Out of scholarly duty I put in the name of the painting and the name of the artist above, but we all know those hands. They belong to the Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, after the family name of the rich merchant who had Leonardo paint a picture of his wife, Lisa. Since Leonardo never delivered the painting or at least not this painting, but kept it with him until his death in 1519 in France, we don’t know which parts of this might have been the merchant’s wife and which were from Leonardo’s many sketches of people’s features, including hands. Needless to say that the speculation on the origins and even the meaning of this portrait runs a wide spectrum from having her be the image of an ideal mother (done for a member of the Medici family whose illegitimate son’s mother had died in childbirth) to perhaps a type of self-portrait to show Leonardo’s feminine side (see youtube.com). Whatever the actual history, these hands painted by Leonardo are a work of art in and of themselves.
When standing close up to the painting (yes, in previous years one could go right up to the painting without any barriers, and if it was a visit on a weekday evening, there might not be anyone else standing there!), the hands are so full in dimension and so life-like that they seem to give off warmth. You really feel that if you could touch them, somehow they would feel alive. They rest calmly in her lap, one folded over the other, the fingers of the right hand partly separated, and the skin tones warmly colored, all of which may indeed remind many of their mother or grandmother’s hands. That stroke of universality may be part of the magic that makes the painting great. A well-studied knowledge, shown in this painting by the use of shadows and soft edges coupled with a keen understanding of the structure of the human hand, underlies the ability to create such a life-like rendering. The refinement and beauty of these soft, calm hands make us marvel at them even today.
Michelangelo was no slouch when it came to representing the hand (or anything else). In the close-ups above from his statue of David, we see the young underdog. (Underdog? A statue over 17 feet! But just imagine Goliath.) He hides a secret weapon, a common rock, but one he knows how to put to good use. In marble, Michelangelo captures the tension of the moment by showing the veins in the hand standing out. One can almost feel the blood pulsing through, as David surely knew he would have but one chance to bring down his gigantic foe. The side view of the hand with the thumb facing forward is cocked rather casually at his side, the rock well hidden, a ruse to tell Goliath there was nothing to see there. The hands on that statue are out of proportion in terms of their size, but those large hands indicate prowess and strength. In fact, the whole purpose of the statue, which originally stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s city hall, was as a symbol to all who visited Florence that the city’s energetic and shrewd youthfulness would see it through travails that might overpower others. Florentines were strong, young, capable, and crafty – Beware!
But what about the hand in more modern painting and sculpting? Has its beauty or its subtleties been lost in all our rush to the abstract? Well, just take a look at this wonderful Edward Hopper piece, New York Interior ( 1921)
In this detail of the painting above, we see no thread, yet we can tell by the position of the fingers and the tension in the muscles of the hand and arm that the lady is pulling a thread through the cloth that lies on her lap, perhaps a lovely dress she intends to wear or even the hem of the one she has on. The hollow in her back along the spine is caused by that raised arm and its pulling motion. Writing in an article in the Washington Post, Sebastian Smee calls that hand “electrifying,” going on to say, “there is just enough detail for us to feel securely tethered to the real. The rest has been ruthlessly extracted.” www.washingtonpost.com
Andrew Wyeth’s painting of the bronze cast of his hands sitting on the jagged piece of ice being broken up by the swift current of a river is a statement by the artist of the role of those hands in the creation of his works. In fact, he said, “I wish I could paint without me existing – that just my hands were there” (see article on www.bonhams.com). The hands floating away in the ice floe, riding along on something that would one day melt away, indicates a type of dangerous liaison with his art and with nature itself. Wyeth seemingly preferred to be disconnected from his subjects as that allowed his mind to be free to create. Wyeth’s hands seem to be reaching for something, as though they really could work even if disconnected from the rest of him. They are a type of self-portrait in which the hands were so much more important than the face as a lasting symbol of his identity.
Now, we end with the beginning, all those thousands of years ago when the woolly mammoths roamed, and when humans did rituals in caves to reaffirm their existence and their hopes for survival, largely based on how well they could use those wonderful hands. The human hand is a marvel of design and to fully understand it just think of what other creatures on the planet could do if they had our flexible five digits, including that distinctively useful thumb. The prehistoric painters who left their mark in this cacophony of handprints showed their acknowledgement of the value of the human hand. These prints and others found in the caves of our ancestors wherever they appear in the world show us that the human hand has always been a worthy subject for art.
Art works discussed are either in public domain or used in accordance with Fair Use Policy for purposes of discussion, review, and critique.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.
A real Tuscan Red – Meet Chianti.
Tuscany, home of both Leonardo and Michelangelo, is a premier wine growing region. One of its most famous and popular wines is Chianti. Known for its casing in a straw basket, it has a lot more to offer than just a good wine to have with a slice of pepperoni. According to the Vinepair.com aticle (click above), it is actually hard to find Chianti in straw baskets any more, so I suggest that any Italian restaurants that have a few, keep them as collector’s items. Despite the change in format, Chianti remains one of America’s most popular red wines, and for good reason, as it comes in at least three different forms: Chianti, Chianti Classico, Chianti Riserva, and two sub-types, Colli Senesi and Colli Fiorentini, each of these representing slightly different growing areas and altitudes within the Chianti Region. And yes, Chianti, the wine, bears the name of the region that lies between Florence and Siena, a fertile 100 mile stretch that was often contested between the two rival cities (more on that later).
The wine itself is made from Sangiovese grapes. The name literally means “Blood of Jove” (Jove being another name for Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods). The deep purple grapes produce a rich red wine with the taste of berries, and spices with herbal tones. The lightness and high acidity in Chianti makes it work well with just about any food, but especially well with pizza.
Chianti Classico and the Chianti Riserva, an aged version of the wine with softer tannins and more spice, but the same fruity, cherry flavors, up the wine’s game quite a bit. These must be made 80% from Sangiovese grapes grown in the region which has an DOCG appellation. The region in fact first got its appellation status in the early 1700s, granted by Cosimo III, Duke of Tuscany. It is hard to get a more authoritative stamp of approval than that. The wine can have a mixture of other red grapes for the remaining 20%. Normally that means an addition of Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. This blending of reds makes Chianti an Italian rival to Bordeaux. Chianti Classico and Chianti Riserva both pair well with hard cheeses and heavy pasta dishes. One great item to pair with Chianti Classico is the famous grilled steak dish known as bisteccca alla fiorentina. It is an extra thick porterhouse steak, seasoned with simple ingredients and grilled to perfection. Chef Michael Chiarello walks you through the recipe here: www.foodnetwork.com.
As previously mentioned this region has been producing fine wine for centuries. Along with the official acknowledgement from Duke Cosimo III and its current DOCG appellation, Chianti Classico has another mark that brands it as authentic – a black rooster or Gallo Nero.
This mark of distinction goes back beyond Duke Cosimo’s appellation in 1716. The black rooster story dates from the late 1300s and deals with which of two medieval city-states would rule the Chianti valley. Since the valley lies between Siena and Florence, securing it involved ages-old rivalry.
Though they sometimes fought actual armed battles, the two rival cities decided to settle this one more peacefully by having riders get up at dawn on a specific day and start out in the direction of the opposite city, riding through the fields of Chianti. Wherever they would meet, all the land from that point back to their respective cities would belong to that city. The key thing was to be up early on that day. To accomplish this each town decided to have a special rooster be the one to wake up the rider, so he could be on his way early. The Sienese, lovely, elegant, fanciful people, at least as shown in many of their paintings of the time, chose a white rooster which they fed very well. The idea was that he would wake up early to get more food. The Florentines, also elegant in their art but with a strict hard edge about drawing that led to the development of perspective in painting, had a black rooster which they keep on a minimal diet. The idea was that the hungry bird would be crying out for at least some crumbs of food and thus wake the rider very early. Well, they were right. The Florentine rider was out first and by the time he met up with the Sienese rider, that rider had only gone 12 kilometers (about 8.5 miles) outside of Siena. Thus Florence gained hegemony over Chianti and because their rooster was black, that image is found at the top of every bottle of Chianti Classico.
So now you have your basics in Chianti, but before we leave, you must hear the Chianti Song, sung by a trio of rich voices, in an Italian setting, and accompanied by Andre Rieu. If this doesn’t make you feel like throwing a Festa Italia with a nice bottle of Chianti, I don’t know what will. youtube.com
If you are in the mood to explore the world through wine and be able to feel extra good about it, try joining one of the wine clubs at Cellars Wine Club. There is a club for every budget, a wide selection of wines, free shipping, and a “no bad bottle” return policy. As well, you can arrange to have 15% of your purchase donated to one of a number of vetted charities through the Give Back Program. Just click here ofartandwine.com.
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©marjorie vernelle 2020
Coming Soon: Uccello, The Battle of San Romano, and Brunello, another Tuscan Red.
The rivalry between Florence and Siena is legendary, from fields for growing wine to who might control another city’s trade (in the case of the painting above Pisa), these two city-states fought over everything. This battle took place in 1432 and was won decisively by Florence, yet the struggles did not end there. A triptych of the battle was commissioned around 1435 by the Bartolini-Salimbeni family. Yet somehow it wound up years later in the possession of Lorenzo de Medici, and he didn’t buy it. Come find out about this wonderful set of paintings and another Tuscan wine, Brunello.