Leonardo da Vinci

One of the true geniuses that have ever existed in the world became known as Leonardo da Vinci . One of the most important and influential artists who were part of the history of art, who has managed to leave a fundamental legacy both in the artistic and scientific fields since all his works became an important part as sources of information.

Historic context

Leonardo da Vinci lived in a time quite turbulent in the field of society and politics , a world that was constantly changing since the end of the Middle Ages would finally step to the modern age . All these changes also affected the cultural field and there were a series of political rivalries in the struggle for control of the State and European hegemony. It was a time between great geographical discoveries , new trade routes were found and the first expeditions to the American continent began.

Italy meanwhile, was a hotbed of social change , and appeared here again humanism contradicting the theocentrism medieval and promoting the science , the philosophy and art including painting, sculpture, architecture and literature . Many wealthy families were in charge of promoting Renaissance artists and in this situation, Leonardo da Vinci was greatly benefited.

Biography of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci , better known worldwide as Leonardo da Vinci, was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci , a town that is located in Florence , Italy . His education was very little and many considered him illiterate , he lived showing concern about nature and this made him dedicate himself to painting mythological beings based on his observations.

In Andre del Verrocchio’s workshop , where he spent time learning, he managed to learn different drawing and painting techniques, going through engraving and sculpture techniques . At the same time he learned basic notions about anatomy .

After spending six years in the place, he decided to set up his own workshop in Florence and here he painted his first painting known as Virgen del Clavel in 1476. In this way he became an independent painter in 1478 . He then moved to Milan and spent a total of 17 years at the Duke’s court working as an engineer. In 1490 he managed to open his own school in Lombarda, where they taught their knowledge. In 1494 , the convent of Santa Maria dalle Grazie , commissioned a fresco from the painter and it was when he created his famous hour The Last Supper .

He then returned to Venice where he worked as a military engineer creating defensive systems to protect against the Turks. He returned to Florence again and by that time he was a well-known genius. He lived in Milan and later in Rome where he worked for the Medici family.

Death

Before his death, Leonardo da Vinci suffered from a long period of public frustration and in 1516 he decided to accept an invitation made by Francis I of France who invited him so that he could calmly enjoy his last years of life. He stayed in a country house near the royal castle of Amboise where he assumed the title of painter , architect and engineer of the King . He died on May 2, 1519 when he was 67 years old due to an illness that he had suffered years before. His tomb is in the chapel ofSan Humberto which is located in the grounds of the Amboise Castle.

Education

The education that Leonardo da Vinci managed to receive was obtained in the Florentine municipality of his birth, Vinci , in this place it was where he learned all his basic knowledge about reading , arithmetic and writing . His father, seeing the abilities that his son had in terms of painting, asked the artist Andrea del Verrocchio to teach him about art and in this way, he managed to enter the workshop as an apprentice in 1469.

Contributions of Leonardo da Vinci

In addition to creating extraordinary machines and painting a series of pictures that later took on special importance, da Vinci was a great pioneer of anatomy . His contributions in this area include drawings on the parts of the body that are in cross section and he carried out scientific experiments and studies on babies in the wombs as a scientist . He was able to dissect more than 30 corpses and was able to fill product notebooks with information, documentation and observations on the different organs of the human body, bones and muscles.

In his time he was a man who was always at the forefront of the scientific revolution and with this he managed to mark the end of medieval superstition , he developed a large number of ideas that had not been recorded before as an anatomist, he was an important scientist as well as the first who managed to describe the heart as a muscle and also as the center of the entire blood system . He was also a pioneer in the study of the size of veins and arteries, and through autopsies he succeeded in showing that the heart had four compartments.

Featured inventions

Among his main inventions we find the following:

• He invented the first self – propelled car on record. This car was made of wood and worked by means of a mechanism that caused the springs to interact with sprockets.
• He made the first sketch of the aerial screw , a mechanism that would make it possible for helicopters to work.
• He created the diving suit , a kind of diving suit that had been made of leather and that was connected to an air sleeve made of cane. This air hose was connected to a bell that was floating on the surface.
• It was thanks to da Vinci that the gears were created , he was the one who wrote down all the schematics and drawings of the gears that are still used today.
• He was able to perfectly model the shape of the human body including metric and proportional indications that were exact to the human body.
• He created the specular writing which consists of creating an alteration in the order of the writing, doing it from right to left and needing a mirror to be able to decipher what he was saying.

Physical characteristics

He was characterized by being left-handed , he was a very strong and physically attractive man. 

Personality

Leonardo da Vinci’s personality was characterized by being kind and generous , he managed to win the affection of those around him, he was also a very wise man who had high self-esteem , knowledge and was also humble .

Parents

He was the illegitimate son of Piero Fruosino di Antonio who was a nobleman who served as ambassador of the Republic of Florence and his mother was a young peasant girl known as Caterina di Meo Lippi . He was never recognized as a legitimate son by his father.

Relations

Da Vinci’s personal life and relationships have been a subject of speculation , mainly after his death. He was also a very secretive man about his relationships and much of the information comes from biographers who have written about him. Apparently, Leonardo da Vinci was homosexual and has spoken of several men in his life although there is no exact data on the names.

It is known that he had a lasting association with two of his students, Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno and Count Franceso Melzi, he also had a relationship with a man named Fioravante di Domenico and with Bernardo di Simone, however those relationships could not be proven

Sons

Leonardo da Vinci never had children.

Importance of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a man of great importance and recognition as he is considered one of the great masters that existed in the Renaissance . He left a legacy in the world of art and science through his innovations and became interested in all fields of human knowledge that included science, mechanics, philosophy, politics and wars among others, for which he was considered a man of the world. Renaissance. He was the first man to explain why the sky was blue due to the gases that interacted in the earth’s atmosphere .

As for art, despite not having painted many pictures, he managed to reach a higher level and was able to add to the styles a certain degree of darkness that gave his figures greater strength and relief . His technique was very important and managed to improve the shadows and the unions between the faces and the hair. He was able to subtly handle proportions and express passions and emotions .

Phrases

Some of its main places are mentioned below.

• Studying without desire ruins your memory, and you don’t retain anything that you absorb.
• Knowledge of all things is possible.
• Life without love is not life at all.
• A little truth is better than a big lie.
• Lies don’t solve problems, they only make them worse, so liars beware.
• Truly man is the king of the beasts, because his brutality surpasses them.
• Whoever wishes to be rich in one day will be hanged in a year.

Plays

Some of his most recognized works were:

• La Scapigliata : a painting painted in sepia also known as a female head.
• Virgen del Huso : religious painting painted in the realistic style.
• The Last Supper : painted in plaster for the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent in Italy.
• The Mona Lisa : one of his best works that is currently in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
• Leda’s head .
• La Belle Ferrnniere : painted in a Renaissance style.

Acknowledgments

There are no records of recognitions made to Leonardo da Vinci but at present some awards are given in his honor. However, many famous sculptors have created statues in his honor, for example in 1872 a monument was erected in Piazza del Scala in Milan and a statue made by the Bulgarian sculptor Assen Peikov is located in Rome .

Presence in popular culture

In popular culture it is possible to find the figure of Leonardo da Vinci in many ways. Several novels and short stories have been inscribed to narrate his biography and his great work , for example, The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci , The Second Lady Gioconda , The Cathedral of Memory and the novel Pilgrim . Perhaps one of the main works of fiction that have been dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci has been the renowned film The Da Vinci Code , a successful novel that was suitable for film in 2006 and that is based around the conspiracy that is finds in the elements of the last supper the author.

Some other movies where his work and history can also be found are:

• The life of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Ever After.
• The Virgins of Sherwood Forest.
• Leonardo.
• Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa.

Some plays such as The Last Supper by Peter Barnes and the play by David Davalos also tell fantastic stories about the time when Leonardo da Vinci lived. Musical pieces have also been used to remember the memory of this impressive artist and several television series have included parts of his life. Even in some comics it is possible to find his work and history.

Curiosities about Leonardo da Vinci

Some curiosities of Leonardo da Vinci were the following:

• He did not have a real last name, “da Vinci” took it from his hometown.
• He was a son who had been born out of wedlock to his parents.
• He never had a formal education and his knowledge came later in life.
• Despite being considered one of the most important painters in the world, he did not make many works of art.
• He had a great fascination for the human body and did many dissections in various hospitals.