FREE ESSAY ON LEONARDO DA VINCI

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest and most ingenious 
men that history has produced. His contributions in the areas of art, 
science, and humanity are still among the most important that a single 
man has put forth, definitely making his a life worth knowing. 
Da Vinci, born on April 15, 1452, is credited with being a 
master painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and 
scientist. He was born an illegitimate child to Catherina, a peasant 
girl. His father was Ser Piero da Vinci, a public notary for the city 
of Florence, Italy. For the first four years of his life he lived 
with his mother in the small village of Vinci, directly outside of the 
great center of the Renaissance, Florence. Catherina was a poor 
woman, with possible artistic talent, the genetic basis of Leonardo's 
talents. Upon the realization of Leonardo's potential, his father 
took the boy to live with him and his wife in Florence (Why did). 
This was the start of the boy's education and his quest for knowledge. 
Leonardo was recognized by many to be a "Renaissance child" 
because of his many talents. As a boy, Leonardo was described as 
being handsome, strong, and agile. He had keen powers of observation, 
an imagination, and the ability to detach himself from the world 
around him. At an early age Leonardo became interested in subjects 
such as botany, geology, animals (specifically birds), the motion of 
water, and shadows (About Leonardo). 
At the age of 17, in about 1469, Leonardo was apprenticed as a 
garzone (studio boy) to Andrea del Verrocchio, the leading Florentine 
painter and sculptor of his day. In Verrocchio's workshop Leonardo 
was introduced to many techniques, from the painting of altarpieces 
and panel pictures to the creation of large sculptural projects in 
marble and bronze. 
In 1472 he was accepted in the painter's guild of Florence, 
and worked there for about six years. While there, Leonardo often 
painted portions of Verrocchio's paintings for him, such as the 
background and the kneeling angel on the left in the Baptism of Christ 
(Encarta). Leonardo's sections of the painting have soft shadings, 
with shadows concealing the edges. These areas are distinguished 
easily against the sharply defined figures and objects of Verrocchio, 
that reflect the style called Early Renaissance. Leonardo's more 
graceful approach marked the beginning of the High Renaissance. 
However, this style did not become more popular in Italy for another 
25 year (Gilbert 46). Leonardo actually started the popularization of 
this style. For this reason Leonardo could be called the "Father of 
the High Renaissance." Leonardo's leading skills emerged through his 
paintings and his techniques. Leonardo's talents soon drew him away 
from the Guild and in 1472 Leonardo finished his first complete 
painting, Annunciation. In 1478 Leonardo reached the title of an 
Independent Master. His first large painting, The Adoration of the 
Magi (begun in 1481), which was left unfinished, was ordered in 1481 
for the Monastery of San Donato a Scopeto, Florence. Other works 
ascribed to his youth are the Benois Madonna (1478), the portrait 
Ginevra de' Benci (1474), and the unfinished Saint Jerome (1481). 
Leonardo expanded his skills to other branches of interest and in 1481 
Leonardo wrote an astonishing letter to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico 
Sforza. In this letter he stated that he knew how to build portable 
bridges; that he knew the techniques of constructing bombardments and 
of making cannons; that he could build ships as well as armored 
vehicles, catapults, and other war machines; and that he could execute 
sculpture in marble, bronze, and clay. 
Thus, he entered the service of the Duke in 1482, working on 
Ludovico's castle, organizing festivals, and he became recognized as 
an expert in military engineering and arms. Under the Duke, Leonardo 
served many positions. He served as principal engineer in the Duke's 
numerous military enterprises and was active as an architect 
(Encarta). As a military engineer Leonardo designed artillery and 
planned the diversion of rivers. He also improved many inventions 
that were already in use such as the rope ladder. Leonardo also drew 
pictures of an armored tank hundreds of years ahead of its time. His 
concept failed because the tank was too heavy to be mobile and the 
hand cranks he designed were not strong enough to support such a 
vehicle. 
As a civil engineer, he designed revolving stages for 
pageants. As a sculptor he planned a huge monument of the Duke's 
father mounted up on a leaping horse. The Horse, as it was known, was 
the culmination of 16 years of work. Leonardo was fascinated by 
horses and drew them constantly. In The Horse, Leonardo experimented 
with the horses' forelegs and measurements. 
The severe plagues in 1484 and 1485 drew his attention to town 
planning, and his drawings and plans for domed churches reflect his 
concern with architectural problems (Bookshelf). In addition he also 
assisted the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli in the work Divina 
Proportione (1509). 
While in Milan Leonardo kept up his own work and studies with 
the possible help of apprentices and pupils, for whom he probably 
wrote the various texts later compiled as Treatise on Painting (1651). 
The most important painting of those created in the early Milan age 
was The Virgin of the Rocks. Leonardo worked on this piece for an 
extended period of time, seemingly unwilling to finish what he had 
begun (Encarta). It is his earliest major painting that survives in 
complete form. From 1495 to 1497 Leonardo labored on his masterpiece, 
The Last Supper, a mural in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa 
Maria delle Grazie, Milan. 
While painting The Last Supper, Leonardo rejected the fresco 
technique normally used for wall paintings. An artist that uses this 
fresco method must work quickly. Leonardo wanted to work slowly, 
revising his work, and use shadows-which would have been impossible in 
using fresco painting. He invented a new technique that involved 
coating the wall with a compound that he had created. This compound, 
which was supposed to protect the paint and hold it in place did not 
work, and soon after its completion the paint began to flake away. 
For this reason The Last Supper still exists, but in poor condition 
(Gilbert 46). Leonardo had at many times merged his inventive and 
creative capabilities to enhance life and improve his works. Although 
his experiments with plastering and painting failed, they showed his 
dissatisfaction with an accepted means and his creativity and courage 
to experiment with a new and untried idea. Experimentation with 
traditional techniques is evident in his drawings as well. 
During Leonardo's 18 year stay in Milan he also produced other 
paintings and drawings, but most have been lost. He created stage 
designs for theater, architectural drawings, and models for the dome 
of Milan Cathedral. Leonardo also began to produce scientific 
drawings, especially of the human body. He studied anatomy by 
dissecting human corpses and the bodies of animals. Leonardo's 
drawings did not only clarify the appearance of bones, tendons, and 
other body parts but their function in addition. These drawings are 
considered to be the first accurate representations of human anatomy. 
Leonardo is also credited with the first use of the cross 
section, a popular technique for diagramming the human body. Leonardo 
wrote, "The painter who has acquired a knowledge of the nature of the 
sinews, muscles, and tendons will know exactly in the movement of any 
limb how many and which of the sinews are the cause of it, and which 
muscle by its swelling is the cause of this sinew's contracting" 
(Wallace 131). 
In December, 1499, the Sforza family was driven out of Milan 
by French forces and Leonardo was forced to leave Milan and his 
unfinished statue of Ludovico Sforza's father, which was destroyed by 
French archers that used it for target practice. Leonardo then 
returned to Florence in 1500 (Bookshelf).
When Leonardo returned to Florence the citizens welcomed him 
with open arms because of the fame he acquired while in Milan. The 
work he did there strongly influenced other artists such as Sandro 
Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo. The work he was to produce would 
influence other masters such as Michelangelo and Raphael. In 1502 
Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Romagna and son 
and Chief General of Pope Alexander VI. For this post he supervised 
work on the fortress of the papal territories in central Italy. In 
1503 he was a member of a commission of artists to decide on the 
proper location for the David by Michelangelo (Encarta). 
Towards the end of the year Leonardo began to design a 
decoration for the Great Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo chose 
the Battle of Anghiari as the subject of the mural, a victory for 
Florence in a war against Pisa. He made many drawings and sketches of 
a cavalry battle, with tense soldiers, leaping horses and clouds of 
dust. In painting The Battle of Anghiari Leonardo again rejected 
fresco and tried an experimental technique called encaustic. Once 
again the experiment was unsuccessful. Leonardo went on a trip and 
left the painting unfinished. When he returned he found that the 
paint had run and he never finished the painting. The paintings 
general appearance is known from Leonardo's sketches and other 
artists' copies of it (Creighton 45). 
During the period of time that Leonardo spent painting the 
Palazzo Vecchio he also painted several other works, including the 
most famous portrait ever, the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, also known 
as La Gioconda, (after the presumed name of the model's husband) 
became famous because of the unique expression on Lisa del Gioconda's 
face. She appears to have just started to or finished smiling. This 
painting was one of Leonardo's favorites and he carried it with him on 
all of his subsequent travels (Clark 133). 
In 1506, Leonardo returned to Milan to finished up some of his 
projects that he had to abandon during his hasty departure. He stayed 
there until 1516 when he moved to Cloux, France, where he stayed with 
his pupil Melzi. While in Milan he was named Court Painter to King 
Louis XII of France, who was then residing in Milan. For the next six 
years he traveled from Milan to Florence repeatedly to look after his 
inheritance. In 1514 he traveled to Rome under the patronage of Pope 
Leo X. During this time Leonardo's energy was focused mainly on his 
scientific experiments. He then moved to France to serve King Francis 
I. It is here in Chateau de Cloux that he died on May 2,1519 (Wallace 
127).
Leonardo constantly reworked his drawings, studies and 
mechanical theories. His observations of the motion of water are 
amazingly accurate. In Leonardo's Studies of Water Formation, the 
flow patterns observed are swirling around , then below as it forms a 
pool. Using modern slow motion cameras' scientists now study the same 
effects that Leonardo wrote about and observed with his naked eye 
(Encarta). 
Another study of water and wind is his Apocalyptic Visions. 
This is a collected study of hurricanes and storms. In these highly 
detailed drawings the pen lines so carefully marked explode into 
action similar to the storms themselves. Leonardo's mathematical 
drawings are also highly skilled. In a math formula Leonardo proved 
the theory of perpetual motion false but it still intrigued him. 
Among his vast notes were small ideas for a perpetual motion machine. 
His ideas for completing this task involved an unbalanced wheel that 
would revolve forever, conserving its energy. However these machines 
were never constructed. Another mathematical drawing was the 
Polyhedron. This three dimensional figure represented proportions to 
him "not only in numbers and measurements but also in sounds, weights, 
positions and in whatsoever power there may be" (Wallace 59).
The notebooks of Leonardo contain sketches and plans for 
inventions that came into existence almost five-hundred years after 
the Renaissance. Leonardo practiced a technique of writing backwards. 
It has been postulated that he did this, being left-handed, so that 
he wouldn't smear the ink by his left hand running across 
newly-written words. Moreover, the individual words are spelled 
backwards. In order to read the Notebooks one must hold the pages up 
to a mirror and it is believed by some that Leonardo did this to keep 
his writing and theories secret. In any event, contained in the 
Notebooks are plans and drawings for what we recognize today as the 
first working propeller, a submarine, a helicopter, a tank, 
parachutes, the cannon, perpetual motion machines, and the rope 
ladder. There are perfectly executed drawings of the human body, from 
the proportions of the full figure to dissections in the most minute 
detail. It was observed, however, that Leonardo's interest in the 
human body and his ability to invent mechanical things were actually 
not as paramount to him as was his fascination and awe of the natural 
world (Clark 133). 
Leonardo lived to be 67 years old. He is not known to have 
ever married or had children. In fact, it was said of him that he 
only saw women as "reproductive mechanisms" (Clark 134).
If there is one quality that characterizes the life of Leonardo da 
Vinci it would be his curiosity for life and the world around him. 
Curiosity is the force that motivated him to observe, dissect and 
document every particle of matter that warranted his attention. From 
babies in the womb to seashells on the beach, nothing escaped his 
relentless intellect. The mind of Leonardo transcends the period of 
the Renaissance and every epoch thereafter. It is universally 
acknowledged that his imagination, his powers of reason, and his sheer 
energy surpass that of any person in history. The study of Leonardo 
is limited only by the inadequacy of the student.