Leonardo
Object NamePrint
Artist / Maker
Rudy O. Pozzatti
((American, b. 1925))
Date1975
MediumColor etching
Dimensions35 1/2 x 23 3/4 in. (90.2 x 60.3 cm)
ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates
Credit LineGift of Class of 1967. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object numberUM82.102
Status
Not on viewCollections
CultureAmerican
Label TextPotzzatti long admired the virtuosity of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) who is universally known as the embodiment of a Renaissance man. Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist and artist, merging technology and humanities to create advances in our understanding of the known world. Five hundred years after his contributions, Leonardo has proved to be endlessly fascinating for later generations. In this etching, Pozzatti commemorates Leonardo and his many contributions that include the "Mona Lisa" (1503-1506), the most often reproduced work of art in history, as well as his other drawings depicting anatomy, ballistics, aviation, marine biology, physiognomy, botany, and architecture depicting his advances to a variety of academic studies. In a delightful play on the importance of invention to all ages, Pozzatti combines a copy of da Vinci's self-portrait in the lower left with a centrally place reproduction of da Vinci's masterpiece, the "Mona Lisa", as produced in the University of Indiana computer lab by Pozzatti's son, Rudy Jr. This graphic typeset of "Mona Lisa" makes her as much a part of the 20th century psyche as the 15th century reality.
SignedSigned in pencil:
Leonardo Trial Proof Rudy Pozzatti, 1975
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Brunnier Main Storage
