In this essay, I plan to discuss the representation of women in Renaissance art with particular reference to the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci which I will analyse in depth, looking for common elements and ideas. The Renaissance was a time which saw an enormous cultural awakening take place in the fields of literature art and philosophy. The art of the Renaissance heavily featured female figures. Women have been worshipped and adored since the beginning of humanity, represented on cave walls and in elaborate oil paintings. The expressive Renaissance period allowed painters to freely portray the adoration they had for the women they cherished and admired. .
The Italian Renaissance began in the 1300's, gradually spreading across Europe throughout the 1400's, during this time art flourished. Prior to the Renaissance the type of people depicted in art were purely noblemen or royalty. As the Renaissance took hold and a stronger class system emerged, art was extended to the middle and working classes allowing the ordinary people to be immortalised in art as opposed to just those who held the highest positions in society. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Thomas Gainsborough helped to revolutionise art in this period, choosing to disregard conventions and portray their women in unconventional ways. .
Leonardo da Vinci was arguably one of the greatest artists of the high Renaissance, his innovative painting style continues to influence the art world even today, centuries after his death. He portrayed both men and women in his paintings however, it is his depiction of women which drew the most critical acclaim. Through his portraits of women, da Vinci expressed real personality which was absent in his pictures of men. This was significant as during this period female figures were seen as inferior to men completely lacking any political or social power. In portraits such as his Mona Lisa, da Vinci began to popularise the use of the three quarter pose, this provided a sense of intimacy between the subject and viewer with the woman managing to engage the eyes of the viewer' (Garrard.