. Sketches of great painters for young people. nd a horseshoe like a strip of lead. As he walked about Florence, Leonardo had keeneyes for everything beautiful or grotesque. Lovelyhair or a charming smile held him with peculiar fascina-tion, and he would follow the possessors of such charms,and would watch for them day after day until he couldrepeat their witchery on canvas. At other times, whatwas hideous and revolting attracted him ; and it issaid that lie followed criminals to execution in order tolearn how torture transformed their faces. Sometimeshe would gather a group of peasants or wor
. Sketches of great painters for young people. nd a horseshoe like a strip of lead. As he walked about Florence, Leonardo had keeneyes for everything beautiful or grotesque. Lovelyhair or a charming smile held him with peculiar fascina-tion, and he would follow the possessors of such charms,and would watch for them day after day until he couldrepeat their witchery on canvas. At other times, whatwas hideous and revolting attracted him ; and it issaid that lie followed criminals to execution in order tolearn how torture transformed their faces. Sometimeshe would gather a group of peasants or working peopletogether, and tell them funny stories, in order to studytheir expressions of laughter. He bought caged birdson the street out of pure love of seeing their joyat being set free. His open mind received myriadsof impressions, many of which were recorded in hisdrawings and paintings. While Leonardo was studying under Verrochio, a rareopportunity came to him. His master was at the timeengaged upon a picture of the Baptism of Christ, and. 34 SKETCHES OF GREAT PAINTERS. the pupil was allowed to paint an angel in one of thecorners. The result was a brilliant success for , it is said that when the master saw this radiantangel, which made all the rest of the picture seem coldand lifeless, he turned sadly away, and resolved topaint no more but to devote himself henceforth tosculpture — the art he had always loved best. Curiosity and an insatiable thirst for knowledgeimpelled Leonardo to make multitudes of day, in his early youth, a peasant on his fathersfarm brought him a shield of figwood and asked himto paint a picture on it. Leonardo gathered togethermany loathsome little creatures that haunted the vine-yard, and set himself to the task of seeing what effectcould be produced with such material. He succeededin painting a picture so hideous that his father turnedaway from it in horror. This almost childish experi-ment may have suggested to him
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectpainters, bookyear190
