Leonardo da Vinci: A Man Far Ahead of His Time - Research Paper Example

 Leonardo da Vinci: A Man Far Ahead of His Time Introduction If you ask the average person today who Leonardo da Vinci is, many will recognize him as a famous artist. However, most people today associate the name mostly with the fiction novel “The da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown, which painted da Vinci as a participate in an ancient religious conspiracy, where his works play a central role of hiding secret clues within the images. However, that is a work of fiction and there is no direct historical proof to support da Vinci’s participation in anything of the sort. The real Leonardo da Vinci was no less interesting. Leonardo da Vinci loved to learn and increase his knowledge base. He was, of course a painter, but, also, a philosopher, a studier of the natural sciences, and a brilliant inventor well ahead of his time. History Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Italy. He was born out of wed-lock, which today has little meaning but then meant a great deal about one’s station and place in the world. His father was a respected Notary and his mother a simple peasant woman. He would, ultimately, be raised by his father and stepmothers. At the age of 14 da Vinci had already began to show his immense gifts and skills. He began a 6 year apprenticeship with an artist name Verrocchio. By the end of that time period he had mastered a number of technical and artistic skills, including drawing, leather arts, carpentry, sculpting, and metalworking. He would ultimately qualify and for the title of master artist in the Guild of Saint Luke. At the age of 20 he opened his own workshop (Arts & Entertainment Television). However, the life of an artist, even a gifted one, relied on others, generally the wealthy, to commission, and therefore finance, the works that they would create. Finding and maintaining a steady income was difficult. Discussion Leonardo da Vinci only painted with certainty, approximately, 20 paintings. Each and everyone today are considered a masterpiece. He created some of the most astounding pieces in history, however, at the time, they were just pieces requested, commissioned, or made to be sold to a customer. Leonardo da Vinci believed himself to be a storyteller through his art. He believed that with the visual images he could effectively tell the deeper emotional stories of the characters with a brush better than any writer with a pen (da Vinci and Suh 14). We cannot discuss da Vinci without talking about some of his most famous artistic works. “The Vitruvian Man,” as can be seen below, painted around 1490, displays the perfection of the human form, function, shape. Da Vinci was extremely fixated on the human form and function, he more than any other artist of his time knew more about human anatomy and physiology than most physicians.(Esaak). He was known to participate in autopsies for the opportunity to learn more. “The Last Supper,” as can be seen above, was commissioned by the Duke of Milan and was completed in approximately, 1495 to 1498. The most famous and may be the most recognizable of all of da Vinci’s work has to be the “Mona Lisa,” above, painted from 1503 to 1505. Although it is believed that the “Mona Lisa” was commissioned by a wealthy patron, to this day, no one actually knows who it was (Arts & Entertainment Television). There is one more famous painting that da Vinci painted, in fact, he painted it twice. The painting title “ The Madonna of the Rocks. In its original version, the painting showed an infant Jesus and John the Baptist, Virgin Mary and the Archangel Uriel pointing to one of the infants emphatically, while wearing brilliant armor and bright red cape. The differences can be seen and compared in the images above. The painting had been commissioned for Milan’s Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. There is belief that one of two things happened. It may have been a disagreement over the paintings price. However, it could also have been due to the Church’s disapproval of da Vinci’s representation of the angel and the relationship of Jesus and John the Baptist. So he repainted the work. Changing Uriel from armor to humble robes, eliminating his pointing finger, and changed the babies a bit, as well. Both paintings hang in different museums and are both considered equally as valuable as the other (Graham-Dixon 1). Aside from this incredible artistic talent, da Vinci also, had an incredibly scientific mind. He carried out experiments and conducted research in fields including astronomy, geology, architecture, zoology, and civil engineering (University of California Museum of Paleontology). In fact , there are many in the scientific community today that feel that he may have been the most scientific mind of his age, and beyond. He was constantly designing little inventions and filling notebooks. Because his work relied on commission his ideas seldom left the paper and he would grow tired of the concept and move on. However, if da Vinci’s inventions had been built they likely would have changed how human technological development came into being . Some of his inventions verify just how ahead of his time he really was. Each of these inventions, all da Vinci’s own, were conceived centuries before human beings would make them a reality. The first image, top left, is called the “orthinopter, ” which is a precursor to our modern helicopters and hang-gliders. The second image, top center left, is da Vinci’s interpretation of what we today call a parachute. The third image, surprisingly enough, center right, is a dive suit. It included protective covering, helmet, and breathing apparatus. The last image, is the sketch, top far right, of da Vinci’s robotic knight. A full human-like automaton being. He had already had success bringing to life a mechanical lion, this was an adaption on that concept (Lampton ). As mentioned before, da Vinci was more than just a gifted artist. He was an inventor, a scientist, a thinker, and a philosopher. He believed that the mind was like a muscle, it needed to be used. He said, "Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." (qtd. in Arts & Entertainment Television). He never stopped learning, writing , and thinking. However, no one is immortal and the great Leonardo da Vinci died at the age of 67, which is quite a long life for the time period, in Amboise, France. He never married or had any children so his entire estate was left to friend, assistant, and, possibly, romantic companion, Francesco Melzi. Conclusion Throughout history there have been great artists, great thinkers, wise speakers, talented performers, and brilliant scientists. It would appear that Leonardo da Vinci may possess aspects of all of those traits, all at the same time. It is fascinating to see that a young boy born illegitimate could grow and become the most recognizable artist in the entire world. There are not too many people out there, even those who have never even looked at a painting, recognize da Vinci and his work. He is a part of human history, but he also , made a huge impression upon the future of humanity. It is shame that he did not live long to enough to know how right he was and the opportunity to see all of his inventions brought to life. In the end it seems only fair, between his artistic works, scientific endeavors, and inventions, to acknowledge that he truly was a man way ahead of his time. Work Cited Da Vinci, Leonardo, and Anna H. Suh. Leonardo's Notebook: Writing and Art of the Master. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal, 2005. 448. Print. Esaak, Shelley. "Leonardo da Vinci - The Paintings." Art History . About , n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2013. . Graham-Dixon, Andrew. "The Mystery of Leonardo's two Madonnas." Telegraph. 23 October 2011: 1. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . Lampton , Christopher. "Top 10 Leonardo da Vinci Inventions." The Stuff of Genius: The Blog. Discovery Communications, 21 Jun 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . Arts & Entertainment Television, Biography. A & E Television, n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2013. . University of California Museum of Paleontology, . "Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)." University of California Museum of Paleontology. University of California at Berkeley, n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2013. . Read More