Leo da Vinci. Italy

Leonardo da Vinci is a vivid example of the "universal man" of the Renaissance, who sought to realize himself in various areas of life. The range of his interests was unusually wide: engineering, mechanics, natural science, anatomy, sculpture, painting, music, theater. At the heart of his creative activity was an inexhaustible natural curiosity.

Leonardo's legacy is huge, his secrets still excite the minds of researchers, and his creativity inspires. Among his admirers are the outstanding artist Raphael, novelist Dan Brown, surrealist Salvador Dali, rock musicians of the Deerhunter group.

The story of Leonardo is the story of a man of genius who was forced to work on orders to make a living, and who published almost none of his greatest work. But it is also a story of inspiration that teaches us that true talent will always win, overcome any difficulties and be appreciated.

In the following insights you will learn:

• what was German slang in the fifteenth century;
• what Leonardo wrote in his notebook;
• what can be learned by pouring wax into the heart of a bull.

Insight 1. Leonardo was an illegitimate child, and this gave him a number of advantages.

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in the small village of Anchiano, not far from the town of Vinci, near Florence. Actually, "da Vinci" is not a surname at all, but only a nickname that meant "(originally) from the town of Vinci."

Leonardo was born out of wedlock. His parents - Piero da Vinci and 16-year-old Katerina Lippi - were not married. The position of illegitimate children is often unenviable. But it provided great opportunities for Leonardo.

Pierrot served as a notary. His clients were wealthy merchants and noble citizens. It was a prestigious position, and Piero was entitled to the honorific prefix "ser" (master) to his name.

In medieval Italy, family business was commonplace. Father, grandfather and great-grandfather Leonardo were members of the guild of notaries. Pierrot's son was also to become a lawyer. But since the guild did not accept those born out of wedlock, Leonardo was able to do what he really liked.

The boy showed early talent as an artist. The father did not interfere with his son's studies. He did not even send him to study at a prestigious Latin school. Leonardo did not become a bookish man. In the knowledge of the world around him, only inexhaustible curiosity and personal experience helped him.

“Iron rusts without finding a use for itself, stagnant water rots or freezes in the cold, and the mind of a person, not finding a use for itself, withers.” Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 2. Leonardo was a talented student and surpassed his teacher.

In 1464, Piero and his son moved to Florence - the center of art, craft and trade. The Florentine literacy rate was the highest in Europe. Hundreds of artisans of the most complex specialties and, of course, artists lived here.

At the age of 14, Leonardo entered the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, a good friend and client of Piero, as an apprentice.

Verrocchio became Leonardo's first teacher. Under his guidance, the young man studied geometry, the principles of perspective and other subtleties of artistic skill.

At the age of twenty, Leonardo was given the qualification of a master. In the joint works of Verrocchio and Leonardo of that time, it is noticeable that the student was superior in talent to his teacher. The painting "The Baptism of Christ" depicts a pair of angels next to Jesus. One of them was written by Verrocchio. His angel is depicted as rather static and flat, and his hair resembles an ill-fitting wig.

Angel Leonardo is completely different. It is full of movement and life. The artist used gentle shading of the skin tone of the face to soften the sharp lines and make the transition from the hair to the forehead look natural. After all, this is how, vaguely, the human eye perceives lines. This new shading technique, invented by Leonardo, was called sfumato - "disappearing like smoke."

"Who can go to the source, should not go to the jug..." Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 3. In Florence, Leonardo improves his talent and creates a new direction in painting.

During the years of work in the workshop of Verrocchio, Leonardo painted a wonderful portrait of Ginevra de Benci. It was his first painting not connected with a religious plot. Leonardo destroyed the old canons of the portrait genre and created a completely new look.

Prior to Leonardo, artists preferred to depict their models in profile. Ginevra at Leonardo is turned to the viewer by three quarters. Leonardo did not just focus on external resemblance, but conveyed the inner world of his model. Clever eyes and a thoughtful smile indicate that we have an outstanding young woman in front of us.

The portrait brought Leonardo fame. But along with fame came envious people. Twice he was denounced to the police with accusations of sodomy and sexual perversion. Among the suspects was one of the members of the powerful Medici family. Probably, the case was fabricated in order to compromise the Medicis.

The accusation itself also looked strange. Homosexuality in Florence was so common that even the word Florentine was slang in German for a homosexual.

In 1477, Leonardo opened his own workshop in Florence and began work on the painting The Adoration of the Magi, which, like many other works by the artist, remained unfinished.

The plot was pretty common. As a rule, the picture depicted three kings offering gifts to the baby Jesus.

But Leonardo was interested in the feelings and emotions of the characters. Mary, Jesus and even the animals in the picture are full of reverence. The artist conveys the inner experiences of the characters through facial expressions and gestures, just like in the portrait of Ginevra.

The painting was not finished, the sky and background remained intact. Leonardo suddenly quit his job and left Florence.

“Painter, see that the greed for earnings does not overcome the honor of art in you, for the earnings of honor are much more significant than the honor of wealth.” Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 4. In Milan, Leonardo showed his talent as an engineer and scientist, arranging entertainment for the nobility.

He arrived in Milan from Florence in 1482. These two cities were completely different from each other.

In Florence, wealthy bankers ran everything. Milan was ruled by the Sforza family. Leonardo moved in the hope of finding a patron in Lodovico Sforza, the future Duke of Milan.

Lodovico was impressed by the abilities of Leonardo, who was well versed in military technology, designed collapsible bridges, mobile guns and armored chariots, created blueprints for submarines, tanks and machine guns. Leonardo was enrolled in the court staff as an engineer. His artistic abilities did not interest Sforza.

Leonardo developed a project for a city sewer system that functioned by analogy with the human body. As blood circulates through the veins, so clean water must circulate in the channels. Waste was supposed to be disposed of using an underground sewer system that worked like a human intestine. The idea was quite revolutionary for its time, and Lodovico was afraid to implement it.

On behalf of Sforza, Leonardo took up the organization of court holidays. Even in Florence, he worked in the theater, creating props and scenery for productions. In Milan, at the Sforza court, he organized performances and demonstrated his own inventions.

For each holiday, he developed complex engineering structures and fantastic machines. So, for the performance of the Masquerade of the Planets, Leonardo created a huge golden dome in the form of a hemisphere, in which seven planets rotated.

Leonardo's inventions brought him great fame. He became famous throughout Italy. And just as an organizer of holidays, and not as an artist!

“Nature has taken care of everything so that everywhere you find something to learn.” Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 5. At court, Leonardo met with the leading scientists of our time, collaborated with them and exchanged ideas.

Leonardo was a charming man. Contemporaries noted his generosity, kindness, subtle mind and sociability.

At the Sforza court in Milan, the entire intellectual elite of Italy gathered. Thanks to the ability to easily converge with people, Leonardo quickly became his own in this company. Friendship with outstanding scientists, poets, artists opened up new opportunities and perspectives for him.

Among Leonardo's friends was the mathematician Luca Pacioli. Leonardo knew geometry well, but had gaps in other areas of mathematics. Pacioli helped him. In Leonardo's diary, an entry was preserved: "Find out from Maestro Luca the rules for multiplying roots."

Friendship led to close cooperation. In 1498, Leonardo created illustrations for Pacioli's mathematical book On Divine Proportion. These were the only drawings published during the artist's lifetime.

The illustrations were innovative. Leonardo depicted geometric figures with darkened and transparent edges to help readers better understand their characteristics.

Acquaintance with the architects Donato Bramante and Francesco di Giorgio determined Leonardo's interest in architecture. Friends often discussed Vitruvius, a Roman military engineer of the first century BC. Vitruvius believed that any building is like a human body and it must be designed so that the center is equidistant from the entrance and walls, just as the human navel is equidistant from the head and the tips of outstretched arms and legs.

The ideas of Vitruvius captured Leonardo. He became obsessed with finding the ideal proportions of the human body. This is how Leonardo's most famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, was born. It depicts a naked man in two positions superimposed one on the other. The first figure with arms and legs spread apart is inscribed in a circle. The second - with spread arms and legs brought together - is inscribed in a square. The image was based on the rule of the golden section.

“Just as warm clothing protects against cold, so endurance protects against resentment. Increase patience and peace of mind, and resentment, no matter how bitter, will not touch you. Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 6. In portraits, Leonardo showed an innovative approach to depicting the inner world of models.

In Milan, Leonardo also worked as a court painter. On behalf of the duke, he created two portraits.

The most famous is "Lady with an Ermine". Leonardo portrayed the young Cecilia Gallerani, Sforza's mistress. At that time she was pregnant. Probably, the portrait was commissioned as a token of gratitude to his beloved.

Once again, Leonardo broke with the traditions of the portrait genre. The image of the model is shrouded in mystery. The woman depicted in the picture is thinking about something. Her inner turmoil is skillfully conveyed by the artist.

There are a lot of symbols in the picture. For example, an ermine could mean the chastity of Cecilia. Or was it an allusion to Lodovico Sforza, whom the Neapolitan king awarded the Order of the Ermine.

Leonardo again used the sfumato technique. The play of light and shadow gives the image an extraordinary depth. Modern analysis of the paint layer has shown that Leonardo superimposed extremely thin (up to 3-4 microns!), almost transparent, strokes of paint in order to convey the subtlest color nuances.

The portrait "Beautiful Ferroniera" was painted with Sforza's new lover, Lucrezia Crivelli. The painting differs markedly from other works by Leonardo. The artist skillfully uses the play of light and shadow to achieve the liveliness of the image. But there are a number of flaws in the portrait: the body is not quite proportional, the hair is depicted a little flat, and there is a strange shine on the cheek. Only the ribbon on Lucrezia's dress does not cause any complaints.

Probably, certain parts of the picture were painted by Leonardo's students. But upon closer examination, one can also find the hand of the artist himself.

“The main things: the man and the representation of his soul. The first is easy, the second is difficult, since it must be depicted by gestures and movements of the members ... "Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 7. The Last Supper is Leonardo's masterpiece. He managed to convey twelve characters in one picture.

Leonardo was a very observant person. His first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, noted that the artist could pursue a stranger all day if his face seemed interesting to him. And then in the evening, from memory, reproduced it in a notebook with absolute accuracy.

When Leonardo was working on the project of the monument to Lodovico Sforza on horseback, for many years he drew only horses in a notebook, trying to achieve perfection. Unfortunately, the monument was not completed due to the invasion of French troops in 1494.

Leonardo's powers of observation were fully embodied in his masterpiece The Last Supper. The duke commissioned him to paint a fresco in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo began work in 1495. But, much to Lodovico's annoyance, things progressed slowly. While working, Leonardo thought a lot, he could stand in front of a painting with a brush in his hands for days on end, without making a single stroke.

Leonardo captured the moment when Christ says that he will be betrayed by one of the disciples. Twelve apostles, twelve persons, twelve characters. Looking at them, you can feel a whole range of emotions: anger, fear, denial, humility, fear. The apostles interest Leonardo from a human point of view. Therefore, none of them has a traditional halo.

Leonardo uses the poses and gestures of the characters to fully reveal their inner essence. Here Peter is squeezing a knife, hinting at the imminent death of Christ, and this is Judas with a bag of money in his hands as a reminder of the 30 pieces of silver for which he betrayed Jesus.

Leonardo experiments with light and perspective to enhance the impression he makes on viewers. So, the table is too narrow, but this creates a sense of depth and focuses attention on the figure of Christ. Leonardo breaks the rules he defended so carefully before. For the first time, he neglected science for the sake of art.

“All our knowledge begins with sensations.” Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 8. Under the patronage of Cesare Borgia, Leonardo discovered his talent as a military engineer.

In 1499, the French troops of Louis XII captured Milan and destroyed the palace of the Duke of Sforza. Leonardo, who had been developing war machines for many years, first encountered the horrors of war.

The French treated Leonardo with respect. However, he chose to return to Florence. There, Leonardo came under the patronage of Cesare Borgia, who dreamed of conquering all of Italy. With Borgia's approval, Leonardo toured war-torn Italy and proposed new designs for bridges and fortresses. So, he designed the fortress walls of a rounded configuration so that cannonballs inflict less damage.

Borgia admired the detailed maps of the area created by Leonardo. For example, the map of the city of Imola, compiled in 1502, has become a real work of art. It was made in color and presented a view of the city from a bird's eye view. The artist perfectly calculated the scale by comparing the distance between all the houses in the city.

With such precision and detail, Borgia launched his lightning attacks before the city had time to prepare for battle.

However, after eight months, Leonardo left his patron. Borgia was a charming man, but above all he was a thief and villain. Leonardo dreamed of becoming a military engineer all his life, but as a freedom-loving and honest person, life under the auspices of Borgia seemed like a nightmare to him.

"Beauty and ugliness seem more powerful side by side." Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 9. Even Leonardo's unfinished works have a great impact on viewers.

In Florence, Leonardo learned about a new talented sculptor - Michelangelo. His statue of David has become the main attraction of the city.

The city authorities ordered Leonardo and Michelangelo to jointly decorate the hall of the Great Council of the town hall. Artists took this step reluctantly. All Florence watched their confrontation.

Leonardo chose as a plot the battle of two horsemen for the banner at the battle of Anghiari. The fresco was supposed to take up approximately one third of the 50-meter wall. This work promised to surpass The Last Supper. Leonardo was going to describe the whole horror of war: blood, dirt, angry animals and frightened soldiers.

Michelangelo had to work on the opposite wall. For the plot, he chose the victory of the Florentines over the Pisans at Cascino.

The artists didn't get along. Michelangelo was very rude and impolite to Leonardo. In addition, in an atmosphere of competition, it was very hard to work.

Leonardo never finished his work. Working on a fresco requires different skills than working on canvas. Leonardo did not know how to work on wet plaster. The colors didn't lay down evenly. I had to spend a lot of time and effort to create suitable colorful mixtures.

Although the work was not completed, contemporaries highly appreciated Leonardo's talent. The sketches of both artists were presented to the public, and a stream of travelers from all over Europe poured into Florence to admire them.

Inspired by what he saw, Raphael created his sketches, and the sculptor Cellini called the exhibition "the school of the world." Today, drawings are among the highest examples of Renaissance art.

"Work on a work of art can never be finished, but can only be abandoned." Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 10. Leonardo's anatomical research was forgotten for several centuries.

In Florence, Leonardo continued his study of human anatomy. The results of his research were impressive. Many of them have not been studied so far!

A professor of anatomy at the University of Pavia provided Leonardo with about 20 human corpses to work with. The result of this terrible work was a series of amazingly accurate drawings of all human organs, muscles, bones.

A deep knowledge of anatomy is necessary for an artist depicting the human body. But Leonardo's interest was not only artistic. For each of the 240 drawings, he compiled accompanying texts, in which he detailed his thoughts about the work of the heart, brain, eye, and even the development of the embryo, and also described the symptoms of atherosclerosis for the first time.

Until now, his studies of the heart are impressive. At that time, the organ associated with the circulatory system was considered the liver. Leonardo not only recognized the importance of the heart for the first time, but was also able to understand how the aortic valve works. He experimented with the heart of a bull, filling it with wax. I made a glass copy from a wax sample and observed the movement of the liquid inside.

Only after 450 years, modern science really studied the movement of blood flow in the heart and confirmed Leonardo's hypothesis.

Leonardo was way ahead of his time. His drawings and observations could be of great benefit to mankind. But they were never published.

Surprisingly, even today his research remains relevant.

"Wisdom is the daughter of experience." Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 11. The patronage of King Francois I allowed Leonardo to complete the last three paintings.

In 1507 Leonardo returned to Milan. Now he was interested in air, water and geology. Leonardo devoted most of his time to observing birds, fish, and also engaged in the development of an aircraft.

King Francois I of France became his patron. At the age of 64, Leonardo left Italy for the first time in his life to become a court painter and engineer.

François held Leonardo in high esteem and called him "the most outstanding artist". He generously paid Leonardo for his work, and for the first time in his life he did not depend on orders.

In 1517 Cardinal Luigi of Aragon visited Leonardo. Leonardo complained that he could not work at full strength due to paralysis of his right hand and would soon be unable to write at all. But he really wanted to finish three paintings, which all those present immediately recognized as masterpieces.

One of them is John the Baptist. From the deep shadow emerges a pampered, long-haired androgynous figure with her right hand raised to heaven.

The second is "Saint Anna with the Mother of God and the Christ Child." This picture is somewhat inferior to "John the Baptist" in terms of the expression of feelings and emotions.

The third painting, the plot of which Leonardo nurtured for many years, became the most famous painting in history.

“If the painter wants to see beautiful things that inspire love in him, then it is in his power to give birth to them.” Leonardo da Vinci

Insight 12. "Mona Lisa" - the pinnacle of Leonardo's work.

Throughout his life, Leonardo sought to understand and unravel the mysteries of the world. He was not looking for money or fame, he was driven only by natural curiosity.

Paintings were a way to get to know human emotions and characters. Leonardo conveyed the inner world of his characters with the help of simple gestures and facial expressions. This talent made him one of the greatest artists. Leonardo breathed life into what was hitherto static and dispassionate.

"Mona Lisa" is rightfully considered the main masterpiece of Leonardo. This is not just a portrait of a woman. The famous master liked to hide various information in the form of codes and ciphers in his paintings. Mona Lisa is the most mysterious of all.

The mystery of Mona Lisa is in her smile. Her face expresses completely different emotions depending on the angle of view. If you look into the eyes, the corners of the lips rise and a smile appears. But if you look directly at the lips, the smile disappears.

Leonardo used his research in optics and perception to create a blurry image effect. This was contrary to the traditions of that time and made the picture innovative. Leonardo brought the sfumato technique to perfection. In addition, he used lead white as a base, which reflected light through the thinnest layers of paint. The effect is especially noticeable on the face of Mona Lisa: she seems to be completely alive.

The composition of the painting is unique and revolutionary for its time. The river in the background blends seamlessly into the model's silk scarf, while the blurred landscape seems to merge with her hair. Mona Lisa is presented as one with nature.

The painting reflects the humanistic philosophy of Leonardo, for whom the inseparable connection between man and nature has always been a constant source of inspiration.

Leonardo was very attached to his painting and did not part with it until his death. He died on 23 April 1519, eight days after his 67th birthday.

"He who does not value life does not deserve it." Leonardo da Vinci

Outcome. The main idea of ​​the book.

Leonardo da Vinci is known as a brilliant artist, the creator of a new direction in Renaissance painting. But the circle of his interests was much wider. If all of Leonardo's notes had been published during his lifetime, the development of the world could have taken a completely different path. His research in anatomy, architecture, engineering and fluid dynamics was far ahead of its time. There were few real geniuses in the history of mankind. Of course, Leonardo is one of them. However, unlike Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking, he did not possess superhuman intelligence, but was an ordinary person, only very inquisitive.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 - 1519) - Italian painter, sculptor and architect, natural scientist, writer and musician, inventor and mathematician, botanist and philosopher, a prominent representative of the Renaissance.

Childhood

Not far from the Italian Florence is the small town of Vinci, near it in 1452 there was the village of Anchiano, where the genius Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15.

His father, Pierrot, a fairly successful notary, was 25 at the time. He was in a love affair with a beautiful peasant woman, Katerina, as a result of which a child was born. But later, the father was legally married to a noble and rich girl, and Leonardo stayed with his mother.

After some time, it turned out that the married couple da Vicni could not have children of their own, and then Piero took their common son Leonardo from Katerina to raise, who by that time was already three years old. The kid was separated from his mother, and then all his life he diligently tried to recreate her image in his masterpieces.

In the new family, the boy began to receive primary education from the age of 4, he was taught Latin and reading, mathematics and writing.

Youth in Florence

When Leonardo was 13 years old, his stepmother died, his father remarried and moved to Florence. Here he opened his own business, to which he tried to attract his son.

In those days, children born out of wedlock were endowed with absolutely the same rights as heirs who appeared in an officially registered family. However, Leonardo was little interested in the laws of society, and then Father Piero decided to make an artist out of his son.

Andrea del Verrocchio, a representative of the Tuscan school, sculptor and bronze caster, jeweler, became his teacher in painting. Leonardo was accepted into his workshop as an apprentice.

In those years, all the intelligence of Italy was concentrated in Florence, so, in addition to painting, da Vinci had the opportunity to study drawing, chemistry, and the humanities here. Here he learned some technical skills, learned to work with materials such as metal, leather and plaster, became interested in modeling and sculpture.

At the age of 20, in the Guild of St. Luke, Leonardo received the qualification of a master.

The first pictorial masterpieces

In those days, joint painting was practiced in painting workshops, when the teacher completed orders with the help of one of his students.

So Verrocchio, when he received another order, chose da Vinci as his assistant. Needed was a picture of the Baptism of Christ, the teacher instructed Leonardo to write one of the two angels. But when the master teacher compared the angel he painted with the work of da Vinci, he threw away his brush and never returned to painting. He realized that the student not only surpassed him, but a real genius was born.

Leonardo da Vinci mastered several painting techniques:

• Italian pencil;
• sanguine;
• silver pencil;
• feather.

Over the next five years, Leonardo worked on the creation of such masterpieces as Madonna with a Vase, Annunciation, Madonna with a Flower.

Period of life in Milan

In the spring of 1476, da Vinci and three of his friends were accused of gardening and were arrested. Then it was considered a terrible crime, for which the highest penalty was due - burning at a stake. The artist's guilt has not been proven, accusers and witnesses have not been found. And also the son of a noble Florentine nobleman was among the suspects. These two circumstances helped da Vinci to avoid punishment, the defendants were flogged and released.

After this incident, the young man did not return to Verrocchio, but opened his own painting workshop.

In 1482, the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, invited Leonardo da Vinci to the court as the organizer of the holidays. His job was to create costumes, masks and mechanical "miracles", the holidays turned out great. Leonardo had to simultaneously combine several positions: engineer and architect, court painter, hydraulic engineer and military engineer. At the same time, his salary was less than that of a court dwarf. But Leonardo did not despair, because in this way he had the opportunity to work for himself, to develop in science and technology.

During the years of his life and work in Milan, da Vinci paid special attention to anatomy and architecture. He sketched several variants of the central-domed temple; got a human skull and made a discovery - the cranial sinuses.

In the same Milanese period, while working at the court, he became very interested in cooking and the art of table setting. In order to facilitate the work of cooks, Leonardo invented some culinary devices.

Artistic creations of the genius da Vinci

Although contemporaries rank Leonardo da Vinci among the great artists, he considered himself a scientific engineer. He drew quite slowly and did not devote much time to the fine arts, as he was too fond of science.

Some works have been lost or badly damaged over the years and centuries, a lot of unfinished paintings remain. For example, a large altar composition "The Adoration of the Magi". Therefore, the artistic heritage of Leonardo is not so great. But what has survived to this day is truly priceless. These are such paintings as "Madonna in the Grotto", "La Gioconda", "Last Supper", "Lady with an Ermine".

In order to portray human bodies so brilliantly in paintings, Leonardo was the first in the world of painting to study the structure and location of muscles, for which he dismembered corpses.

Other areas of activity of Leonardo

But he owns a huge number of discoveries in other areas and areas.
In 1485, a plague broke out in Milan. About 50,000 residents of the city died from this disease. Da Vinci justified such a pestilence to the duke by the fact that mud reigned in the overpopulated city in the narrow streets, and proposed the construction of a new city. He proposed a plan according to which the city, designed for 30,000 inhabitants, was divided into 10 districts, each of them with its own sewage system. Leonardo also suggested calculating the width of the streets based on the average height of the horses. The duke rejected his plan, as, however, many brilliant creations of da Vinci rejected during his lifetime.

However, several centuries will pass, and the State Council of London will take advantage of the proportions proposed by Leonardo, call them ideal and will apply them when laying out new streets.

Da Vinci was also very talented in music. His hands belong to the creation of a silver lyre, which was shaped like a horse's head, he also masterfully played this lyre.

Leonardo was fascinated by the water element, he has many works, in one way or another connected with water. He owns the invention and description of a device for diving under water, as well as a breathing apparatus that can be used for scuba diving. All modern diving equipment is based on the invention of da Vinci. He studied hydraulics, the laws of fluids, developed the theory of sewage ports and locks, testing his ideas in practice.

And how much he was passionate about the development of an aircraft, and created the simplest of them based on wings. These are his ideas - an airplane with full control and a device that will have vertical takeoff and landing. He had no motor and failed to bring ideas to life.

In the structure of man, he was interested in absolutely everything, he worked a lot on studying the human eye.

Some interesting facts

Leonardo da Vinci had many students and friends. As for his relationship with the female sex, there is no reliable information on this matter. It is known for certain that he was not married.

Leonardo da Vinci slept very little and was a vegetarian. He did not understand at all how a person could combine the freedom he aspires to with keeping animals and birds in cages. In his diaries he wrote:

“We are all walking graveyards because we live by killing other (animals).”

Almost 5 centuries have passed since there is no great genius, and the world is still trying to unravel the smile of Mona Lisa. It was studied by specialists and scientists in Amsterdam and the USA, even with the help of computer technology, they determined the emotions that a smile conceals:

• happiness (83%);
• fear (6%);
• anger (2%);
• neglect (9%).

There is a version that when Gioconda posed for the master, she was entertained by jesters and musicians. And some scientists have suggested that she was pregnant and smiled blissfully from the realization of this secret.

Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519, surrounded by his students. The legacy of a man of genius included not only paintings, but also a huge library, tools, and about 50,000 sketches. The manager of all this was his friend and student Francesco Melzi.

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, not far from Florence. He was born as a result of a love affair between the notary Piero and the peasant woman Katerina.

The official union of these two people was impossible due to the fact that the girl came from the lower class.

Childhood and youth

Soon, da Vinci's father married a wealthy woman, as a result of which the first years of his life, Leonardo lived with his own mother.

However, when Piero and his wife did not have children for a long time, the father decided to adopt his first child, taking him from Katerina.

Leonardo's childhood attachment to his mother, which he lost at such an early age, was forever imprinted in his memory.

Subsequently, in many of his paintings, he tried to convey the maternal image that he carefully kept in his heart.

After 10 years, the first wife of the notary Piero died, after which he remarried.

In total, Leonardo da Vinci had 4 stepmothers, as well as 12 paternal sisters and brothers.

The work 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 various fields of activity.

He quickly learned to paint, create sculptures, dress leather, process and learn different things. In the future, all this knowledge was useful to da Vinci.

When the young man was 20 years old, he continued to work with his teacher. Verrocchio, of course, saw how gifted his student was.

He often trusted Leonardo to finish any fragments on his canvases, for example, minor characters, or.

Interestingly, Leonardo da Vinci will have his own workshop in 4 years.

In 1482, Lorenzo de' Medici sent Leonardo da Vinci to Duke Lodovico Sforzo, who was in dire need of talented engineers.

He urgently needed high-quality defensive devices, as well as devices to amuse 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 offered by other inventors.

It is not surprising that Sforzo greatly valued an unusually talented artist and scientist. As a result, Leonardo da Vinci stayed at the court of Lodovico Sforzo for about 17 years.

During this period of his biography, he managed to create many ingenious 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 machines that could not only drive on land, but also swim under water and fly in the sky.

In 1499, Leonardo da Vinci returned to Florence, where he began working at the court of Cesare Borgia. The Duke was primarily interested in the creation of military equipment, with the help of which it was possible to wage an effective war with the enemy.

In the service of the Borgia, Leonardo da Vinci stayed for 7 years, 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 is now 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 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 the main follower of his artistic style, Francesco Melzi.

Personal life

Not much is known about Leonardo da Vinci's personal life. Despite the fact that he kept a personal diary, he encrypted all his notes.

However, even after they were able to decipher, the researchers received very little information about the true biography of the 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 claims.

By the way, Salai posed for several paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. For example, he was the model for the famous painting "John the Baptist". There is a version that the Mona Lisa was also painted with Salai, since many art historians see the obvious similarity of the characters depicted on both canvases.

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 reasonably argue that Leonardo never knew carnal intimacy at all, having lived a virgin all his life.

Death and grave

The great Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67, in the castle of Clos Luce. He bequeathed to bury his body in the church of Saint-Florentin.

Researchers speculate that a stroke may have been the likely cause of his death. To this day, the memoirs of his contemporaries have survived who claimed 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 he suffered.

In the last years of 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 path of the Florentine genius ended after a second stroke in 1519.

At the same time, it is worth emphasizing that all assumptions about how the last years of the biography of Leonardo da Vinci passed were not confirmed by reliable facts, but are only guesses.

At the height of the Huguenot wars, the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci was devastated. Only after three hundred years, scientists have made attempts to identify his remains.

Today, on the site of the ruined church in which he was buried, a granite monument with a bust of the great Leonardo has been erected.

Secrets of Leonardo da Vinci

The works of Leonardo da Vinci are seriously studied by scientists, art historians, and even religious figures. Many assume that when writing his paintings, the artist allegedly used some kind of graphic code.

For example, with the help of several mirrors, scientists were able to unravel the mystery of the views of the Gioconda and John the Baptist.

As it turns out, both characters are fixing their eyes on the mysterious masked creature. The secret code in da Vinci's diaries was also revealed through mirrors.

At the same time, the American writer Dan Brown wrote more than one book related to the artist's work. In 2006, based on Brown's work, the film The Da Vinci Code was filmed, which gained immense popularity around the world.

Many religious leaders and believers have criticized the film, calling it blasphemous. An interesting fact is that both Christians and Muslims adhered to 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.

History of Leonardo da Vinci

An interesting fact is that today anyone can visit the museum in Rome, named after Leonardo, and see with his 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 ahead of their time by several centuries.

A brief biography of Leonardo da Vinci does not allow a detailed description of 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, all these inventions were designed by Leonardo da Vinci 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 according to da Vinci's drawings. Tests have shown that he does his job quite well.

It is important to note that today many drawings and sketches of Leonardo da Vinci are still 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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