Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, scientist, and inventor during the Italian renaissance. He is considered by many to be the one of the most talented and intelligent people of all time. The term renaissance man (someone who does many things very well) came from Leonardo's many talents and is today used to describe people who resemble da Vinci.

Leonardo was born in the town of Vinci, Italy on April 15,1452. Not much is known about his childhood other than his father was wealthy and had a number of wives. About the age of 14 he became an apprentice to a famous artist named Verrocchio. This is where he learned about art, drawing, painting and more.

Leonardo the Artist

Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as one of the greatest artists in history. Leonardo excelled in many areas including drawing, painting, and sculpture. Although we don't have a lot of his paintings today, he is probably most famous for his paintings and also gained great fame during his own time due to his paintings. Two of his most famous paintings, and perhaps two of the most famous in the world, include the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.

Mona Lisa or "La Gioconda"

In the present era it is the most famous painting in the world. Its fame rests, in particular smile on a woman's face.
Leonardo described this technique as "without lines or borders". The subject of the painting is blended into the background so that it becomes one with background. Leonardo blur the line between two objects side by side.

Mona Lisa
1503-1506
Oil on wood
77 x 53cm
Louvre, Paris

The Last Supper

The painting represents the last meal shared by Jesus with his disciples before his capture and death. It shows specifically the moment when Jesus has just said "one of you will betray me". Leonardo worked a lot on this painting, some days he would paint from dawn till dusk without stopping to eat and then not paint for three or four days at a time. Leonardo, instead of using the technique fresco, had used tempera over a ground that was mainly gesso this made the painting get mold and flaking. I have one of the countless copies in my house...it is not the original but just remand me about Jesus

The Last Suppe

after cleaning

1498

Tempera on plaster

460 x 880 cm

Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Refectory), Milan

Leonardo's drawings are also quite extraordinary. He would keep journals full of drawings and sketches, often of different subjects that he was studying. Some of his drawings were previews to later paintings some were studies of anatomy, some were closer to scientific sketches. One famous drawing is the Vitruvian Man drawing. It is a picture who has perfect proportions based off the notes from the Roman architect Vitruvius. Other famous drawings include a design for a flying machine and a self portrait.

Vitruvian Man

Galleria dell' Accaemia, Venice

1985-90

Anatomical study of the Arm (c.1510) by Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo the Inventor and Scientist

Many of da Vinci's drawings and journals were made in his pursuit of scientific knowledge and inventions. His journals were filled with over 13,000 pages of his observations of the world. He drew pictures and designs of hang gliders, helicopters, war machines, musical instruments, various pumps, and more. He was interested in civil engineering projects and designed a single span bridge, a way to divert the Amo River and barricades which would help protect a city in the case of attack.

Many of his drawings were in the subject of anatomy. He studied the human body including many drawings on muscles, tendons, arms and other internal organs. Leonardo didn't just study the human anatomy either. He also had a strong interest in horses as well as cows, frogs, monkeys and other animals.