Artists use preliminary sketches as the backbone of their drawing. Just like the skeleton, it provides the framework for the human body. Preliminary sketches are important in the painting. In this stage, the artist plans everything starting from the design, theme, colours and the delivery of the message. Art is widely known as the artist’s soul because they perceive the world quite differently. They have quirky, imaginative minds that might appear as bizarre to other people (Kallen, 64). In short, they express themselves through art. Sketching is commonly the initial layout of any painting. Famous people from the Renaissance, artist such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Sanzio Santi and Michelangelo uses this technique in their paintings. Da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa was created for the Italian merchant’s wife, Lisa del Giocondo. Experts studied the progress of da Vinci’s work, by looking closely and studying the painting for long time. These led them to study the painting itself. Da Vinci started Lisa’s face as a plain semi-oval shaped and included wavy lines to portray her hair. As the drawing went on, certain elements were added including the landscapes, facial features and the subject’s dress (Kallen, 66). The fame of Mona Lisa is her smile; she was depicted as a serene woman wearing a mysterious yet beautiful smile. Nowadays, art connoisseurs, experts or simply just common people come to Louvre to admire the many works of Renaissance artists. For the viewers, it is indeed fascinating to compare the initial layout of the work to the actual painting and it helps the viewers to understand and study the thoughts of the artists by simply looking at their creations.
Works Cited
Kallen, Stuart A. Renaissance Art. Detroit: Lucent Books, 2008. Print.