Category: Leonardo da Vinci

In today’s modern society, a majority of the ideas and creations that have been adapted into a part of everyday lives can be linked back to a special role model from years past. Like many revered historical figures, Leonardo da Vinci’s accomplishments remained unappreciated until many years later. However, throughout his life, Leonardo da Vinci achieved many milestones in the areas of anatomy, mathematics and engineering that have positively and greatly influenced today’s society.

One of da Vinci’s biggest areas of success was in the field of anatomy; mostly human anatomy. Over the course of his lifetime, da Vinci dissected about thirty human corpses in order to better understand their functionality and structure. By doing this, he discovered how arms and legs work, and discovered the bicep muscle is responsible for bending the elbow and turning the palm of the hand upwards. Da Vinci also created casts of the human heart and brain organs to have molds of their true size and shape. In an article written by Joseph Kellard (2019, 96), author of Leonardo da Vinci, he states:

While Leonardo da Vinci was refining the Mona Lisa, he was also involved in dissecting human cadavers in a hospital’s morgue. Among his anatomical interests were the muscles that move the lips. At about the same time he discovered that the upper lip doesn’t pucker alone, he was perfecting what would become the most notable feature of the most recognizable painting in history: Mona Lisa’s smile. On a page in one of his voluminous notebooks—which were filled with everything from his theoretical writings on art and flight to his drawings of horses and a perpetual motion machine—Da Vinci sketched various human mouths, including one smiling gently.

Leonardo da Vinci’s studies in anatomy even contributed to his infamous painting, the Mona Lisa, which is still one of the most famous paintings in history. Therefore, da Vinci’s studies in anatomy have a large effect on modern-day practices and knowledge.

Da Vinci has also influenced society through his many ingenious creations and blueprints for new creations and innovations. Some of da Vinci’s inventions that are still being used today include the calculator, helicopters, machine guns, triple barrel cannons, and the creation of solar-powered gadgets. According to Debbie Sniderman (2012), author of Leonardo da Vinci, “He also focused on mechanics of levers, gears, cranes, hydraulics, ball bearings, bicycles, and flying machines. He displayed civil engineering talents as well, with geometry studies and architectural designs of domed churches, fortresses, and canals”. This explains a few of the many inventions of da Vinci and how his skills contributed to a large part of everyday activities.

Even though da Vinci seemed to be an avid procrastinator, he still managed to leave behind many blueprints and sketches for items that could later be put into action by others, and still greatly benefited the public. In her article, Sniderman (2012) also states “Most of his designs were never published, financed, or built. Some of his futuristic ideas couldn’t have been built at the time and took hundreds of years to be re-invented. Even though he did not greatly affect the technology at the time, his theoretical treatments and complete documentation were significant, greatly impacting the future.” Even though a majority of his inventions were never created by da Vinci by hand, he is still credited for these inventions including a military tank, the first scuba diving suit, bridges, and even the “perfect” layout for the city of Milan, and many other inventions that are used every day in society. This shows that even though da Vinci did not find the time to implement all of his ideas, his influence was so profound that others had the opportunity to follow his observations and create new, helpful developments.

Another area of study by da Vinci that has positively influenced society is in the field of mathematics. As a skilled painter, many of Leonardo da Vinci’s accomplishments in mathematics contributed to his artwork. For instance, da Vinci and another Italian mathematician, Luca Pacioli, published a book in 1509 called De Divina Proportione. This book focused on mathematical proportions and geometric concepts in light of visual works. In an article by Arthur V. Johnson (2016, 221) author of Leonardo de Vinci, he explains that “[da Vinci] discovered a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, dissected various geometric figures, and illustrated a book about geometry and art. At one point in Leonardo’s life, a friend of his noted that ‘his mathematics experiments have distracted him so much from his painting that he can no longer stand his paintbrush.” Leonardo da Vinci played a very important role in the foundations of connecting math and geometry to artwork so that future artists could perform their artwork in an even more exact and flawless execution.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Leonardo da Vinci can be thanked for our knowledge in many different areas and for his great contributions to society. Throughout his life, Leonardo da Vinci accomplished many important and crucial milestones in the areas of anatomy, engineering, and mathematics that are still being used in everyday lives hundreds of years later.

Renaissance Realism and Leonardo’s Mastery

Born in the Renaissance period which spanned the fourteenth to sixteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci would become one of the smartest men ever to live (Guisepi). He was trained through primary education and went on to many accomplishments with his knowledge of math, science, and art. The Renaissance period influenced inventors and painters on the human aspect and led to many new areas of thoughts. Although da Vinci had many talents, the intellectual opportunity of the Renaissance of realism and anatomy most contributed to his emergence of a great figure.

The Mona Lisa: A Testament to Realism

The Renaissance brought forth realism as a by-product of art letting artists create many new types of realist emotional paintings including da Vinci’s work with the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and his use of Light and shadow in his paintings (Renaissance). The Mona Lisa was a famous painting by da Vinci which featured a portrait of a Florentine merchants’ wife, Lisa Gherardini. Mona Lisa is pictured in a sitting position, looking forward with her right arm placed on her lefts arms wrist. Mona Lisa confused many viewer with her half smile or maybe no smile at all. Her expression was caught in a very realistic way, which showed a change of emotion. The smile brought on a feeling of wonder- what must be Mona be thinking about, or what was the meaning of this smile. The Mona Lisa was caught mid expression though it seemed as though she had something on her mind when she was painted. Leonardo da Vinci uses the style of chiaroscuro (Sethi) which was light and dark contrasts on a painting to create a depth and a three-dimensional outlook to a painting. (Chiaroscuro in Art: Definition, Technique, Artists & Examples). The Mona Lisa also used the sfumato technique, which was the blending of oil paints to create a calming effect (Sfumato). With the many techniques and emotions of the Mona Lisa, da Vinci painted Mona Lisa and showed her realist and true side of how she looked in mid-thought and not in a perfect, one expression way.

The Last Supper: Emotions and Realism

The Last Supper, another painting by da Vinci, showed many new realist emotions through the style of painting. The Last Supper depicted Jesus’s last meal where Jesus sat with his apostles (Sethi). Jesus is very calm and is relatively larger than the other apostles, showing his importance within the painting (Isaacson 284). This painting is crucial as it showed the moment Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him (Sethi). One of the apostles, Judas is represented as a very ugly figure (Isaacson 283), stood alone in the shadows where he held a purse that contained the money he obtained for his betrayal of Jesus. Each apostle contained a different expression on their face; expressions of skepticism, fear, and shock roamed their appearances (Sethi). Da Vinci quoted in his notebook that “a picture of human figures ought to be done in such a way that the viewer may easily recognize by means of their attitudes, the intentions of their minds” (Isaacson 282). This quote shows how da Vinci wanted to place realism within his paintings and that he followed this rule with The Last Supper. Additionally, this was one of the first times that realism this powerful was meant to depict the last supper that Jesus dined. Da Vinci used the style of sfumato once again, along with a vanishing point technique to allow for the appearance of more space in the painting (Sethi). This great masterpiece by da Vinci brought to light how the Renaissance use of realism can bring to life major ideas such as The Last Supper which allowed da Vinci to create a very wonderful and emotional painting.

Da Vinci’s Exploration of Light and Shadow

Light and shadow of paintings were an important piece in da Vinci’s paintings, as they were used to outline the humanistic aspects of his paintings. Da Vinci wrote many ideas about shadows in his notebook, approximately fifteen thousand words on just the topic of shadows. He penned, “if a body is larger than the light, the shadow resembles a truncated and inverted pyramid, and its length has also no defined termination. But if the body is smaller than the light, the shadow will resemble a pyramid and come to an end, as seen in eclipses of the moon Isaacson 267).” Da Vinci also composed about the light that “since the quality of color is revealed by means of light where there is more light will be seen more of the true color of the illuminated color (Isaacson 268).” These light and shadow ideas set the bar for his portrait of Le Belle Ferronièrre and the Virgin of the Rocks.

The Renaissance influence of realism inspired Leonardo da Vinci to use light and shadow to furthermore make his artwork into realist designs. The portrait of Le Belle Ferronièrre was full of light and shadow techniques. This portrait was of a woman in the Sforza court. Her chin and neck was enveloped by shadow but directly opposed to that is light that bounced off her smooth shoulder up onto her left jaw which caused an illuminated streak of light. The Virgin of the Rocks was a very significant painting that da Vinci completed which focused on the light and shadows of paintings. As there were two versions created, the first version is very heavy with light and shadow (Isaacson 228). In the first version, a baby angel sat on the ground and pointed at baby Jesus. Across from baby Jesus, is baby Saint John who held his hands together in blessing toward baby Jesus. Between the two babies, is The Madonna with one hand held over the baby angel and the other held baby Johns shoulder. There is a female angel next to baby Jesus with her left hand on Jesus and pointing with her right (Isaacson 226) As an oil painting, the Virgin of the Rocks juxtaposed light and shade to create a sense of flow. By applying multiple layers of translucent color, this created shadings and a little blurring of the outlines which used the sfumato and chiaroscuro styles of art (Isaacson 228). This use of sfumato allowed the painting to become more natural and have a three-dimensional feel to it (Sethi). The light passed through the layers of the painting and bounces back up to show lit up figures and objects (Isaacson 228). The painting also shows landscape with the depth of perspective. The environment of rock and water and pictures of Jesus and John the Baptist create a dreamlike and human-like quality to the whole painting. The figures within the canvas moved with a sense of motion (Sethi). These two pieces of artwork show how da Vinci was able to use light and shadow to advance his work with realism and stray away from the non-genuine paintings.

Geometry, Perspective, and Da Vinci’s Innovations

In the Renaissance, when many artists and mathematicians had many questions about perspective, algebra, and geometry, Leonardo da Vinci used all these aspects to create many notable works and observations (Geometry And Mathematics In The Renaissance). The Vitruvian Man was also an influential painting that da Vinci devised to show how shapes and geometry were used to create a “perfect realistic man.” The Vitruvian Man held the measurements of an ideal body (Richman-Abdou). The main objective of the painting was to show a human body symmetry. Tthe Vitruvian man has perfect portions of a man, with two different sets of arms and legs. One set of the man’s arms and legs are apart to show the circumference of a circle. The other set of arms and legs contain the legs which are together and the arms which stand straight out, which shows the volume of a square. The whole masterpiece shows balance, symmetry, and proportion of the ideal human body. With this artwork, da Vinci showed how the Renaissance humanism connected man with nature, as he drew the link between earth – the square in the painting, and the link between the divine – the man arms and legs being set apart to show the circumference of a circle (Sethi).

Leonardo da Vinci also used geometry as a gateway to perspective. With this, he used many new perspective aspects including aerial perspective and focused many of his compositions on perspective to connect his drawings with the real world. Da Vinci was interested in shapes and how shapes transformed (Isaacson 206). He created designs with two overlapped half circles and created many circular shapes that would have the same area as triangles and rectangles (Isaacson 207). Arithmetic was not da Vinci’s strong suit he was not very good at numbers or adding but, he was amazing at geometry (Isaacson 200). Even though da Vinci was never good at square roots or cube roots, he found he could visually cube a square by drawing a cubed square and then he did not have to do any cubing mathematically (Isaacson 208; Isaacson 209). Da Vinci dew one hundred eighty diagrams about different shapes overlapping to create the perspective of a pattern (Isaacson 208). These shapes transformation through perspective led da Vinci to produce new realistic shapes. His famous painting, the Last Supper is very heavy with perspective. In the painting, all lines of sight point to Jesus (Isaacson 286). Using complex perspective, da Vinci made it so you saw a different perspective of the art depending on if you are standing in front of it, walking by it, or to the side of the work of art. In the painting, the painted cornice hides the fact that the ceiling does not reach all the way to the table. The room with Jesus and the apostles got smaller towards a vanishing point in the back wall until it appeared that the back is so small that it only held three windows. This was influenced by Renaissance plays and their layout because a Renaissance play had a stage that was not a square box, but actually a bit narrow and short thus giving off the perspective and illusion of the stage being stretched far back. The Apostles also sit at a table that looks cramped and small and gives off the perspective that they are in a play (Isaacson 289). A light appeared to be coming in from the window creating a realist twist on the painting as if actual sunlight came in through the paper (Isaacson 289; Isaacson 290). The Last Supper was a clever use of scientific perspective and a theatrical look to create a very realist painting that was influenced by the Renaissance ways.

Anatomical Insights and Da Vinci’s Inventions

During the Renaissance, artists and inventors including da Vinci studied anatomy and performed dissections to create lifelike works. Da Vinci studied human anatomy through dissection (Bambach), to assist with his art and many other interests. He wrote in his notebook, “It is necessary for a painter to be a good anatomist, so that he may be able to design the naked parts of the human frame and know the anatomy of the sinews, nerves, bones, and muscles (Isaacson 212). He also described in his notes about how tissues, veins, muscles, and nerves can be displayed from many different angles (Isaacson 215). The anatomical studies of da Vinci through animals led him to design inventions and he wrote a book on the anatomical structure of a bird. One of his inventions was the flying machine. This machine was designed like a winged creature (Famous Inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci). In this design, a pilot laid out on the machine and could not move at all while he pulled at the oars to propel him through the air. Da Vinci believed that people could have bird flight so with this possibility he designed the flying machine to copy bird flight. His only problem was that birds move their wings by using their feathers to push down the air and use their inner wings to lift the them, however, da Vinci believed that the birds moved by flapping their wings downwards and backward thus messing up the testability of his flying machine (Annabell). Additionally, da Vinci wrote a book on the flight of birds called the Codex on the Flight of Birds. This was one of the greatest documents ever written by da Vinci as it showed the inner workings of his great mind. Through this book, da Vinci discovered the thrust in birds and wrote about the physics of bird flight. The whole book was about the mechanics of bird flight and bird anatomy so it would ultimately lead him to make world-changing inventions (Codex on the Flight of Birds). Da Vinci’s anatomical study through the Renaissance influence led to his understanding of bird flight and his attempt to make bird flight machines possible.

With his anatomical knowledge of the human, da Vinci set to work on inventions that used the human strength and body. One of these strength inventions was an aerial screw. Da Vinci devised the aerial screw that was sort of like a helicopter. This machine was designed to use insane human strength. Da Vinci drew two different hypotheses for the humans on the aerial screw. One of the hypothesis was with four people on four poles who pushed their feet against a structure connected to the propeller. Then the propeller started to turn slowly until it lifted the rotating platform of men into the sky. The second hypothesis for the aerial screw was four men on a platform who pushed their feet in a merry-go-round style so that eventually the screw turned fast enough that it lifted off the ground into the sky. This aerial helicopter showed how da Vincis anatomical studies translated into his designs (Laurenza 53). Lastly, da Vinci composed mechanical wings which furthermore tested the potential strength of the human body. To work the mechanical wings, the pilot jumped from a great height with his feet attached to the metal boards in the mechanical wings just to keep afloat. Not only that, but the pilot has to move the two metal bars by bending and straightening his wings (Laurenza 66). The aerial screw, and mechanical wings showed the Renaissance influence on da Vinci through anatomical study pertaining to the potential strength of the human body

Final words

Leonardo da Vinci was greatly influenced by the Renaissance views on realism, and anatomy. By using these influences, da Vinci designed and painted memorable paintings and inventions that would impact society for many years afterwards. If da Vinci was not born within a great historical period like the Renaissance, he would not have been able to rise to fame using the influences that came along with him being born at the right place and right time.

For my assignment A paper, I chose to re-do an introduction panel found at Leonardo da Vinci’s museum located in Florence, Italy. In my opinion, this panel is not created in the proper format due to many things. According to my first source, the museum’s webpage, this museum is located at the address of Via dei Servi, building number 66 through 68; using the red-colored numbers. For any tourists who want to see the beautiful models, diagrams, and sketches of this famous scientist, the entry passes are not all that expensive (for all regular admissions it costs approximately seven euros, while youth under six years gets reduced price, as well as students). This museum also offers guided tours, as long as you make a reservation ahead of time. The Mueso Leonardo da Vinci consists of numerous services and rooms such as a gift shop at the front entrance, a place dedicated solely to paintings and sketches, a film room where lectures can be observed and an anatomy room which has diagrams of specific human bodily functions.

Who Was Leonardo da Vinci?

Before we get into the analysis of the introduction panel chosen, one must understand who Leonardo da Vinci was. Leonardo da Vinci was born in the year 1452 and is well known among scholars and historians. According to a website article found on biography.com, which was published/sponsored by A&E Networks Television on February 13th, 2019, da Vinci, was most famous for his paintings, inventions relating to essential pieces of architecture as well as an engineer. Ever since a young age, Leonardo admired the importance of having a higher level of intellect; thus during his mid-teen years, he was an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio. He learned how to work with metal, create different types of artwork mediums and learned perspective in regards to construction. Throughout his lifetime, Leonardo da Vinci accomplished many great things; however, according to my second source, he passed away on May 2nd, 1519. His cause of death is still debated by historians and scientists. However, there is speculation that his cause of death was of a brain stroke or aneurysm.

Panel Analysis:

The panel I chose to analyze (posted below) is located in the very first room someone enters into after passing through the gift/book shop at the front entrance. The title of object is “L’Idraulica” or “Hydraulics.” According to the online website version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word ‘hydraulics’ means is an extremely specialized form of scientific research and analysis which revolves around the importance of energy and motion in a particular substance. The sign is taller than five feet in height and approximately three feet in width. It is made up a thick paper that is laminated on the front and back and then sandwiched between thick plastic. At the top of the sign supposedly is a self-portrait graphite sketch of Leonardo da Vinci. Located at the bottom of the panel is an example sketch of one invention diagram idea. In the center of the panel is a whole bunch of text, written in both Italian as well as in English. The Italian-written section seems to utilize the ‘Helvetica’ font and is neither italicized or bolded. However, the English translation of the same information is in italics. It is unclear what the font size of this panel is, but in my opinion, it must be at least be size 48 point font. Upon initial analysis, this panel can confuse its’ onlookers. There is just too much information crammed into one space. If I were to redo the introduction panel completely, there are many things I would change. For instance, I would change the background color from the tan color it is to regular white, re-write the passages into bullet point format with the elimination of extraneous words, make the self-portrait sketch smaller while the diagram on the bottom larger, as this room is dedicated to his hydraulic inventions.

According to the Western Australian Museum’s online website, they created an article stating specific panel creation guidelines. It is not a good idea to have too many words on each first panel, such as a panel having more than two hundred words is enough. There should also be included a few images which pertain to the topic being depicted; however, avoid too bright colors as this will distract from the written texts. If you write too much, the panel may be ignored. It is not easy taking care of and preparing an exhibitor room of a museum, and however, if done correctly, the positive consequences will be visible.

Often described as the archetypal Renaissance man, Leonardo was the painter of such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In addition to possessing great artistic talent, Leonardo excelled as a scientist, experimented with philosophy, and wrote extensively on the myriad subjects he investigated. His writings, sketches, and diagrams, originally written as private journals and notes, were compiled after his death into the Notebooks. These works have been analyzed and discussed on the merits of their form, style and content, and in much the same way Leonardo’s life has been the subject of close scrutiny by art and literary critics, historians, and psychoanalysts.

Biographical Information

Born in the northern Italian village of Vinci in 1452, Leonardo was the illegitimate son of a prosperous Florentine notary and a peasant woman. It is believed that he spent the first years of his life with his mother and was then raised by his father. Leonardo’s education, which took place in his father’s home, included instruction in music and art. Around 1467 he was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, a prominent Florentine painter, sculptor, and goldsmith. In 1472, after being tutored by Verrocchio in painting and sculpture, Leonardo was inducted into the Florentine guild of painters. In the years that followed, he became one of the most sought-after artists in Florence. Interested in science and mechanics as well as painting, Leonardo became a civil and military engineer for Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, in the early 1480s. He spent nearly twenty years in Milan, working on a variety of architectural and military projects, and keeping notebooks of his studies. Not only did he paint the masterpieces Virgin of the Rocks and The Last Supper during these years, he also completed a significant portion of a treatise on painting and prepared the foundation for proposed texts on anatomy, architecture, and mechanics. After Milan fell to French forces in 1499, Leonardo returned to Florence, serving as Cesare Borgia’s chief architect and engineer from 1502 to 1503. Three years later he returned to Milan, where he was offered a prominent position in the court of French governor Charles d’Amboise. In 1517 the French king, Francis I, invited Leonardo to join his court at Amboise, his summer residence. Leonardo lived in a home provided for him near Amboise until his death in 1519.

Major Works

Leonardo’s artistic and scientific studies were guided by his conviction that vision is the “noblest” of all the senses. Knowledge, he believed, is gained through observation, and his art and science were based on his acute observations of nature. Containing preliminary notes and outlines for treatises on art, architecture, engineering, and several branches of science, the Notebooks began as the unorganized journals he left to his pupil Francesco Melzi. In addition to his notes, observations, and treatises on art and science, Leonardo’s Notebooks also reveal his fascination with allegory; he borrowed from Pliny and Aesop to compose fables and a bestiary. Melzi’s organization of the manuscripts resulted in the eventual publication of Trattato della pittura (Treatise of Painting) in 1652. Melzi’s heirs allowed the journals to be separated, sold, and discarded, a state of affairs that has presented a number of difficulties for scholars and researchers. In addition, Leonardo’s unique orthographic style has also posed problems. He wrote in a mirror script, from right to left, and his handwriting remained essentially unchanged throughout his lifetime, making the establishment of a chronology of his works by means of handwriting analysis impossible.

Critical Reception

Despite the fact that Leonardo did not present his philosophical thoughts and views in an organized manner, but rather dispersed them throughout the Notebooks, critics have attempted to discern whether or not a guiding philosophy or a philosophical “system” can be found in Leonardo’s work. Paul Valéry, attempting to explain why Leonardo is not often viewed as a philosopher, emphasizes that the quantity of notes and observations Leonardo left, as well as the disorganized manner in which he left them, call into question the nature of Leonardo’s philosophical thinking. George Kimball Plochmann, however, maintains that Leonardo assuredly developed a philosophical system, one that is implicit throughout his writings. Its primary concerns are the concepts of existence and the nature of knowledge. This system, Plochmann concedes, is weakened by Leonardo’s failure to make explicit the connection between his philosophical principles and the particular subject he was addressing at the moment. In his analysis of Leonardo’s philosophy, Karl Jaspers also discusses Leonardo’s views on knowledge and perception. Jaspers emphasizes that for Leonardo knowledge and one’s understanding of nature is directly linked with vision and the supposed supremacy of vision over the other senses. D. van Maelsaeke, for his part, detects several similarities between Leonardo’s natural philosophy and that of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, including a shared belief in the experimental method and in nature as a force with both creative and destructive qualities.

The Renaissance era was a major period in our world’s historical development as a whole with many influential creators, artists, astronomers and discoverers. One of the most commonly known creator in this time was Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci is mostly known for his flying machine blueprints, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper as well as being centuries ahead of his time. These are all contributing factors for why I chose him for this research assignment.

The Renaissance was the period of time in Europe when art and literature revived under a classical/modern standard. It took place between the fourteenth century and the seventeenth century, however, the most commonly known time within those years were the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance, stood as a popular time for the resurgence of the arts as well as the laws of nature, making it a widespread time for creating, inventing and making incredible discoveries. Many incredible and still well-known pieces of art as well as findings were made in this time including the Mona Lisa, Galileo’s theory of our solar system, inventions and many more. The Renaissance era was one of the most important periods in time for our world.

The creator, Leonardo da Vinci, was a very influential artist, sculptor, architect, military engineer and draftsman. He studied both the laws of science and the laws of nature. Da Vinci was born in Tuscan, Italy near Vinci and only received the simple education of reading, writing and basic mathematics. He later started a nine year-long apprenticeship with Andrea del Verrocchio at age fourteen in her Florence studio. Within those years including those after Leonardo da Vinci created some of the most famous pieces of art from the Renaissance era. Those include, the Mona Lisa, the ‘Last supper’, the Lady of Ermine and the Vitruvian Man. Throughout da Vinci’s life, he also designed the famous tank design, the war chariot, the flying machine and an enormous crossbow that took a small army of men to fire. All of these inventions and creations helped shape the Renaissance into what it was.

The world we live in today, would be different if not for the Renaissance era. It would be very unlikely that our world would have as advanced flying mechanics as we have today if not for da Vinci’s incredible designs that were centuries ahead of his time. As well as this, it is very unlikely that we would have parachutes nor the designs of the anatomy of both human and animal bodies alike in as much depth as we have today if not for the research by da Vinci in the Renaissance era. Altogether, without Leonardo da Vinci’s work from the Renaissance era, we would very unlikely have the technology, designs or research material that we have today.

The famous, influential creator in the Renaissance era, Leonardo da Vinci’s work is still very significant today. He is a man many people looked up to for his art including the Mona Lisa, his mechanical design such as his flying machine blueprints, and his research into human anatomy, creating the Vitruvian Man. The Renaissance period, with its attraction to the laws of humanism, also created such masterpieces as a whole that are still relevant today including da Vinci’s. To conclude, without the Renaissance era nor Leonardo da Vinci the world we live in would not be the same as it is today.

Bibliography

1. Leonard da Vinci. 2011. Leonardo da Vinci, his Life and Artworks. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.leonardodavinci.net/. [Accessed 19 November 2019] https://historylists.org/art/list-of-5-most-famous-artworks-by-leonardo-da-vinci.html
2. https://www.britannica.com/list/10-famous-artworks-by-leonardo-da-vinci
3. Northwind picture archives. 2017. Leonardo da Vinci. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.northwindpictures.com/results.asp?search=1&txtkeys1=Leonardo+da+Vinci&txtkeys1prev=&withinresults=&pixperpage=120&lstorients=All+Orientations&lstformats=. [Accessed 19 November 2019].
4. Biography. 2018. Leonardo da Vinci, Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.biography.com/artist/leonardo-da-vinci. [Accessed 19 November 2019].
5. Briticanna. 2017. Renaissance, European history. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance. [Accessed 19 November 2019].
6. https://www.thoughtco.com/guide-to-the-renaissance-1221931

The Renaissance period began during the 14th-17th centuries and was known as a time of reform and growth highly influenced by the gifted artists of this era. Prior to the Renaissance, the artwork was 2-dimensional and was centered around the current struggles of society. Artists in the early Renaissance created a shift in the art world by focusing on creating more human-like art pieces. The Renaissance was a pivotal point for the art world. Artists began shying away from the Pre-Renaissance art styles such as Gothic and Italo-Byzantine styles. In Europe, the most influential Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci depicted Religion, Humanism, and the interests of the general population through their work.

Michelangelo designed various original pieces of work that shined a light on his religious beliefs and was able to influence people because of his opportunities and his following. Throughout his career, he was offered bountiful art commissions. He composed a total of 179 sculptures, drawings, and paintings. Perhaps one of his most distinguished commissions was the paintings on the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo chose nine scenes from the book of Genesis to depict on the ceiling. This intricate project showed the extensive knowledge he had of the Bible and his dedication to the church. Another significant project took on create was the sculpture of David for the Saint Peters Cathedral. Michelangelo was known for his sculpting expertise; he had a particular way of embodying the key features of his subjects and capturing them in stone. “The religion Michelangelo shows through David is immense”(Arts Columbia 1). Michelangelo was able to convey a figure who was in the Bible, he chiseled David’s face with the expression of worry or fear on his face to show the fear that David had in his battle with the giant Goliath. Michelangelo’s artwork was religious because he knew that people were religious (Arts Columbia 2). He was aware of the notion that art could rally people together over a common theme or polarize the people due to the artist’s abilities.

Leonardo Da Vinci was a well-known artist who lived from 1452-1519 and composed a collection of numerous great pieces of artwork that captured religious subject matter. His painting of The Great Supper depicted Jesus and His twelve disciples sitting at a grand long table sharing the last meal with Jesus before He would be crucified. This painting brought to life an incredibly important moment in the Bible and his interpretation was unique and continues to inspire art lovers and artists today. The Madonna and Child were completed during his early art career. In this painting, Leonardo used a religious theme to appeal to his audience. “The theme of the mother and son portrayed in an intimate moment enabled Leonardo to focus upon the emotional dimension in which he excelled” (Kindersley 22). He took an idea for this project and then used original techniques that he was skilled in creating artwork that appealed to his religious audience.

Humanism was a central theme in the early Renaissance art period. Humanism to artists meant focusing more on human traits and their desires.“Leonardo’s deep engagement with the world inspired his compassion for people, animals, and the environment. Renaissance humanism the guiding idea of Leonardo’s time, valued human dignity and education while seeking humanity’s natural place within the universe” (Humanists at Work 1). He was able to show through his artwork that he was passionate about certain subjects, one being civilization. He was an incredibly gifted man who expressed his artistry not only in paintings, sculptures, and drawings but through literature, anatomy, and various other ways (Da Vinci Art Story 2). He did not integrate as many religious figures and values into his works of art, but he embodied the idea of humanism and the values that defined humanism as well. Da Vinci was a polymath, someone whose genius-level encompasses many aspects (Da Vinci Art Story 1).

Renaissance artists did not only create new art techniques. The artists used these techniques in a way that would leave an imprint on society. Michelangelo was a successful artist who made countless art pieces that were not only breathtaking in design but impacting society itself. He reflected his religious beliefs in his artwork because he was passionate about the subject matter he was creating. He knew that these art pieces would also please people; religion during the Renaissance was the foundation of what defined the laws, culture, and morals of the people. Michelangelo was one of the greatest and most documented artists of the 16th century because of his ability to influence such vast areas of art styles in the West (Bio of Michelangelo 1). Michelangelo was regarded as a master in his field for the work he was able to create, and the feeling he was able to incite in the beholder. “Michelangelo’s artistic mastery has endured for centuries, and his name has become synonymous with the best of the Renaissance art” (Bio of Michelangelo 4). Michelangelo knew how to meet the desires of the art world, his work created pensive thought and timeless beauty. His masterpieces are still looked to for inspiration for upcoming artists.

Alongside Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci was also an accomplished Renaissance man. He was an acclaimed artist, inventor, and thinker. Leonardo left behind him a trail of societal changes. His works such as the Mona Lisa are still regarded as timeless and awe-inspiring artistic paragons. Her beauty and significance had an expansive impact and remain one of the most recognizable pieces of art that came out of the Renaissance period. When one thinks of Renaissance art, The Mona Lisa is most often the first artwork to come to mind. Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is descriptive in every detail of the painting, behind her is a nature scene depicting a harmonious setting in time (Kindersley 90). His attention to detail in all aspects of this painting has been studied and critiqued for centuries and no artist before or after has been able to surpass his creation.

During the fourteenth century, more than half of the European population was killed off by the Black Death. The plague had social, economic, and religious effects on European history. After this incident, people began to transform; and gradually, new attitudes, ideas, and many different works of art were created. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the key figures in the Renaissance Period. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci, “The Last Supper” is a precious piece of art with hidden meaning that would be remembered for hundreds of years. This painting portrays a major event of Jesus Christ in His earthly life; it is a depiction of the last meal Jesus had with His disciples prior to the arrest and crucifixion on the cross. Throughout history, many artworks have been produced and damaged, and only the real works of art have been recovered. “The Last Supper” is one of these pieces. Not only the symbolism he used to emphasize the story being told in the painting but also his portrayal of each character was magnificent.

“The Last Supper” was a wall painting commissioned by Ludovico Sforza. While knowing it is one of the most significant biblical events, Leonardo eventually decided the painting should be painted on the wall of the refectory of the monastery– the dining room of the monks. Using a new technique with oil and tempera, Leonardo began painting it in or around 1495 and finished it in 1498 applying it to a dry plaster wall. The result was it did not adhere to its surface. Despite their passion of Leonardo towards this painting, it began to wear off within his lifetime. But due to its significance, it has been recovered through multiple steps, and even now, the painting is open to the public and can be visited any time although admission is highly regulated so you need to plan ahead (“The Unending Fight to Preserve ‘The Last Supper’”).

According to the Bible, the Last Supper was a profound event in which Jesus declares one of his disciples would deceive Him and where He shared a final banquet with His disciples. In the painting, Jesus himself, the most important person in the painting, is the center of the composition and has a somewhat depressed facial expression. Because of it, The viewer would be attracted right to Jesus. Jesus seems to tell some important events that would happen in the future. As stated in the Bible, Jesus predicted that one of His disciples would betray Him. Each disciple has their own reactions, and the looks on their faces make them appear like people acting in response to something they listen to. They seem to be in dramatic excitement with their arms out questioning Jesus’s words. They almost look similar to people who have heard the shocking news. Assembled into three groups, their hand movements give an aesthetic sensation. While all of the other apostles are on the nearly same linear line, Judas, who is fifth from the left, is in a lower position than anyone else in the picture (“15 Facts About The Last Supper”). This implies that Judas is the one who would deceive Jesus.

In addition to the portrayal of each disciple, Leonard used symbolism to convey his idea. In the painting, there are bread and wine, which were referred to in the Bible as significant symbols. Jesus uses bread to symbolize his body and wine to symbolize his blood saying “Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me” and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). After praying and thanking God for the meal, he broke the bread and shared the wine with the apostles. This is where the tradition of communion comes from.

In conclusion, “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci is a remarkable work of art. He created this in a unique way using new techniques. Since many people have worked to make it recover for upcoming generations to see. Leonardo was an accomplished artist with his great success of the works like “The Last Supper.” With the great analysis of each disciple, Leonardo successfully conveys his view of the event by depicting each other’s gestures distinctly. Also, the symbolism used in the painting makes this more significant.

Leonardo da Vinci was a man who was recognized mostly for his art, and his inventions that rivaled the others in Renaissance but he was also a man who divided his attention to so many other things, he couldn’t finish and/or master any of those skills, he never supported anyone in his inventions and helped with war, this is why I believe he was not the most important or best person in the renaissance because of these main reasons.

My first argument was that he never used his ideas and/or actually played with them in real life and not in his drawings, an example is that of his Diving Suit drawn on a page in his book Code Atlanticus, he had drawn, but never made it in fear of it falling into the wrong hands, but how? How will they attack underwater? with swords? With guns? They can’t cut the base of the ship underwater with weapons like that. Another invention was the helicopter he “made”, it was actually an inclined screw. in ListVerse it stated that he borrowed the design from a long-known Chinese kid’s toy not knowing that it can only descend not ascend, he didn’t comprehend aerodynamics.

My second argument is that he never supported his people in any of his inventions, it was only either war, flight, and things that help with building. There isn’t any invention about helping food, or medicine in any way, but da Vinci inventions, he created a portable bridge to help the military cross bridges easier which is still used today, a tank, and even a machine gun, all these things further worsen the world and not better it in any type at all, he even got hired as a military inventor for a family.

You could say that he was the perfect Renaissance man because he was a multi-skilled inventor, painter, and sculptor, even though he was all this, he never made a breakthrough in any of these types and make a mark in our life now. Not one in being an inventor, for all of those were ideas never worked when recreated now, sculptor when he tried to make a bronze horse then later gave up because he never figured out a way to cast it – list verse, painter when he tried to make a painting named “The Battle of Anghiari” Leonardo Da Vinci.net stated he used a plaster he read in a book and with the work. At 9’am it rained and with the humidity liquified the paste and tore his artwork and fell to the floor. You can almost say that every time he tried something, he would get bested by people in the next few decades or even in his time like Michelangelo and more people.

Leonardo Da Vinci was not Da best in the Renaissance, he never used his ideas and never tried to imprint them in real life, a man who never supported his people and made war inventions, and apparently a multi-skilled person who couldn’t even do his own skills right, he isn’t the perfect renaissance man, he was a man who stole, lied about his own things, would you want a man who can better your life, and amaze you with his talents? Or a man who solely wants nothing but money for himself.

Introduction

It is crucial to mention that Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely gifted human being. Indeed, artist, inventor, and scientist are only some of the titles that da Vinci held during his 67-year life. Although da Vinci lived several centuries before, many of his progressive prototypes created the basis for the latest inventions in humanity’s scientific and technological progress. Thus, it is essential to provide information about the achievements of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci

Da Vinci had always been fascinated by the possibility of flight, so he dedicated much of his time to devise ways to take humanity into the air. The inventor was motivated by the idea of bringing people dangerously down from the sky to the ground (Isaacson, 2017). Eventually, he designed the first parachute in history: a wooden pyramidal structure draped with a piece of cloth that would slow a person’s terminal velocity as they fell to the ground from a height. According to Da Vinci himself, it would enable a person to duck from any great height without suffering any injury (Isaacson, 2017). A razor-sharp mind can be a nation’s best defense mechanism, which is why it is no coincidence that Da Vinci worked in the military field to find ways to increase the chances of success in war.

Another invention that changed the world is Da Vinci’s diving suit, which was originally designed as a way to prevent invading ships. It would enable individuals to engage in a small underwater diversion by cutting holes in the bottom of an enemy hull. Unfortunately, the design, complete with a breathing hose and glass goggles, was not needed at the time, and it stalled in its development at the planning stage (Isaacson, 2017). It is also worth noting that Da Vinci designed a flying machine and drew inspiration from bats and birds. He developed a design for an apparatus where the pilot lies in the center and pedals a machine connected to a rod-pulley system to propel the machine. Once in the air, the wings would flap like a bird’s. Unfortunately, the necessary tools were unavailable then to launch the device into flight (Isaacson, 2017). However, the development of Leonardo Da Vinci was the first impetus for the design and planning of modern aircraft and helicopters.

Moreover, Da Vinci’s self-propelled carriage is nominated as the first automobile in history. Moreover, since it had no driver, it can also be regarded as the first robotic transport in history. Da Vinci’s drawings do not fully reveal the internal mechanism, so modern engineers had to guess what made the cart go forward (Isaacson, 2017). The best guess was a spring mechanism like the one used in watches. That is, the springs were hidden in drum-shaped cases and could be wound by hand. While the spring unwinds, the cart rides forward like a wind-up toy (Isaacson, 2017). The steering wheel could have been programmed with a series of blocks in the gear chain, although the fact that the cart could only turn to the right would have severely limited its usefulness.

Conclusion

Thus, Leonardo da Vinci may have been the most famous inventor in history, but in his time the technology was not good enough to construct his designs. Nevertheless, when listing the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, it should be mentioned that he was self-taught and did not receive any formal education other than basic knowledge of reading, writing, and mathematics. Therefore, this demonstrates that anyone can try to achieve heights in any field if they have a strong desire.

Reference

Isaacson, W. (2017). Leonardo da Vinci. Simon and Schuster.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 to a lawyer father and a peasant mother. The world mostly recognizes Leonardo as a painter, scientist, and inventor, yet he also contributed significantly to the development of mathematics during the renaissance period, particularly in the field of Geometry.

Leonardo da Vinci, by the societal dictates of the time, was an illegitimate child. Although his father had a respectable position in society, as a lawyer, the fact that he had not married Leonardo’s mother by the time he got her pregnant rendered Leonardo an illegitimate child. This status shaped his life trajectory, at first in a manner that seemed disadvantageous for the young Leonardo, but his status as an illegitimate child left him with much more relative freedom for exploration (O’Connor 13). As an illegitimate child, he was destined to miss university and any form of formal higher education, and thus his mother sent him to the city of Florence to train as an apprentice painter. This led to Leonardo’s amazing rise to become one of the world’s most talented minds – a veritable genius. Because his parents largely left him to his own devices as he grew up, he developed a keen interest in nature and always attempted to satisfy this interest at any cost. As a child, Leonardo was constantly moving homes; occasionally living with his uncle in his early childhood before proceeding to live with his grandparents. He also lived for a short while with his mother, however when she re-married he went to live briefly with his father, who remarried several times. Some scholars believe that Leonardo’s paintings and other works projected his status as an illegitimate child; for instance, Capps states that he never included Jesus’ father Joseph in any of his paintings as a reflection of his sense of loss at never enjoying his father’s immaterial and material possessions (565). Out of ten sons, he was the only one who did not inherit anything from his father.

Florence was the perfect city to satisfy the young Leonardo’s mind. He went on to establish himself as a master painter, scientist, mathematician, and inventor in this city. Later, historical events also coincided to make Florence one of the most intellectually vibrant cities of the Renaissance period. When the Ottoman Turks attacked and conquered the city of Constantinople in 1453, many of the scholars in the city fled to the cities of Italy for protection and asylum. They also sought to begin a new life away from the constant threats of war wrought by the Ottoman Turks (Romei 40). These scholars brought with them much of the academic material that they could salvage, or the ones, in which they had an interest. This way, Greek manuscripts on Leonardo’s favorite mathematical subject, and the one in which he bequeathed the most ideas to succeeding generations – Geometry – found their way to Florence. In a related historical endeavor, Johannes Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press ensured that academic manuscripts, which only privileged few in society owned, were now easily available for public consumption.

Therefore, as was characteristic of the Renaissance period, scholars actively perused and evaluated many of the Greek texts, principles, and ideas. Much of the geometrical drawings that Leonardo did were in support of his mathematician friend’s principles and ideas; a treatise they published together known as “Divine Proportions”. His friend was a monk and a mathematician known as Luca Pacioli. Although it seems a little odd for the contemporary mind, many of the scientists, mathematicians, and engineers of Leonardo’s time received training that cut across both art/humanities disciplines and science (Petto and Petto 49). According to Moon, many of the mathematicians trained on how to draw and illustrate their work as painters/artists (162). Wilson states that Leonardo encouraged scrutiny of his paintings with a ‘mathematical eye’, and even once when writing in a treatise of his paintings stated that anyone who was not mathematically inclined should avoid looking at his paintings (32). Besides geometry, Leonardo da Vinci made significant contributions in the development of Archimedes’s principles, the Pythagoras theorem, the laws of friction, the center of gravity of objects, and other such mathematical concepts that this paper will discuss later.

In geometry, Leonardo contributed to the understanding of the volume of solids and their projected heights. In “Divine Proportions”, which he co-authored with Luca Pacioli, Leonardo illustrated such shapes as polygons, icosahedrons, and dodecahedrons, contributing to the development of the concept of volume and projections of such shapes (Stakhov and Olsen 172; Frere 110). Although earlier biographers tended to portray Leonardo’s understanding of geometrical forms and figures as relatively limited, Dauben and Scriba believe that the basis of such view was on the limited study of his works, and the latter-day understanding of Leonardo’s works reveal a deeper knowledge of this subject (87). Leonardo’s method of operation in representing these mathematical figures, according to Moon, does not involve equations (162). Instead, Leonardo ‘draws’ his explanations. For instance, Leonardo is credited with having proved Pythagoras’ theory, a proof that he illustrated by adding triangles and squares on an original triangle to provide the proof of the theory. Leonardo was very keen on studying available Greek manuscripts on various mathematical principles, and he proved the Pythagorean Theorem in his unique way, before delving into Archimedes’ principles (Nelsen and Alsina 28). The Renaissance period did not only involve a passive study of the Greek texts, but also active analysis and development of such texts.

Having studied Archimedes’ principles, Leonardo focused on the Greek’s work on the lever and pulley system. He drew shapes and diagrams that illustrated the functioning of the lever and pulley system from a painter’s point of view and contributed significantly to the concept of balance of forces in such a system. His force analysis that contributes to the balance of the system and the accompanying concept behind it led to a better understanding of the lever and pulley system. Additionally, Leonardo had a keen interest in objects and their stability insofar as it concerned the center of gravity. He made a significant contribution to the analysis of an object’s center of gravity. Concerning his pet subject of geometry, Leonardo was able to offer a more dynamic understanding of the relationship between solids and their projected area and heights.

Furthermore, Leonardo developed an interest in various diverse fields of mathematics and mechanics. According to Ball, Leonardo had an interest in the mechanics of hydraulics and optics, and scholars accredit him with offering insights into this field, although the extent of his contribution is subject to debate and controversy (213). A significant contribution by Leonardo was in the development of the concept of the mechanism of friction. Leonardo first worked on the premise that different materials are subject to different levels of friction, and realizing the significance of friction on the functioning of different machine devices, theorized that a smoother material would contribute to less friction. One of his laws on friction states that doubling the load of an object doubles its friction, a law that scientists have proved correct. His second law stated that the surfaces’/material in contact do not affect friction, an idea that was not prevalent then. The modern world accredits him as the first person to have studied friction in a systematic and calculative manner. Significantly, Leonardo did not receive much credit from contemporary mathematicians and engineers for his ideas and contributions. Having not gone to formal schooling like most of the recognized mathematicians and engineers of his time, he was continuously overlooked by his contemporaries (Veltman 383). Therefore, his status as an illegitimate child continued to haunt him even in adulthood, and his ability to outsmart his contemporaries who had received better education is proof of his extraordinary talents.

In conclusion, Leonardo da Vinci as a mathematician made significant contributions to the subject and its early development, especially during the vibrant Renaissance era and beyond. His works on geometry and the projection of heights, his analysis of the balance of forces in the lever and pulley system by Archimedes, his proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, and his works on the mechanics of friction were all a breath of fresh intellectual air in mathematics. Famed primarily as a painter extraordinaire, then secondly as an inventor, his significant interest in mathematics, and his subsequent contribution to its development portray a Leonardo da Vinci worthy of all the admiration and recognition as a genius born well ahead of his time.

Works Cited

Ball, Rouse. A Short Account of the History of Mathematics. New York: Macmillan, 1893. Print.

Capps, Donald. “The Mother Relationship and Artistic Inhibition in the Lives of Leonardo da Vinci and Erik H. Erikson.” Journal of Religion & Health 47.4 (2008): 560-576.

Dauben, Joseph, and Christopher Scriba. Writing the History of Mathematics: It’s Historical Development. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser Verlag, 2002. Print.

Frere, Jean-Claude. Leonardo: Painter, inventor, visionary, mathematician, philosopher, engineer. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1995. Print.

Moon, Francis. The Machines of Leonardo Da Vinci and Franz Reuleaux: Kinematics of Machines from The Renaissance to the 20^th Century. Dordrecht: Springer, 2007.

Nelsen, Roger, and Claudi Alsina. Math Made Visual: Creating Images for Understanding Mathematics. The Mathematical Association of America, 2006.

O’Connor, Barbara. Leonardo Da Vinci: Renaissance Genius. Minneapolis: Lerner publishing group, 2003. Print.

Petto, Sarah, and Andrew Petto. “The Potential Da Vinci in All of Us.” Science Teacher 76.2 (2009): 49-53.

Romei, Francesca. Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1994. Print.

Stakhov, Alexey, and Scott Olsen. The Mathematics of Harmony: From Euclid To Contemporary Mathematics and Computer Science. World Scientific, 2008. Print.

Veltman, Kim H. “Leonardo Da Vinci: A Review.” Leonardo 41.4 (2008): 381-388. Wilson, Robin J. Stamping Through Mathematics. Dordrecht: Springer, 2001. Print.