Comparison of the Art Pieces of Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol

Over time, the type of art people create has changed drastically. Art can be by what events are happening in the time that it was made or what materials were available/discovered.

Each artist has a very different and unique style. For an example, Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol artworks are completely different. Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in Florence, Italy, during the time of the Italian Renaissance. A-lot of his major artworks are based off it. One of the most well known painting ever, the ‘Mona Lisa’.

The colour used in this art piece stands out. The warm yellow, green black and brown shades have a “musty” feeling towards it. The main focal point of the artwork are the eyes. It's the most prominent feature of the piece. Many people say that her eyes seem to be staring at you no matter where you stand observing the picture.

Another one of da Vinci’s most famous artworks is ‘The Last Supper’. That painting shows what he thinks that it would look like if it actually happened. the painting itself is quite large as it is 4.6 x 8.8m long. One of the main art elements present in the artwork is is light. The window in the background of the work is bright as it illuminates the whole room that they were in. The light refracted from the sun rays makes the viewer focus on the middle of the work. The focal point. It's one of the main art principles of the work as it draws attention to ‘Jesus’. Another art principle that's relevant is unity. ‘Jesus’ had his own little group of followers that then united them together. Every disciple is on the same side of the table which shows that they support each other on whatever they decide to do. That unifies them together.

Now day, they style of art has changed drastically. The materials available and the new style has allowed artists to expand their range of work. One of the most well known artist known for pop/modern art is Andy Warhol. He was born in 1928 then has sadly passed away in 1987 which is still pretty recent. Just a few decades ago. One of his most iconic artworks are his shots of Marilyn Monroe. Tone is a very important aspect of this piece. Each shot is different from one another as the colours slowly fades as it goes down. One art principle in the work is repetition. Each shot is perfectly lined up against the others which creates a pattern. This recurring picture creates a sense of unity among the art piece.

Another iconic art piece created by Warhol is his version of The Last Supper. This painting is quite large at it stands at 32 x 10ft long. That was created in 1986 so a long time after the actual event actually happened. Warhol has managed to use a very traditional piece of art and put a little bit of a twist to it. He has applied some bright colours among the work which makes those parts stand out from the others. Shape is an important art element as shapes is what makes this painting different from the other version of the Last Supper. The colours contained within the shapes (rectangles) highlight different parts of the painting to show what was happening without having all of the viewer's attention on just Jesus himself. Contrast is a relevant art principle to the work as the difference in tone and colours draw attention to make the artwork look more dramatic is certain parts of the picture.

Both Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol have done their own perspective of the Last Supper. Although they may be pretty much the exact same painting but they still look completely different. Da Vinci painted his painting in 1503, (several decades before Warhol did) during the Italian Renaissance. During those time, Italy was going through a period where everything was changing. The rise of intellectuals and the change of leaders could have led to Leonardo wanting to go back in time and reflect on the past.

Hence the painting of Jesus who believed in free will and peace. Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper is quite modern/traditional as the colours used blended in together. Also the range of colours available at the time probably wasn't quite as wide as it is nowadays. Then Andy Warhol came along and decided to recreate a picture of the Last Supper but with a modern twist to it. He kept the original picture but changed up the colours that were used. This shows that over time, the type of art artists create has developed thanks to a wider range of colours, more materials being available and a lot more factors.