leonardo da vinci was the embodiment of the renaissance man

8/7/2019 Leonardo da Vinci was the embodiment of the Renaissance man

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2010

Intro. Humanities

David Wright

[LEONARDO DA VINCI:]And His Influence On The World Around Him.


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Bibliography

Bambach, Carmen. Introduction to Leonardo and his drawings.

www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asp.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 13 Nov. 2010.

Exploring Leonardo: What, Where, When. Florence. www.mos.org/sln/leonardo. Museum of

Science. Web. 13 Nov. 2010

Hart, Ivor. The World Of Leonardo Da Vinci. Man of science, Engineer and Dreamer of flight.

Viking Press: New York. 1961. Print

Leonardo Da Vinci: Biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-

vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp. Web. 13 Nov. 2010.

MacCurdy, Edward. Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Braziller: New York. 1958. Print.

Renaissance Man. www.mos.org/leonardo. Museum of Science. Web. 13 Nov. 2010.
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.mos.org/sln/leonardohttp://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-http://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/sln/leonardohttp://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-http://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asp


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Leonardo da Vinci was the embodiment of the Renaissance man. He was by far one of

the worlds greatest intelligences. Even in an era of endless scientific discovery and

technological invention, and of inspiring artistic and humanistic achievement, Leonardo da Vinci

stands as a supreme icon in Western consciousness. Born the bastard son of a notary, Piero da

Vinci, and a peasant woman, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine

painter, Andrea Verrochio. His working life was spent over much of Italy, including Rome,

Milan, Bologna, Venice, and France where he spent his last years.i The sheer range of topics that

Leonardo studied was staggering. Leonardo was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect,

musician, scientist, engineer, mathematician, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer,

botanist, and writer.ii In addition to being a superior artist, Leonardo da Vinci helped advance

many fields of science.

As an artist, Leonardo received training in painting, sculpture, and mechanical arts in his

apprenticeship with Verrochio. He eventually came to surpass his teacher in terms of skill and it

was said that Verrochio, Put down his brush, never to paint again.iii Although this is probably

an exaggeration, it shows the talent young Leonardo had come to possess. He was able to master

all forms of painting. Some of the qualities that make Leonardos work very unique are the

different techniques he used in laying on the paint, his detailed knowledge of anatomy, light,

botany, and geology, and his keen interest in the way people show emotion in expression and

gestures.iv These attributes you can see in some of his most famous works: the Mona Lisa and

the Last Supper. When the Mona Lisa was lent to the United States by the French Republic


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existence. Would that it might please our creator that I were able to reveal the nature of man and

his customs even as I describe his figure.x Among his contemporaries, the degree of awareness

of his anatomical work is a mystery. Leonardo was uniquely qualified to probe into natures

secrets armed with his powers of perception and the ability to transfer his observations to paper.

His anatomical research ended when he was banned by Pope Leo X from Ospedale, where a

good portion of his studies were conducted, for unspecified sacrilegious practices. In a war

wrought Italy, Leonardo looked for more lucrative work as an engineer and military advisor.

Lucky for Leonardo, he was actually talented as an engineer. As the chief military

engineer as well as the architect for Cesare Borgia, son of the Pope, Leonardo was able to give

his ideas on bridge building and hydrodynamics.xi This is interesting for the simple fact that he

had no formal training as an engineer; he had acquired it as he went along.xii Even though he

had been largely self taught on the subject, the large amount of his notes and drawings on the

matter show that his claims of knowledge on the subject of engineering were not without

warrant. Though very few of his designs were ever built while he was alive to see them, modern

engineers have built from his designs, working apparatuses. Too bad Leonardo was not around

to see his own invention ideas a success, especially one that sustained flight, for that is a subject

he was extremely interested in.xiii He was and still is revered for his technological ingenuity;

conceptualizing among other things, the first tank, a helicopter, the double hulled ship, and even

a theory on plate tectonics.xiv As described by Giorgio Vasari, friend to Leonardo, within his

lifetime, his extraordinary powers of invention, his outstanding physical beauty, infinite grace,

great strength and generosity, regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind as well as other

aspects of his life all have attracted the curiosity of others.xv Without even tapping into the bulk

of what Leonardo da Vinci has done, it is apparent that he has been one of the most influential


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persons of all time. He may also very well be one of the most creative people in European

history.


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i Renaissance Man.www.mos.org/leonardo.

iiLeonardo da vinci: biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp.

iiiLeonardo da vinci: biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp.ivLeonardo da vinci: biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp.

v Bambach, Carmen. An introduction to Leonardo and his drawings.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asp.

vi Bambach, Carmen. An introduction to Leonardo and his drawings.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asp.

vii Bambach, Carmen. An introduction to Leonardo and his drawings.http://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asp.

viii Renaissance Man: Scientist.www.mos.org/leonardo.ix MacCurdy, Edward. Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Pg.93-190

x MacCurdy, Edward. Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Pg.93

xi Renaissance Man: Inventor.www.mos.org/leonardo.

xii Hart, Ivor. The World Of Leonardo Da Vinci. Pg.254

xiii Exploring Leonardo: What, Where, When-Florence. www.mos.org/leonardo.

xiv Leonardo da vinci: biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp.

xv Leonardo da vinci: biography. http://italian.classic-literature.co.uk/leonardo-da-vinci/leonardo-da-vinci.asp.
http://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/leonardo_master_draftsman/draftsman_intro_essay.asphttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardohttp://www.mos.org/leonardo

leonardo da vinci was the embodiment of the renaissance man

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