Leonardo, Satan, and the Mystery of Modern Art

Barolsky, Paul, The Virginia Quarterly Review

Ever since Homer told the tale of the shield made by Hephaistos for Achilles nearly three millennia ago, writers and artists have been telling stories or writing fables about art. Sometimes such fables are passed on as matters of fact, as when Picasso, born at 11:15 p.m. on Oct. 25, 1881, according to birth records, told the charming tale of his nativity at midnight. This seemingly casual alteration of the facts, a mere rounding off of numbers, is not so innocent and not without poetic significance, since, according to legend, midnight was the very hour of Christ's birth. We cannot forget here that when Vasari described the nativity of Michelangelo, he pictured the advent of the messiah …

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Publication information: Article title: Leonardo, Satan, and the Mystery of Modern Art. Contributors: Barolsky, Paul - Author. Journal title: The Virginia Quarterly Review. Volume: 74. Issue: 3 Publication date: Summer 1998. Page number: 393+. © University of Virginia Winter 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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