Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power Essay

Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power - Essay Example On looking at the precision and detail Leonardo and other artists afforded his portraits, it is evident that what they were drawing was not merely portraits but ‘reality’ as it were. The artist’s attention to detail shows the modern person how life was during the time (Tinagli88). At the point, the portraits were supposed to be three-quarter so that the sitter could lock their eyes with the painter in a way that signified dialogue. It was believed that the eyes were the instrument through which love was communicated yet a few of the most celebrated portraits did not lock eyes with the viewer. Portrait Ginevra de’ Benci did not lock eyes with the beholder in spite of her being a renowned poet and hailed for her work which preached love. In his documentation, Leonardo wrote that he understood the conventions of beauty as depicted in poetry and believed that a painter yields, even more, power over men’s mind as in his work, he could draw a portrait that a man can fall in love too. The painting may not even depict a living person. In his argument, Leonardo is right to state that the paintings had power over the mind of men. Mostly, the eyes were believed to communicate love. In such a case, if the person received a portrait of a woman whose eyes were locked to those of the beholder, then there is no doubt the beholder would have translated the images to mean that the person loved them. In conclusion, there are many changes that have occurred in artistry since the Renaissance.