Brief biography of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci - biography, personal life, artist's work Brief information about Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (full name- Leonardo di ser Pierre da Vinci) was born in 1452 in the village of Anchiano, near Florence, in the family of a notary and a peasant woman. As a child, the future creator was separated from his mother; all his life he tried to recreate her image in his canvases.
Art
The modern generation knows Leonardo primarily as an artist. Despite the fact that the Italian genius considered himself a scientist. He worked little in painting, but managed to make a huge contribution to the development visual arts. Leonardo da Vinci managed to create a new painting technique. Before him, the landscape in the picture was secondary, the line clearly outlined the subject, the canvas was a painted drawing. Leonardo managed to see and capture a blurred line, to show the phenomenon of light scattering in the air.
The most famous paintings artist: “Mona Lisa”, “Lady with an Ermine”, “John the Baptist”.
Science and Engineering
As a designer, Leonardo da Vinci was in many ways ahead of his era. He created many projects that became prototypes of outstanding achievements in subsequent centuries. During the master's lifetime, only one invention of the engineer received recognition - a wheel lock for a pistol.
Leonardo was especially interested in the problems of flight. He studied in detail the flying mechanism of birds of different breeds, and was sure that he would invent an outstanding flying machine. The first idea for an airplane belongs to him.
The design of a telescope also belongs to the hand of an outstanding scientist of his time. Leonardo da Vinci is also credited with such inventions as a parachute, a catapult, a robot, a searchlight, a bicycle and even a tank.
Medicine and anatomy
A lot of people were interested in this talented person and the structure of the human body. During his life, Leonardo made a thousand notes and drawings on anatomy, but he never managed to publish them. The master performed autopsies on animals and people, describing the structure of the body in the smallest detail. Experts say: these notes by Leonardo are so unique that they are three hundred years ahead of their time.
The genius was also interested in other areas of life and creativity: music, literature, architecture, philosophy, natural science. He outlined his thoughts on issues in these areas in detail in his diary. Leonardo's unique encyclopedia is still being deciphered.
At the end of his life, Leonardo da Vinci moved to France, where he served as a court artist, mechanic and architect. In 1519 he dies of illness. Mysterious person The genius of the Renaissance still excites the minds of researchers today. Fortunately, Leonardo had students who became successors to his ideas and discoveries.
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Leonardo da Vinci - greatest artist and a brilliant scientist whose merits are difficult to compare with anyone else. Born on April 15, 1452 near the city of Vinci (where the prefix of his surname came from).
His artistic interests are not limited to painting, architecture and sculpture. Despite his enormous achievements in the field of exact sciences (mathematics, physics) and natural science, Leonardo did not find sufficient support and understanding. Only many years later his work was truly appreciated.
Fascinated by the idea of creating an aircraft, Leonardo da Vinci first developed the simplest aircraft (Daedalus and Icarus) based on wings. His new idea was an airplane with full control. However, it was not possible to implement it due to the lack of a motor. The scientist’s also famous idea is a vertical take-off and landing device.
Studying the laws of fluid and hydraulics in general, Leonardo made significant contributions to the theory of locks and sewer ports, testing ideas in practice.
Famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci are “La Gioconda”, “ last supper", "Madonna with an Ermine", "Mona Lisa" and many others. Leonardo was demanding and precise in all his affairs. Even when he became interested in painting, he insisted on fully studying the object before starting to draw.
Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts are priceless. They were published in full only in the 19th and 20th centuries, although even during his lifetime the author dreamed of publishing Part 3. In his notes, Leonardo noted not just thoughts, but supplemented them with drawings, drawings, and descriptions.
Being talented in many fields, Leonardo da Vinci made significant contributions to the history of architecture, art, and physics.
End of life
Two years before his death, the master’s right hand became numb, and he could hardly move without assistance. 67-year-old Leonardo spent the third year of his life in Amboise in bed. On April 23, 1519, he left a will, and on May 2, he died surrounded by his students and his masterpieces in Clos-Luce.
Diaries
To date, about 7,000 pages of Leonardo’s diaries have survived, located in various collections. At first, the priceless notes belonged to the master's favorite student, Francesco Melzi, but when he died, the manuscripts disappeared. Individual fragments began to “emerge” at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. At first they did not meet with enough interest. Numerous owners did not even suspect what kind of treasure fell into their hands. But when scientists established the authorship, it turned out that the barn books, and art history essays, and anatomical sketches, and strange drawings, and studies on geology, architecture, hydraulics, geometry, military fortifications, philosophy, optics, and drawing techniques were the fruit of one person. All entries in Leonardo's diaries are made in a mirror image.
Great art
"Mona Lisa", aka "Gioconda". Full title - Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo- a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Louvre (Paris, France), one of the most famous works painting in the world.
Even the first Italian biographers of Leonardo da Vinci wrote about the place this painting occupied in the artist’s work. Leonardo did not shy away from working on the Mona Lisa - as was the case with many other orders, but, on the contrary, devoted himself to it with some kind of passion. All the time he had left from working on “The Battle of Anghiari” was devoted to her. He spent considerable time on it and, leaving Italy in mature age, took with him to France among some other selected paintings. Da Vinci had a special affection for this portrait, and also thought a lot during the process of its creation; in the “Treatise on Painting” and in those notes on painting techniques that were not included in it, one can find many indications that undoubtedly relate to “La Gioconda” "
After life
In 1485, after a terrible plague epidemic in Milan, Leonardo proposed to the authorities a project for an ideal city with certain parameters, layout and sewer system. The Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, rejected the project. Centuries passed, and the London authorities recognized Leonardo's plan as the perfect basis for the further development of the city. In modern Norway there is an active bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Tests of parachutes and hang gliders made according to the master’s sketches confirmed that only the imperfection of materials did not allow him to take to the skies.
- Leonardo was the first to explain why the sky is blue. In the book “On Painting” he wrote: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.”
- Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good with his right and left hands. They even say that he could write different texts with different hands at the same time. However, he wrote most of his works with his left hand from right to left.
- Leonardo wrote in his famous diaries from right to left in mirror image. Many people think that in this way he wanted to make his research secret. Perhaps this is true. According to another version, mirror handwriting was his individual feature (there is even evidence that it was easier for him to write this way than in a normal way); There is even a concept of “Leonardo’s handwriting.”
- According to one of the put forward versions, “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of the artist.
Leonardo da Vinci is an Italian artist (painter, sculptor, architect) and scientist (anatomist, naturalist), inventor, writer and musician, one of the largest representatives of the art of the High Renaissance.
So, in front of you biography of Leonardo da Vinci.
Biography of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small town of Vinci, near Florence. He was born as a result of a love affair between the notary Pierrot and the peasant woman Katerina.
The official union of these two people was impossible due to the fact that the girl came from a lower class.
Special features of Leonardo da Vinci Childhood and youth
Soon, da Vinci’s father married a wealthy woman, as a result of which Leonardo lived with his own mother for the first years of his life.
However, when Pierrot and his wife did not have children for a long time, the father decided to adopt his first-born, taking him from Katerina.
Leonardo's childhood affection for his mother, whom he lost at such a early years, forever imprinted in his memory.
Subsequently, in many of his paintings he tried to convey that maternal image that he carefully kept in his heart.
The house where Leonardo da Vinci lived as a child 10 years later, the first wife of the notary Pierrot died, after which he remarried.
In total, Leonardo da Vinci had 4 stepmothers, as well as 12 sisters and brothers on his father's side.
The works of Leonardo da Vinci
When Leonardo da Vinci grew up a little, his father sent him to study with the master Andrea Verrocchio, who taught him various crafts.
This was the first important stage in the biography of Leonardo da Vinci. Already in childhood he showed abilities in the most different areas activities.
Alleged self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci He quickly learned to paint pictures, create sculptures, tan leather, process and learn various things. In the future, all this knowledge was useful to da Vinci.
When the young man turned 20, he continued to work for his teacher. Verrocchio, of course, saw how gifted his student was.
He often trusted Leonardo to add some fragments to his canvases, for example, minor characters, or .
It is interesting that Leonardo da Vinci will have his own workshop in 4 years.
In 1482, Lorenzo de' Medici sent Leonardo da Vinci to Duke Ludovico Sforzo, who was in dire need of talented engineers.
He urgently needed high-quality defensive devices, as well as devices for entertaining his yard.
Leonardo da Vinci did not let the Duke down, having managed to build the necessary devices, which turned out to be much better than those proposed by other inventors.
It is not surprising that Sforzo valued extremely talented artist and scientists. As a result, Leonardo da Vinci stayed at the court of Ludovico Sforzo for approximately 17 years.
During this period of his biography, he managed to create many brilliant paintings and sculptures, and complete a lot of anatomical sketches. In addition, the great Leonardo drew many drawings of various devices.
He wanted to design cars that could not only drive on land, but also swim underwater and fly in the sky.
In 1499, Leonardo da Vinci returned back to Florence, where he began working at the court of Cesare Borgia. The Duke was primarily interested in creating military equipment, with the help of which it was possible to wage an effective war with the enemy.
Leonardo da Vinci spent 7 years in the service of the Borgia, after which he decided to return to Milan. By this point in his biography, he had already managed to write the famous “La Gioconda,” which today is in the French Louvre.
After arriving in Milan, he stayed in this city for 6 years and then moved to Rome. During this period of his biography, he still continued to paint pictures and invent various devices.
In 1516, 3 years before his death, Leonardo da Vinci went to, where he stayed until the end of his life. On this trip he was accompanied by one of his students and his main follower artistic style– Francesco Melzi.
Personal life
Not much is known about the personal life of Leonardo da Vinci. Even though he led Personal diary, he encrypted all his notes.
However, even after they were able to decipher them, researchers received very little information about true biography great scientist.
Some biographers have suggested that the reason for Leonardo da Vinci's secrecy could be his unconventional orientation.
Moreover, there are versions that the artist’s lover could be his student Salai, who has an effeminate appearance. However, there is no evidence for such statements.
By the way, Salai posed for several paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. For example, he was the sitter for the famous painting “John the Baptist.” There is a version that the Mona Lisa was also painted from Salai, since many art historians see the obvious similarity of the characters depicted in both paintings.
However, as mentioned earlier, there are simply no facts about relationships with men or even women in the biography of Leonardo da Vinci.
A number of researchers, not unreasonably, claim that Leonardo never knew carnal intimacy at all, having lived his entire life as a virgin.
Death and grave
The great Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67, at the castle of Clos Lucé. He bequeathed to bury his body in the Saint-Florentin temple.
Researchers suggest that the probable cause of his death could have been a stroke. To this day, the memories of his contemporaries have been preserved, claiming that Leonardo da Vinci was partially paralyzed. For example, 2 years before his death, he could not move his right arm due to a stroke.
IN last years During his life he continued to create with the help of his student Francesco Melzi. However, every day his health deteriorated, as a result of which he could no longer move without assistance.
The life of the Florentine genius ended after a second stroke in 1519.
It is worth emphasizing that all assumptions about how the last years of the biography of Leonardo da Vinci went are not confirmed by reliable facts, but are only guesses.
Monument to Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Italy At the height of the Huguenot Wars, Leonardo da Vinci's tomb was destroyed. Only after three hundred years did scientists make attempts to identify his remains.
Today, on the site of the destroyed church in which he was buried, a granite monument with a bust of the great Leonardo is erected.
Secrets of Leonardo da Vinci
The works of Leonardo da Vinci are seriously studied by scientists, art critics, and even religious figures. Many people assume that the artist allegedly used some kind of graphic code when creating his paintings.
For example, with the help of several mirrors, scientists were able to unravel the mystery of the views of “La Gioconda” and “John the Baptist.”
As it turns out, both characters have their sights set on a mysterious masked creature. The secret code in da Vinci's diaries was also revealed through mirrors.
Drawings and sketches of some of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions Simultaneously American writer Dan Brown has written more than one book related to the artist’s work. In 2006, based on Brown’s work, the film “The Da Vinci Code” was made, which gained enormous popularity all over the world.
Many religious leaders and ordinary believers criticized the film, calling it blasphemous. An interesting fact is that both Christians and Muslims shared this opinion.
Despite this, the film was watched by a record number of viewers. This, in turn, led to the fact that a lot of people began to take a keen interest in the personality and biography of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as his brilliant works.
The story of Leonardo da Vinci
An interesting fact is that today anyone can visit the museum in Rome, named after Leonardo, and see with their own eyes the devices built according to his drawings.
There are also copies of da Vinci’s brilliant paintings and photographs of his original manuscripts. In other words, by visiting this museum you will be able to realistically imagine the life story of the great Florentine.
Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci paid great attention to engineering and architectural art. He is the author of many inventions that were several centuries ahead of their time.
A brief biography of Leonardo da Vinci does not allow us to describe in detail all the inventions of this great genius. Here are just a few of them: the world's first tank, an aircraft and a catapult, a machine gun and scissors, a bicycle, etc., etc.
Just think about it, Leonardo da Vinci designed all these inventions in the 15th century, more than 500 years ago!
Moreover, the world's first parachute was also invented by the genius Da Vinci. An interesting fact is that recently modern scientists were able to create an exact copy of such a parachute using da Vinci’s drawings. Tests have shown that it copes with its task quite well.
Monument to Leonardo da Vinci in Amboise It is important to note that today many of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and sketches still remain incomprehensible to scientists.
Perhaps in the future we will be able to penetrate the mystery of the biography of Leonardo da Vinci and solve all the mysteries that he left us.
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There is a theory according to which geniuses are born only at that historical moment when development, cultural and social, has already prepared the ground for them. This hypothesis well explains the emergence of great personalities whose deeds were appreciated during their lifetime. The situation is more difficult with those brilliant minds whose calculations and developments have far surpassed their era. Their creative thought, as a rule, received recognition only centuries later, often being lost over the centuries and revived again when all the conditions for the implementation of brilliant plans appeared.
The biography of Leonardo da Vinci is just an example of such a story. However, among his achievements there were those recognized and understood by his contemporaries, and those that were only recently able to be appreciated.
Son of a notary
Leonardo da Vinci's date of birth is April 15, 1452. He was born in sunny Florence, in the town of Anchiano, not far from the town of Vinci. Most of all, his origin is evidenced by his name, which actually means “Leonardo comes from Vinci.” The childhood of the future genius largely predetermined his entire future life. Leonardo's father, the young notary Piero, was in love with a simple peasant woman, Katerina. Da Vinci became the fruit of their passion. However, soon after the birth of the boy, Piero married a rich heiress and left his son in the care of his mother. Fate would have it so that their marriage turned out to be childless, because three years old little Leo was separated from his mother and began to live with his father. These events left an indelible imprint on the future genius: the entire work of Leonardo da Vinci was permeated with the search for the image of his mother, Katerina, abandoned in childhood. According to one version, it was the artist who captured it on famous painting"Mona Lisa".
First successes
From childhood, the great Florentine showed a penchant for many sciences. Quickly grasping the basics, he was able to baffle even the most experienced teacher. Leonardo was not afraid of complex mathematical problems; he was able to construct his own judgments based on learned axioms, which often surprised his teachers. He also held music in high esteem. Among the many instruments, Leonardo gave his preference to the lyre. He learned to extract beautiful melodies from it and sang with pleasure to its accompaniment. But most of all he liked painting and sculpture. He was passionate about them, which soon became noticeable to his father.
Andrea del Verrocchio
Piero, paying tribute to his son’s sketches and drawings, decided to show them to his friend, the then famous painter Andrea Verrocchio. The work of Leonardo da Vinci made a great impression on the master, and he offered to become his teacher, to which his father, without thinking twice, agreed. So the young artist began to become familiar with great art. The biography of Leonardo da Vinci covered here would be incomplete without mentioning how this training ended for the painter.
One day Verrocchio was commissioned to paint the baptism of Christ. At that time, masters quite often assigned their best students to paint minor figures or backgrounds. Having depicted Saint John and Christ, Andrea del Verrocchio decided to paint two angels side by side and commissioned the young Leonardo to paint one of them. He did the job with all diligence, and it was difficult not to notice how the student’s skill surpassed that of the teacher. The biography of Leonardo da Vinci, presented by Giorgio Vasari, a painter and the first art critic, contains a mention that Verrocchio not only noticed the talent of his apprentice, but refused to take up a brush forever after that - this superiority hurt him so much.
Not only a painter
One way or another, the union of the two masters brought many results. Andrea del Verrocchio was also involved in sculpture. To create the statue of David, he used Leonardo as a model. Characteristic the immortalized hero - a light half-smile, which a little later will become almost da Vinci’s calling card. There is also reason to believe that Verrocchio created his most famous work, the statue of Bartolomeo Colleone, together with the brilliant Leonardo. In addition, the master was famous for being an excellent decorator and director of various festivals at court. Leonardo also adopted this art.
Signs of a genius
Six years after starting his studies with Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo opened his own workshop. Vasari notes that his restless mind, always eager to achieve perfection in many ways, had some flaw: Leonardo often left his undertakings unfinished and immediately took on new ones. The biographer regrets that much was never created by the genius because of this, how many great discoveries he did not make, although he stood on their threshold.
Indeed, Leonardo was a mathematician, a sculptor, a painter, an architect, and an anatomist, but many of his works lacked completeness. Take, for example, the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. For example, he was commissioned to depict Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The painting was intended as a gift to the Portuguese king. The artist skillfully painted the trees, which seemed likely to rustle at the slightest breath of wind, and carefully depicted the meadow and animals. However, that’s where he completed his work, without ever finishing it.
Perhaps it was this kind of inconstancy that made Leonardo a jack of all trades. Throwing away the picture, he took to the clay, talking about the development of plants, and at the same time observed the life of the stars. Perhaps, if a genius strived to complete each of his works, today we would know only the mathematician or the artist Leonardo da Vinci, but not both in one person.
"Last Supper"
In addition to the desire to embrace a lot, the great genius was characterized by a desire to achieve perfection and the ability to understand where the limit of his capabilities in this sense was. Leonardo da Vinci's paintings became famous during the master's lifetime. One of my most famous works he performed for the Dominican Order in Milan. The refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is still decorated with his Last Supper.
There is a legend associated with the painting. The artist spent a long time searching for suitable models for the faces of Christ and Judas. According to his plan, the Son of God was supposed to embody all the good that is in the world, and the traitor was evil. Sooner or later, the search was crowned with success: among the choir members, he spotted a model suitable for the face of Christ. However, the search for a second model took three years, until Leonardo finally spotted a beggar in a ditch whose face was more than suitable for Judas. The drunk and dirty man was taken to the church because he was unable to move. There, seeing the picture, he exclaimed in surprise: it was familiar to him. A little later, he explained to the artist that three years ago, when fate was more favorable to him, Christ was drawn from him for the same picture.
Vasari's information
However, most likely, this is only a legend. At least, Vasari's biography of Leonardo da Vinci does not contain any mention of this. The author provides other information. While working on the painting, the genius really could not complete the face of Christ for a long time. It remained unfinished. The artist believed that he would not be able to depict the extraordinary kindness and great forgiveness with which the face of Christ should shine. He didn't even intend to look for a suitable model for him. However, even in such an unfinished form, the picture is still amazing. On the faces of the apostles their love for the teacher and suffering due to their inability to comprehend everything that he tells them are clearly visible. Even the tablecloth on the table is painted so carefully that it cannot be distinguished from the real thing.
The most famous painting
The main masterpiece of the great Leonardo is, without a doubt, the Mona Lisa. Vasari quite definitely calls the painting a portrait of the third wife of the Florentine Francesco del Giocondo. However, it was common for the author of many biographies, in addition to verified facts, to use legends, rumors and speculation as sources. For a long time, researchers could not find a comprehensive answer to the question of who Da Vinci’s model was. Researchers who agreed with Vasari's version dated Giaconda to 1500-1505. During these years, Leonardo da Vinci worked in Florence. Opponents of the hypothesis noted that the artist had not yet achieved such perfect skill by that time, and therefore the painting was probably painted later. In addition, in Florence, Leonardo worked on another work, “The Battle of Anghiari,” and it took a lot of time.
Among the alternative hypotheses were suggestions that the “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait or an image of da Vinci’s lover and student, Salai, whom he captured in the painting “John the Baptist.” It was also suggested that the model was Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan. All the mysteries of Leonardo da Vinci paled before this one. However, in 2005, scientists managed to find solid evidence in favor of Vasari's version. The notes of Agostino Vespucci, an official and friend of Leonardo, were discovered and studied. They, in particular, indicated that da Vinci was working on a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
Ahead of its time
If da Vinci's paintings gained fame during the author's lifetime, many of his achievements in other areas were appreciated only centuries later. The date of death of Leonardo da Vinci is May 2, 1519. However, only at the end of the nineteenth century did the recordings of the genius become public. Leonardo da Vinci's drawings describing the devices were far ahead of their time.
If the master inspired many of his contemporaries with his painting and laid the foundation for the art of the High Renaissance, then his technical achievements were impossible to bring to life at the level of technological development that existed in the sixteenth century.
Leonardo da Vinci's flying cars
The brilliant inventor wanted to soar not only in thoughts, but also in reality. He worked on creating a flying car. Leonardo da Vinci's drawings contain a diagram of the structure of the world's first model of a hang glider. This was already the third or fourth version of a flying car. The pilot was supposed to be placed inside the first ones. The mechanism was set in motion by the rotating pedals that he turned. The hang glider prototype was designed for gliding flight. This model was tested in the UK in 2002. Then the world champion in hang gliding managed to stay above the ground for seventeen seconds, while she rose to a height of ten meters.
Even earlier, the genius developed a design for a device that was supposed to rise into the air with the help of a single main rotor. The machine vaguely resembles a modern helicopter. However, this mechanism, which came into motion as a result of the concerted work of four people, had a lot of flaws, and it was not destined to become a reality even after centuries.
War vehicles
Biographers often, when describing Leonardo da Vinci as a person, note his peace-loving nature and condemnation of military actions. However, apparently, this did not stop him from developing mechanisms whose only function was to defeat the enemy. For example, he created a drawing of a tank. It had little in common with the operating mechanisms of the Second World War.
The car was set in motion thanks to the efforts of eight people turning the wheel levers. Moreover, she could only move forward. The tank had a round shape and was equipped with a large number of guns aimed in different directions. Today, almost any Leonardo da Vinci museum can demonstrate such a combat vehicle, made according to the drawings of the brilliant master.
Among the weapons invented by da Vinci was a terrifying-looking scythe chariot and a prototype of a machine gun. All these products demonstrate the breadth of thought of the genius, his ability to predict for many centuries the path of development along which society will move.
Automobile
Among the genius's developments was a car model. Outwardly, it was not much like the cars we are used to, but rather resembled a cart. For a long time it remained unclear how Leonardo intended to move it. This mystery was solved in 2004, when in Italy a da Vinci car was created from drawings and equipped with a spring mechanism. Perhaps this is exactly what the author of the model assumed.
Ideal city
Leonardo da Vinci lived in turbulent times: wars were frequent, and the plague raged in many places. The searching mind of a genius, faced with serious illnesses and the misfortunes they bring, sought to find a way to improve the quality of life. Da Vinci developed a diagram of an ideal city, divided into several levels: the upper one for the upper classes, the lower one for trade. According to the author’s idea, all houses were supposed to have constant access to water using a system of pipes and canals. The ideal city consisted not of narrow streets, but of wide squares and roads. The purpose of such innovations was to reduce disease and improve hygiene. The project remained on paper: the kings to whom Leonardo proposed it considered the idea too bold.
Achievements in other areas
Science owes a lot to genius. Leonardo da Vinci had a great understanding of human anatomy. He worked hard, sketching the features of the internal arrangement of organs and the structure of muscles, and created the principles of anatomical drawing. He also made a description thyroid gland, its main functions. Spending time on astronomical research, he explained the mechanism by which the Sun illuminates the Moon. Da Vinci did not deprive physics of his attention, introducing the concept of friction coefficient and identifying the factors influencing it.
There are also ideas in the works of the genius that are characteristic of modern archeology. Thus, he was not a supporter of the official version at that time, according to which shells, found in abundance on the mountain slopes, got there due to the Great Flood. According to the scientist, once upon a time these mountains could have been the shores of the seas or even their bottom. And after unimaginable periods of time, they “grew up” and became what they see.
Secret writings
Among the mysteries of Leonardo, after the mystery of the Mona Lisa, his mirror handwriting is most often discussed. The genius was left-handed. He made most of his notes in reverse: the words went from right to left and could only be read with the help of a mirror. There is a version according to which da Vinci wrote this way so as not to smear the ink. Another hypothesis says that the scientist did not want his works to become the property of fools and ignoramuses. Most likely, we will never know the correct answer to this question.
No less secret is the personal life of the great Leonardo. Little is known about her, since the genius did not seek to flaunt her. Therefore, today there are a lot of the most incredible hypotheses in this regard. However, this is a topic for a separate article.
Leonardo da Vinci's contribution to world art, his extraordinary mind, which could almost simultaneously comprehend problems from completely different areas of human knowledge. Few people in history can compare with Leonardo in this sense. At the same time, he was a worthy representative of his era, incorporating all the ideals of the Renaissance. He gave the world the art of the High Renaissance, laid the foundations for a more accurate representation of reality, and created the canonical proportions of the body, embodied in the drawing “Vitruvian Man”. With all his activities, he actually defeated the idea of \u200b\u200bthe limitations of our minds.
You will find a message about the Italian scientist and artist, inventor and scientist, musician and writer, as well as a representative of Renaissance art in this article.
Brief message about Leonardo da Vinci
The great genius was born in the village of Anchiato near the town of Vinci on April 15, 1452. His parents were unmarried, and he lived the first years of his life with his mother. Afterwards the father, a quite wealthy notary, took his son into his family. In 1466, the young man entered the workshop of the Florentine artist Verrocchio as an apprentice. His hobbies include drawing, modeling, sculpture, working with leather, metal and plaster. In 1473, he qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke.
Start creative path was marked by the fact that he free time devoted only to painting. In the period 1472 - 1477, such famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci as “The Annunciation”, “The Baptism of Christ”, “Madonna with a Flower”, “Madonna with a Vase” were created. And in 1481 he created his first major work - “Madonna with a Flower”.
Leonardo da Vinci's further activities are connected with Milan, where he moved in 1482. Here he enters the service of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The scientist had his own workshop, where he worked with his students. In addition to creating paintings, he developed a flying machine based on the flight of birds. First, the inventor created a simple apparatus based on wings, and then he developed an airplane mechanism with the described full control. But they failed to bring their idea to life. In addition to design, he studied anatomy and architecture, and gave the world a new, independent discipline - botany.
At the end of the 15th century, the artist created the painting “Lady with an Ermine”, the drawing “The Vitruvian Man” and the world-famous fresco “The Last Supper”.
In April 1500, he returned to Florence, where he entered the service of Cesare Borgia as an engineer and architect. 6 years later, da Vinci is again in Milan. In 1507, the genius met Count Francesco Melzi, who would become his student, heir and life partner.
For the next three years (1513 - 1516) Leonardo da Vinci lived in Rome. Here he created the painting “John the Baptist”. 2 years before his death, he began to have health problems: his right hand became numb, it was difficult to move independently. And the scientist was forced to spend his last years in bed. The great artist died on May 2, 1519.
- The artist had excellent command of both his left and right hands.
- Leonardo da Vinci was the first to give the correct answer to the question “Why is the sky of blue color?. He was sure that the sky was blue because between the planet and the blackness above it there was a layer of illuminated air particles. And he was right.
- Since childhood, the inventor suffered from “verbal blindness,” that is, a violation of the ability to read. That's why he wrote in a mirror way.
- The artist did not sign his paintings. But he left identification marks, all of which have not yet been studied.
- He was excellent at playing the lyre.
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