence:--from a point above Castiglion Fibocchi we see a slope of the Pratomagno (on thelower left), followed by--the confluence of the Arno with Ponte Buriano (left) and the Chiana River (right)separated by the high ground between them, then--a road meandering passed Arezzo (behind the subject) to a gap in a ridge of hills (left),then--a ridge of hills (right), with the wide Chiana beyond them. Siena would be to the right(behind the subject), then--the hills around Cortona leading up to Lake Trasimeno with the spit of land holdingCastiglione del Lago (just to the left) and finally,--the distant mountains to the horizon.These features are linked together by a road. We can see its path from the Burianobridge, veering through the plain towards Arezzo then through the gap in the ridge ofhills where it would merge with the ligna castigliona. That would correspond to the routeof the Via Setteponti – a section of the Via Cassia, mentioned previously, which joinedEtruscan territory to Rome, through the Val di Chiana. Via Setteponti still runs throughthe Pratomagno, Castiglion Fibocchi and Ponte Buriano to Arezzo. (Repetti 1833,375,607 & 723) There it is called the Via Cassia, which proceeds past Cortina throughthe Val di Chiana – a route Leonardo would have used. (See figure 5.)
Perugia1 1516114 11315121211118Siena610Arezzo7966542123Castiglion FibocchiFigure 5. Schematic drawing outlining the features that correspondbetween the reconstituted landscape and the repositioned map:1. Pratomagno. 2. Arno. 3. River confluence. 4. Chiana stream. 5. PonteBuriano. 6. ridge of hills. 7. Setteponti road. 8. road in gap of ridge.9. hills near Siena. 10. Chiana lake. 11. Cortona hills. 12. Trasimenolake. 13. Castiglione del Lago. 14. island in Trasimeno. 15. mountainsbeyond lake.
These observations allow us to compare Leonardo’s technique of creating depth in alandscape with his method of creating a topographic map. As described in hisNotebooks, (da Vinci, 2005, 95) features closest to the viewer are treated with full colorand lighting. Beyond that, the bands of terrain are treated to ever more muted color anddiffused lighting until the distant lakes and mountains are depicted in a color-drainedhaze. This is the case in the Mona Lisa. If we review the work, we can start at thebottom with the proximal features such as the Pratomagno slope. It gets treated with thesame full color and light, as the subject; in fact, the shoulder of the hill resembles theshoulder of the sitter. The band of features including the confluence of the Arno andChiana with the bridge and high-ground, get less color and light. Likewise the bands ofridges, then Lake Chiana, then the Cortona hills, are each sequentially less saturated incolor and light. Finally distant Lake Trasimeno and its surrounding mountains arewashed of color and light. Bruno Mottin, in Mona Lisa; Inside the Painting, stated that“[t]his skilful use of aerial perspective, in which the depth of field is rendered by agradation of colors, prevents us from noticing that the landscape in the Mona Lisa doesnot obey the rules of traditional perspective, but is rendered in a manner suggesting arelief map, ” (Menu, Mohen and Mottin, 2006, 66)A topographic map is similarly assembled as bands of terrain sequenced one behindthe other. The effect is like reading the tabs of a file cabinet. Thus Leonardo could recalla series of observations to create aerial maps or to create landscapes. However, theMona Lisa landscape is not simply a bird’s-eye view from one vantage point. There isno one point that an observer can view the slope of Pratomagno, the Buriano bridgeand the surface of the distant elevated Lake Trasimeno. (Castiglion Fibocchi toCastiglione del Lago are separated by 50 km.) (Michelin map 563) The landscapeshould correspond to a birds-eye view, along the ligna castigliona, from a point aboveCastiglion Fibocchi, over the Arno, up the Chiana valley to Castiglione del Lago on LakeTrasimeno. If we try to recreate this on a program (such as Google Earth 3D), we seeslight discrepancies. Firstly, it must be remembered that the now drained Chiana plain
was marshland back in the past. Secondly, the program tends to flatten height andslope, while Leonardo takes licence to enhance the hills and mountains. In particular,the high-ground separating the rivers at their confluence seems too high for a vantagepoint on or above the Pratomagno hills. It is depicted as it would appear to an observerat a lower elevation, closer to the banks. But from that vantage point an observer wouldbe too low to see the surface of Lake Trasimeno. So a static view does not fit well.If instead, we take a virtual fly-over, staying on the same heading as ligna castigliona asabove, we would observe the sequence of vistas used to create the map. From aboveCastiglion Fibocchi we would see the slope of Pratomagno. We would then descend, aswe flew towards the rivers, and the vista of the confluence with Ponte Buriano wouldappear. Likewise, as we continued in the same heading but at a higher elevation, thevista would match the distal sections of landscape on to Castiglione del Lago. In thismanner we can appreciate the process that Leonardo used to compile theseremembered vistas and reproduce them so faithfully. This treatment, which can becalled topographic perspective, uses the cartographic technique of map making indepicting depth in landscapes.ResultsThe above has demonstrated the first objectives of this article, namely that;1.) The Mona Lisa contains as background, a landscape image divided in two parts.2.) The two parts can be reconciled into one image by aligning the two lateral edges, asoutlined above.3.) The reconstituted image depicts an actual place, namely the Val di Chiana asmapped by Leonardo, and4.) That image consists of a sequence of vistas assembled in the form of a topographicmap.Discussion
Support for these observations would include comparisons of the reconstituted image tophotographic images obtained during an actual fly-over of the Val di Chiana. Theoriginal map and painting, along with early copies of the Mona Lisa, including uncropped versions, should be reviewed with consideration of the above. Further supportwould be the finding of any study sketches of the component vistas. Available supportdoes exist in Leonardo’s works in which the landscape is treated to topographicperspective. Examples of these, including the Annunciation, the Madonna of theYarnwinder and the Virgin and Child with St Anne and Lamb, are discussed in theappendix. The discussion that follows will also bolster the hypothesis.Descriptions of Leonardo’s maps could well apply to his landscapes after 1500.Oberhummer, describing Leonardo’s Map of Tuscany, reveals that the:mountains, mostly crowned by towns, are drawn in perspective, with the lightfalling from the left (south). Rivers are indicated by double lines, towns andvillages by vignettes. The second [Val di Chiana] map is similarly executed andembraces eastern Tuscany between Arezzo, Siena, and Perugia. The scale isabout the same, but the orientation is to the east, and the light falls from the right(south). Besides the blue expanse of the lake Trasimeno with its three ratherexaggerated islands, we notice in the Valle di Chiana a large and long sheet ofwater, no longer existing, which drains both to the Arno and the Tiber.(Oberhummer, 1909, 546)Both his maps and his landscapes feature topography that is drawn in perspective, withthe vertical heights “exaggerated”. There is a paucity or complete absence of vegetationor man-made features. Trees, towns and bridges are rare. When they do appear, theymay be indicated as vignettes. Maps, by their nature, being projections of a curvedsurface of the Earth onto a plane, amend the laws of linear perspective. Distortions arerequired. Straight lines become curved and areas are expanded or contracted. Thevertical axis can be flattened or enhanced. The scale, or point of view, of any vignettemay not match its surroundings. These statements also apply to Leonardo’slandscapes.
Oberhummer also offers his opinion on works that portray the above. Some of these arealso referred to in the appendix:His studies of Alpine scenery were not confined to the western Alps, as is shownby his geographical observations in the
Leonardo, stated that he was working on three paintings, including a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. (Dorfman, 2008, 39) Figure1. Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa / La Gioconda, from 1503, Oil on poplar panel, 79.4 x 53.4 cm, Louvre, Paris, Photo Credit: Réunion des Musées
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Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian artist who dabbled in lots of subjects and who especially enjoyed painting. His most famous pieces of art include the portrait of Mona Lisa and the Last Supper painting. EARLY LIFE Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy.
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