Da Vinci Lives!

Today in Art History, we read about some of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous paintings- the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. Did you know that Da Vinci carried the Mona Lisa with him until his death, working on it the whole time? Did you know that a single wispy brush stroke makes up her eyebrow (or lack thereof)? Did you know that the painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and was missing for two years until the thief tried to sell it in Italy? After reading all about it, students stepped into the role of Mona herself, using my Halloween costume from two years ago! Check out these "enigmatic smiles":























In our study of Leonardo Da Vinci this week, we learned about how in his lifetime, Leonardo produced thousands of pages of notes, ideas and sketches of plants, animals, the human body, people, canals, contact lenses, bridges, parachutes, inventions, war machines and more. He was particularly interested in the way things worked. In class yesterday, 6th graders created sketches of 'gadgets' in the style of Da Vinci. They carefully observed how the items (a pasta maker and clay/garlic press) operate, drew them and took notes (backwards of course) about how they work, the same way Da Vinci would have: