Leonardo-Marlow

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man

• Who was Leonardo da Vinci?

        Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, scientist, and inventor that lived during the Renaissance and made some of his most well known works during the Renaissance. He is known as a typical "Renaissance man" and was known for his ambition, curiosity, and amazing range of skills. He was born near the town Vinci, which is not far from Florence, Italy, in the year 1452. Other than the fact that his parents were not actually married when he was born, which was unheard of in those times, Leonardo lived a "traditional childhood". At a very young age, he became the apprentice to the well known sculptor of the time "Andrea del Verrocchio" and started to explore paint as a substance and the many things it has to offer. He was an avid nature enthusiast and did a lot of his own studies on nature, the human body, and human tools. His style, especially when it came to painting, was "very controlled", and he had great "attention to detail". However, he always had trouble with finishing paintings, and would often get overwhelmed by commission deadlines. Something interesting that I did not know about Leonardo was that he was rumored to be gay, and that this could be an explanation for his sense of "secrecy" and "paranoia". He was very secretive, and seemed to be more of an introvert from what I have watched and read about him. His notebooks were filled with inventions, extremely detailed drawings of the human anatomy (which he drew from observation when working with cadavers), and also a lot of writing, which he wrote backwards. Eventually, Leonardo moved from Florence to Milan in order to pursue his dream of becoming an inventor. It seems he had more passion for invention and his own studies rather than painting. Overall, da Vinci was an extremely influential figure during the Renaissance, and still is today, through his works of art, science, and invention. 

• What were his most significant contributions to art, society, science or history? Give an example and support your statement with facts. 

        Leonardo da Vinci's most significant contributions to art had to be his use of chiaroscuro and sfumato. It is said that Leonardo may actually be one of the first artists to employ chiaroscuro in his paintings, which gave much more drama and life to them. In the dark ages, there was no evidence of this clever use of light and shadow, so the artworks were very flat, and had no dimension or dramatics to them. Da Vinci's use of sfumato was also a huge contribution to the art world, and it was seen in what is known as his greatest contribution to art which is the Mona Lisa. This painting is known as the most famous painting in the world, and is also recognized as Leonardo's greatest accomplishment. Sfumato is a technique for shading in which you subtly change from one value to the next by blurring the harsh contrast, or lines, that paint can create. Da vinci also had great contributions to science including his very detailed drawings and studies of the human anatomy/body that opened up a whole world of dialogue in the medical field, as well as his extremely detailed and informational maps. 

• Post 1 question specifically about daVinci for classmates to respond to next lesson. 

           Do you think that Leonardo would be known as a world renowned artist/Renaissance man if he had not created the Mona Lisa? Why or why not?

Outside Sources:

“Leonardo Da Vinci.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 12 Jan. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Leonardo-da-Vinci.