Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his paintings Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Vitruvian Man. He was not only a painter and sculptor, but also an engineer. A polymath, his notebooks revealed he was a remarkable scientist and inventor.
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Raffaello Santi are considered the three greatest High Renaissance artists.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Early Life in Tuscan Town of Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was born at Anchian near Vinci, Tuscany, on April 15, 1452. As an illegitimate son, his landlord and notary father, Ser Piero di Antonio, had little time for him. His grandparents and an uncle were among da Vinci's primary caregivers; his mother Catarina was a peasant woman.
As a child, da Vinci showed extraordinarily talents. He played the lyre and sang beautifully, was great at horseback riding, and had a brilliant aptitude for mathematics. Anywhere he went, he carried a notebook, enabling him to write accounts of his observations and to create sketches of anything that interested him.
There was much turbulence in Renaissance Italy that time, with frequent wars and changes of rulers that destabilizes government. But such things did not deter Leonardo and his inquiring mind.
Leonardo’s Early Introduction to Art and Artists
When his grandfather died in 1468, the family moved to Florence. That time Florence was considered the most exciting creative city in Europe, with dominant structural building as Brunelleschi's cathedral dome. Studios and workshops of brilliant art also flourished, such as Donatello's statue of David and Ghiberti's Baptistry doors.
Leonardo da Vinci became an apprentice, mixing pigments for paints and assisting artists cast metal statues. He also studied anatomy by drawing the artists’ models harnessing further his technical skills.
Becoming more aware of his son's artistic brilliance and interests, his father sent him to study under Andrea Verrochio, the most famous sculptor, painter and goldsmith in Florence that time. Soon enough, he surpassed the skill of his teacher. Leonardo da Vinci also started wearing over-short, pink breeches that triggered speculation about his sexuality.
Inventive Artist, Inventive Scientist, Engineer and Architect
Twelve years later, in 1480, da Vinci got his first art commission from Lorenzo the Magnificent, the head of the Medici's ruling family. He started work on his painting The Adoration of the Magi, but soon abandoned it. Instead, he advertised his services as a military engineer to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Leonardo da Vinci stayed 17 years in Milan until 1499 when the French captured the city.
As painter and architect, he was busy painting, and advising on architecture, drains, water supplies and other technical activities. As a sculptor, he sculpted a giant bronze statue of Ludovico on horseback, a work said to have been mocked by Michelangelo. Notably, the duel of artistry eventuated between the two masters.
Leonardo da Vinci intensely studied for his anatomical researches, including dissecting corpses. He was not only interested with the shape and position of organs, but also in determining their functions from structure analysis.
In drawing machines, he was intent to show how individual components worked: the air as a material with properties similar to water. He also developed an understanding how machines could interact with air and water, and his prototype helicopter diagram explained how the machine would drive itself upward into the air.
Leonardo da Vinci Last Years
In 1503, he began painting the famous Mona Lisa. He also studied bird flight and geometry two years later. The 1500s saw political instability. Aside from living in Florence and Milan, Leonardo also moved to Venice and Rome, staying approximately one year in any given location.
Feeling exhausted from the moves, by the time he was 60, he accepted a gift of rooms in the Vatican in 1513, staying there for three years. Then the aging artist accepted an invitation from the king of France and left Italy. Leonardo da Vinci died in France on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67.
Legacy of Leonardo da Vinci
The contributions of this genius go beyond his art, drawings, and inventions. Aside from his timeless art creations, Leonardo da Vinci designed machines, including a prototype helicopter and airplane. With his inventions, he combined his strong belief in seeing as path to knowledge, diligent observations, and a persevering attitude, to record findings in ways that make it clear to people how things work.
Sources:
Farendon, J. and Woolf, A., Rooney, A. and Gogerly, L. The Great Scientists. Capella, 2005.
McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers, Harrap Publishers, 2002.
Moore, Pete. E=MC²: The Great Ideas That Shaped Our World. London: Quintet Publishing, 2002.
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