Leonardo da Vinci Lifepath and Activity - Essay Example

Leonardo Da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15th of April 1452 in a small town called Vinci in Italy. Even though, not much is known about Leonardo’s family, his parents never married each other; therefore Leonardo spent most of his time with the father’s family. Leonardo lived with his grandmother for many years. His father was called Ser Piero, and he was an eminent man in Vinci. Leonardo’s mother was a peasant and she was named Caterina. Leonardo learnt to read, write and do math as a child, but never learnt to speak Latin very well. Italy, Latin was a remarkably significant language for learned people at that time (Joanne 3). As a child, Leonardo was very good at drawing, and this made his father Ser Piero think that his son would be an artist. At the age of 15 years, he was sent to Florence where he started working as an apprentice for a famous artist named Del Verrocchio Andrea. Andrea encouraged Da Vinci to learn about all kinds of art and not just painting. Leonardo lived in Andrea’s workshop where he learnt where he learnt how to paint and sculpt. Andrea came to like Leonardo and saw him as a good painter (Joanne 4). Leonardo continued to live with Verrocchio even after completing Madonna of Carnation in 1474. This was a painting showing the Virgin Mary mother of Jesus and the baby Jesus in front of a mountain scene. The painting attracted the public and many artists often imitated the painting. Leonardo left Andrea in 1477 to live on his own and continued to work on paintings for a number of years. In 1481, Leonardo was commissioned for a painting referred as the Adoration of magi. However, in 1482, the duke of Milan hired him to be his artist, and he did not finish the adoration of magi project, and he moved to Milan (Joanne 5). In Milan, he began various projects for the duke and managed to complete six paintings among them there was one called the Virgin of the Rock, which showed figures from the bible including the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus together with John the Baptist which he finished in approximately 1485. In Milan, Leonardo did not just work as an artist, but he also advised other people on subjects such as engineering and architecture. He was fond of writing notes and filled many pages with observations and thoughts on everything from the human body to astronomy. Leonardo came up with inventions in his notebooks, which could not be made at the time. For instance, he designed a helicopter, an underwater breathing device, a tank and a submarine which showed that he was way ahead of time (Joanne 6). Leonardo wrote most of his personal notes in mirror writing. He only used normal writing if he wanted his texts to be read by others. It is not clear why he did this, but several reasons have been suggested. His friends wrote that he wrote and painted using the left hand. In those times, writing left handed was a mess since the wet ink would smear as his hand moved across the paper; therefore, writing in reverse would stop the ink from smudging. It is also suggested that he did this so that people could not read and steal his ideas (Jill 18). Leonardo was said to be tall with long blonde hair whose abilities were beyond the ordinary that he could readily solve any difficulty. In addition, Leonardo was said to be able to sing divinely and his charming conversation worn all hearts. Leonardo did more to create the concept of the artist genius than anyone else of his times. He constantly stressed the intellectual aspect of the art and creativity. Leonardo is said to be so curious, this curiosity made him shift from a project to another (Joanne 8). Back in Florence, Leonardo painted an artwork that became one of the most recognized art images in the world, the Mona Lisa; for a long time no one knew who the woman was. However, it is now known that she was Lisa di Gherardini, the wife of Florentine silk trader named Francesco Del Giocondo. It is said that Leonardo took the painting with him everywhere. Francesco commissioned the portrait with the aim of celebrating his son's birth and the completion of new home. Little is known about Lisa’s life only that she got married to Francesco at the age of 16 in 1495. Her marriage was considered advantageous one since she came from a less wealth family although she got married to a husband who was much wealthier. Unlike most marriages, which were organized for social or political reason, Lisa’s marriage was based on love and her husband cared for her a great deal (Jill 20). Some people believe that the portrait for Mona Lisa was not Lisa Del, but mistress of Giuliano de’ one of the powerful medics of Florence, others believe to be a young boy who is dressed as a woman or eve Leonardo himself. In addition, there are those who think she is just a representation of the feminine ideal and not based on any real person. However it is believed that Leonardo had a unique fondness for the painting as he took it with him whenever he went. No one knows for certain when the work for Mona Lisa concluded; most scholars think it is around 1506. As Leonard had a particularly high liking for the portrait, he never delivered it to his client. A closer look at Mona Lisa portrait shows something missing according to a French engineer Pascal Cotte, who scanned the portrait with a special camera he invented. According to him the portrait missed the eyebrows. After Leonardo's death, the painting was given to the King of France and today it hangs in Louvre, a famous museum in Paris (Jill 21). Today, Leonardo is remembered as a painter, an engineer, a sculptor, and a scientist. He is called a ‘universal genius’. His triumph, the Mona Lisa, hangs behind glass under heavy surveillance, in Louvre Museum. The Mona Lisa is seen by many as a symbol for art itself; it is said to be literally priceless since its worth far exceeds the confines of money. A lot has changed since 1503, but the smile that Mona Lisa first pulled from that piece of poplar wood more than 500 years ago continues to inspire, fascinate and puzzle the world (Jill 22). Leonardo died at the age of 67 years in 1519 where he had been summoned by Francis one in order to have a conversation with him. However, his more than 20 completed works still survives up to date (Jill 23). Works Cited  Joanne, Mattern. Leonardo Da Vinci. Minnesota: ABDO publishing company, 2005. Print Jill Kalz. The Mona Lisa. New York: The Creative Company, 1977. Print. Read More