Berkeley Museum of Paleontology: Leonardo Da Vinci - Essay Example

Leonardo Da Vinci Order no. 240546 No. of pages: 4 Premium 6530 Introduction The period of Renaissance was one of the most productive periods in the world where art, music and literature flourished beyond all boundaries. Some of the geniuses who lived and made great contribution during that time were great musicians like Josquin Desprez (1440 -1521) considered to be one of the greatest composers of Western music in the history of the world. This period also saw great explorers like Columbus, Marco – Polo and Magellan. Science too flourished greatly and scientists like Galileo, Copernicus, Descartes and Mercator made huge contributions. On the art front, there were great artists such as Michelangelo, artist and sculptor who was famous for his sculpting of “David” and the “Pieta’ and the frescos on the ceiling of God and man- Raphael, Botticelli, Titian and the unforgettable genius Leonardo da Vinci who has touched our lives in every possible aspect. Early Life Leonardo Da Vinci, (April 15th, 1452 – May 2nd 1519) was most famously known as the “Renaissance man” and the most gifted and multi- faceted person of his time or for that matter ever to have lived. Leonardo was most famous as a well renowned artist but besides this he was a scientist, inventor, botanist, painter, sculptor, engineer, writer and musician. In the words of da Vinci, “Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so, does inaction sap the vigor of the mind”. (da Vinci Leonardo) – these words of Leonardo da Vinci throw light on this colossus of the Renaissance Age. Leonardo da Vinci embodies the virtues of this great epoch of history, which enriched humanity for ages to come. Leonardo was born out of wedlock to a wealthy Florentine notary and a peasant girl on April 15, 1452. His father, Piero da Vinci took the young boy under his wings and soon had him working as an apprentice under the great Florentine painter, Verocchio. Leonardo assisted him in painting “the Baptism of Christ” (1470) in which the angel kneeling on the left has been painted by him. After spending six years under the tutelage of Verocchio, Leonardo, in 1472, entered the painters’ guild in Florence and was soon being commissioned to work independently. Speaking on how to judge a painting, da Vinci was supposed to have quoted, “When you paint look at your work in a mirror; when you see it reversed, it will appear to you like some other painters work and you will be a better judge of its faults. (Leonardo da Vinci) This was the way he judged his works. In 1482, Leonardo moved to Milan under the patronage of the Duke, Ludovico Sforza, where he exhibited his engineering and architectural skills in the numerous military expeditions undertaken by the Duke. In Milan, Leonardo’s thirst for science and mathematics was sated, when he got the opportunity to study under the renowned mathematician Luca Pacioli. In 1516, he went to France under the patronage of King Francis I and breathed his last on May 2, 1519, at the Chateau de Choux in the Loire. Work and achievements “The man who wanted to know everything” “Homo Universalis” “Man of Renaissance” “polymath” – these are but a few of the numerous epithets bestowed on Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest creative and scientific minds to have straddled the world throughout its history. Leonardo’s fame rests mainly on the Mona Lisa, the portrait of the woman with the enigmatic style and it is the most reproduced portrait of all times and “The Last Supper” painted in the refectory of Santa Maria dell Grazie in Milan. This painting is a distinct shift from his master Verocchio’s tight, rigid treatment of subjects. His paintings pay great attention to background details and the overall atmospheric perspective of the creative piece. The Mona Lisa is a masterful display of the two techniques of painting – the sfumato and chiaroscuro, of which Leonardo was one of the greatest exponents. Commenting on his inspiration to work da Vinci says, “My works are the issue of simple and plain experience which is the true mistress.” (Leonardo da Vinci) The paintings are just one facet of the genius of Leonardo, whose keen observation of science, which includes, human anatomy, engineering, principles of flight, optics, and hydraulics showed his thirst for knowledge. During his stay in Milan, Leonardo was allowed to dissect corpses at the hospital of Santa Maria Nuevo, and the drawings and sketches he made of the human skeleton, vascular system, sex organs, effect of age on the human body are contained as a set of 200 drawings in the “Treatise on Painting”, published after his death. The Vitruvian Man is another one of the iconic sketches of the human body by Leonardo. Leonardo was an avid journal keeper, his notes running to more than 13000 pages and covering a wide array of subjects. These journals were written on a daily basis and Leonardo with his powers of astute observation was continually studying even the most minute of objects and occurrences. While a great portion of his works was divided among his friends upon his death The Codex Leicester a major scientific work of his is owned by Bill Gates. Leonardo wrote in the mirror image cursive, earlier attributed to a desire to keep his journals secret, but it is now accepted that being a left handed person it was easier for him to write right to left. For a man with such gifts of intellect, Leonardo’s creative output is bafflingly small. The innate curiosity of his diverse talent resulted in his energies being scattered all around and is the reason why we see more unfinished than finished projects of this genius. Leonardo had the gift of “visual thinking” (Kemp, Martin) and the paper was his laboratory, filled with observations, theories and thoughts about all that he could see around him. (Kemp, Martin) Leonardo’s Legacy: Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) left a legacy to the world that has no match. Though he was better known as an artist of such masterpieces like the “Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper” and the Madonna of the Rocks, he was one of the most versatile and creative minds of his time. He was one of the most versatile personalities and it seems rather unusual to include Leonardo’s name in the list of paleontologists and evolutionary biologists, but yet it is true. The legacy Leonardo left us covered a wide spectrum and it is somewhat baffling to acknowledge that any one man could achieve so much in just one lifetime. His legacy left to the world ranged from architecture, astronomy, anatomy, zoology, civil – engineering, geography, geology and paleontology for which he had painstakingly carried out with a lot of research and observations. He also gave us the law of superposition which was successfully carried on by Nicholaus Steno, a Danish scientist in 1669. Speaking on a creative person’s imagination he stated, “The idea or the faculty of imagination serves as both rudder and bridle to the senses, inasmuch as the thing imagined moves the sense.” (Leonardo da Vinci)So rare was his talent that he was able to master any subject to which he focused his attention. Conclusion It is said that if he had not been so versatile he could have been a scientist. It is sad, that even until the 19th century much of Leonardo’s scientific work remained in the dark and unknown. The legacy he left the world is unfathomable and has no words to describe it. In fact one could say it is priceless. His genius crossed all borders and covered almost all aspects of our life. In a bit of advice to the art geniuses of today, da Vinci had supposed to have quoted, “No one should ever imitate the style of another because, with regard to art, he will be called a nephew and not a child of nature.” (Leonardo da Vinci) Though the 21st century has seen very great geniuses in different walks of life, yet there is no doubt that Leonardo da Vinci’s contribution as one of the greatest geniuses that ever walked the face of the Earth cannot be overruled. References: UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Leonardo Da Vinci (100174569) www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/vinci.html Leonardo da Vinci Quotes http://www.motivationalquotes.com/People/davinci.shtml Sir Isaac Newton John http://www.imechanica.org/node/116 Biography http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/l/leonardo/biograph.html Genius Art Quotations www.quote.robertgenn.com/getquotes.php?catid Italian Geniuses of Renaissance Art. www.metacafe.com/watch/906271/italian_geniuses_of_renaissence_art/ Renaissance Personalities. www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/renaissance/ Read More