History of Leonardo da Vinci - Research Paper Example

Final Project: Leonardo Da Vinci Introduction Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian painter, architect, sculptor, musician, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, inventor, geologist, botanist, cartographer and writer. His genius perhaps incomparable with any other figure present in the human history. He has often being portrayed as the Renaissance Man. He was gifted with superior curiosity and unprecedented imagination abilities. He is one of the greatest painters of all times. His talent was versatile and unparallel. With his creativity and sense of intellectuality he was able to surprise the world. The versatile genius always used to think ahead of the time. His progressive mind set, open mindedness and inquisitiveness had created lots of controversies. During that period an orthodox section of the society was against him and had tried to pull him down. But on the basis of his indomitable spirits the genius has been able to leave his marks in the history of the human culture. Life On, 15th April, 1452 Leonardo Da Vinci was born in Anchiano, Tuscany, now in Italy. He was raised by his father Ser Piero and his step mother. His father was a local law year. From the early age of his life, he started to show the glimpse of his talents. At the age of 14 he started his never ending journey. At that point of time he was working as an apprentice with artist Verrocchio in Florence. During that period he learned different things like metalworking, carpentry, sculpting and drawing. During this period of time he was grabbing different knowledge regarding different technical skills. This period was very deceive and shaped the future of this talent. At the age of twenty he emerged as a master artist. At that age he was qualified for Saint Luke Guild. At that point of time he created his own work shop for art and culture (McCurdy 2008). In the age of 22 the artist was charged with sodomy. In 1483 he went to capital city Milan for working as sculptor, engineer, architect and painter for the ruling Sforza family. The family told Da Vinci to design a wonderful 16-foot-tall equestrian bronze statue, to honor their dynasty founder Francesco Sforza. In between 1495 to 1497 he created his glorious, historical and wonder art The Last Supper. It portrayed the last dinner during which Jesus Christ addresses the Apostles. At that point of time Vinci was commissioned in Milan and came to the association of Duke of the Milan, Ludovico. Under the shelter of Duke he created that marvelous painting. In 1499, the French army invaded Italy. The ruling Sforza family was forced to flee from the country. In between 1505 to 1507 he created another wonder painting of “Monalisa” (Romei 2008). It is a 21to 31 inch long painting. The painting is the most famous one made by the painter and arguably of the most famous paintings in the world. This painting created by him was a mixture of different facial expressions of a woman in a single painting. Mysterious mild smile has been the subject of debate for centuries and that speculation yet not been settled. Throughout his life the Italian genius loved to think out of the box. In his entire life he tried to see the human lives and society in through lenses. Many times he came up with some ideas which were very controversial and often were highly criticized by the orthodox section of the Italian society. The artist in his entire life created different cultural magic on the basis of his creative and innovative thinking (Clayton and Philo 2010). In the 14th century Renaissance began around the Europe. According the different sources of the history, epicenter of this cultural movement was the Italian city Florence. In 1506 the artist returned to Milan. At that point of time he accompanied some of his disciples Francesco Melzi one of the famous accompanies. In 1516 the Italian genius left the country. The then French ruler Francis I offered him the title of “Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King”. At that point of time he was commissioned in the French city of Château of Cloux. At this point of time he was allowed to do his creative works in a peaceful manner and he was given great freedom. In 1519 the legendary versatile genius breathed his last life at the age of 67. He was buried in Saint-Florentin. In his entire life the globally recognized genius artist created lots of immortal paintings, sculptures and etc. His life was full of creativity and marvelous art works. Contributions  Contribution of Leonardo Da Vinci is not only limited within the boundary of Italy or European countries but also have significant impacts on global cultural domain. With his innovative and creative artistic style and technical knowledge the legendary artist contributed global culture immensely. All of his different immortal creations have taken global culture up to a new high. His creativity and arts were so famous that different rulers across the world had shown their interest to get the proximity of the artist. His paintings were simple but had great inner meaning. Different historian said that he was the main man behind the Italian Renaissance. In 14th century the whole Europe was engaged with cultural movement. European people were seeking remarkable changes in their social and cultural lives (Nicholl 2005). In that movement the versatile genius had contributed immensely with his different immortal creations. Apart from cultural contribution the Italian genius contributed in other fields also. He conceptualized armored vehicle, concentrated solar power and flying machines. Leonardo Da Vinci is recalled as one of the greatest motivators of European Renaissance and one of the greatest minds in European history. The contributions he made through his entire life towards the mathematics, schools of science, botany, engineering, architecture and visual arts cannot be estimated. God gifted, open-minded, multi-talented, versatile genius and forward-thinking, Leonardo Da Vinci really was the genuine Renaissance man. His contributions towards arts and culture are so famous that World Art Award has been named after his name. The sculpture with his different beautiful creations had changed the thinking process of people at pint of time. His arts and paintings motivated and inspired lots of people across the world to break old cultural shackles and guided them towards a new cultural dawn (Gelb 2009). He always believed in freedom of speech, freedom of painting and always tried to break illogical social and cultural taboos. One of the most important figures of the Renaissance period, he was the arch type of the “Renaissance Man.” A brilliant artist, visionary and scientist Da Vinci has also been recognized as a prominent legendary figure in the world’s cultural history. While much of his art were motivated or inspired by the Christianity and the Catholic Church, he is also recognized as a major progenitor of the human movement which is usually related with atheism. All of his different cultural works were associated with humanism. His works focused towards ethics and values and of the role of human being in the society. Leonardo Da Vinci was an important figure in the context of European Renaissance and father of the humanist movement. “Vetruvian Man” was arguably his most valuable contribution to the development of that people movement. Reality was significantly important to him. In his every creation he tried to depict different hidden realities of the society and culture. Culture and society are two inseparable parts. With his various cultural activities the versatile genius was able to influence the society immensely. At that point of time Churches had great influences on the culture. So, different realistic matters of the then society went unnoticed. Here with his realistic and practical mind set the artist brought fresh air in the European culture. His different contributions in the field of culture, arts and science have kept his place in the pages of history books. His immortal cultural contributions are exemplary for modern day artists and painters. Words are not enough to explain his contributions towards the cultural worlds. His cultural contributions are visionary, immortal and are creating bench marks for modern day artists. Conclusion There is no shadow of doubt that Leonardo Da Vinci is the father figure of modern arts and cultures. His visionary realistic creations are timeless and eternal. He was a versatile genius and his geniuses are very evident from his different creations. His ideas and concepts were so visionary and motivating that he was able to mobilize people. His art works, sculpture gave him global recognitions. He significantly altered thinking process of European people with his wonderful creations. He was a multitalented, open minded, logical and realistic human being. Sometimes he was controversial but his cultural influences were deep rooted into the European society. His contributions towards the global arts and culture cannot be measured. He was a genius and his creations have significant importance in the present era also. His unique cultural creations are wonders for modern day artists. He is the pioneer of modern arts and paintings. Works Cited Clayton, Martin and Ronald Philo. Leonardo Da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man. London: Getty Publications. 2010. Print. Gelb, Michael. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day. New York: Random House Publishing Group. 2009. Print. McCurdy, Edward. Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Read Books. 2008. Print. Nicholl, Charles. Leonardo Da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind. London: Penguin UK. 2005. Print. Romei, Francesca. Leonardo Da Vinci. California: The Oliver Press, Inc. 2008. Print. Read More