The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo
Video in Italian | Talking about the unfinished painting by the genius
Leonardo and the incredible charm of the unfinished...
Dating from 1481-82, The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci preserved in the Uffizi, is an unfinished panel that nonetheless allows us to come in touch with Leonardo's art directly. In fact, the lack of colours makes the drawing's composition fully discernible. The unconventional vision of the genius is first of all legible in the setting, which is completely revolutionary if compared to previous models like, for example, the Adoration by Sandro Botticelli realized a few years earlier.
The hut is a simple sloping roof, shifted to the right and not in the center of the scene.
The Virgin and the Child are immersed in nature, on the edge of a rock near a brook.
The other characters are caught in a vortex of admirable astonishment: they are witnessing a divine epiphany.
In the background, what at first glance would appear to be a ruin, has been identified as the temple of Jerusalem under reconstruction: a curious detail is the representation of bricklayers at work.
Indeed, thanks to the long restoration carried out a couple of years ago by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, this work has turned out to be perfectly legible in its every single detail.
