Leonardo Da Vinci

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Biography - Leonardo was born near the little town of Vinci, Italy, which is very close to Florence, on April 15, 1452. His father was Ser Piero da Vinci, and his mother was a local peasant girl named Caterina. When young Leonardo was only one year old, his father married another woman, and his mother married a peasant man and disappeared. At an early age, Leonardo showed many extraordinary talents. He was very interested in just about everything around him. He was said to have confused his math teachers with his questions, played the lute and sung with great talent, and above all, was incredibly good at drawing.

At the time, I was the leading Florentine artist, and one of his father's good friends. After taking one look at Leonardo's breathtaking drawings, I offered him a job as an apprentice at my studio. At this time Leonardo was about 15 years old, and I was working on a project of great prestige. This project was making the gilded copper globe that tops the Florence Cathedral, the building that is the pride and joy of the Florentines. I kept Leonardo very busy doing common apprentice jobs, from preparing materials to help paint pictures. I noticed that he did these with extreme gift, and that he was much more capable then any of my other apprentices. Soon I noticed that Leonardo's talent was so great, I would never be able to match his painting talents. I gave up painting and concentrated on sculptures, certain that I was making the right career move.

Besides being an incredible artist, Leonardo was also a very handsome, caring, and good-natured person. He had a great love for animals, and kept his very own horses. A story I find very interesting, and I am sure you will too, is that one day, in the markets, Leonardo bought some caged birds and began to set them free. But this did not stop at just one kind act. Leonardo soon bought many caged birds and did the same thing with each of them. Leonardo was also incredibly strong. People say that he could bend a horseshoe with his bare hands.

In 1481 or 1482, Leonardo moved from Florence to Milan, which is the greatest city in northern Italy. He was invited by Duke Lodovico Sforza, to whom Leonardo had written a remarkable letter. In this letter, Leonardo promoted himself as a fine designer of war machines, and added that he was an architect, sculptor, and a fine painter.

Leonardo spent most of the next 20 years under Lodovico's rule, which during this period he designed stage machinery, mechanical toys, played the lute, sang, told riddles and jokes, and basically, entertained the Duke. But during his busy schedule, he always seemed to find time to sketch a drawing. He would wander throughout the streets of Milan, drawing everyone he found worthy enough to draw.

The Renaissance began in Italy, where many of the greatest artists of all times lived. Florence, where Leonardo lived for some time, was a one of the most important places for new ideas. Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli all came here from their homelands to pursue the art career. But art was not the only idea that makes up the Renaissance; the idea was to excel in every aspect of life. This is why Leonardo was probably one of the most amazing people during the Renaissance. If Leonardo turned his mind to something, he could accomplish the task. However, like most men "ahead of their times", his new methods sometimes fell short of the mark. An example is his wonderful painting "The Last Supper" in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. In this huge frescoe, Leonardo tried innovations in fresco preparation. The result has caused the beautiful painting to fade to where it has almost vanished.

Besides being a skillful artist, Leonardo was also known as a talented musician, a remarkable inventor, and a brilliant scientist. The evidence of his incredible accomplishments are buried deep inside his many notebooks, where Leonardo drew thousands of sketches and ideas, covering all kinds of topics. Probably the most interesting and most fascinating drawing in Leonardo's notebooks are his "inventions". Many of these drawings are remarkably similar to future inventions, and many wonder if Leonardo was able to see into the future. Some of his drawings were: an armored vehicle similar to a tank, multi-barreled missile launchers, and shells than a 20th-century soldier would most definitely recognize. There are also sketches for items that are not war-related, such as: a life preserver, a parachute, rolling machines for sheet iron and mechanical saws and drills.

What is the most amazing thing of all, though, were Leonardo's amazing visions of flying machines. He was convinced that a machine could be built that would enable man to conquer the remarkable task of being airborne. Many of his flying inventions were similar to orthopters (machines with flapping wings) and flying machines very similar to helicopters. Unfortunately, most of Leonardo's inventions remained on paper. This was partly because his plans were sometimes to ambitious, like his plans for huge canals and underground traffic systems. The other reason was because during this time period, humans lack any other source of power besides human strength and animal power. Maybe this is why Leonardo was so interested in water power; many of his drawings show waterwheels that are driving mills or bellows in a furnace. Despite all of the ideas that stayed only on paper, Leonardo invented a large range of useful items, such as the first locks for canals.

As well as being an inventor, Leonardo was also a man of science. He had a very curious mind, and he wanted to learn about the world that he lived in. He studied and watched the way flowers and plants grow, as well as the flight of cannonballs. He dreamed about writing a book covering the topic of human anatomy, and spent many hours making sketches of the human body. His drawings for this book were remarkably accurate, but the dream of writing the book never came true.

Unfortunately, during the latter years of his life, Leonardo was used mostly for entertainment purposes for the French king, Francis I. During this time as court entertainer, Leonardo invented a mechanical lion that would walk a few steps forward, and then open its breast to reveal a cluster of lilies. But this task did not last for a very long time. On May 2, 1519, in France, Leonardo de Vinci past away. It is very sad to think that one of the most amazing minds in world history ended his career as a royal toy maker, but during his life, Leonardo made some amazing accomplishments. Whether it was drawing pictures; inventing items in his mind, paper, and in real life; or making advancements in the knowledge of Science, Leonardo was a very remarkable person, and way ahead of his time.

Considerations:

Leonardo Da Vinci is becoming one of my favorite ancient minds. In a lot of ways, I am like him. He is a artist, inventor, and mathematician. These are all aspects of my life that I love. Not only that, but he is a procrastinator. That is me in a nut shell. Like Da Vinci, I too start many artistic projects and leave them unresolved for one reason or another. Usually, it is a mental issue that blocks my ability to do good works.

Ancient Uniqueness -

There are not many people in the world that can match the likeness of Leonardo Da Vinci. He had the mind to invent, paint the most amazing pictures, and write about life and love. He also was way ahead when it came to anatomy and human understanding. He was a pioneer of the Renaissance era. Leonardo Da Vinci is still one of the most admired and famous people to have lived on the planet Earth. It is an honor to study him.

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