Career Of Leonardo Da Vinci example essay topic

The Renaissance Man Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most talented and respected artists of all time. Leonardo, the illigitamate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a peasant woman named Caterina. He was born on April 15, 1452 in a lion colored home at the bottom of the Tuscan Hills, in the village of Vinci, wich is what his name comes from meaning from Vinci (Summers, p. 1). Da Vinci was said to be the first artist to be considered equal to royalty, maybe because other artists lacked something that da Vinci had, an imaginative, highly complex scientific mind.

By incorporating his mind power and his art he managed to create painting that move hearts, minds, and souls (Wohl, p. 6). Leonardo kept a journal-sketchbook in which he recorded his thoughts, sketches and designs of his latest creations. Though no personal feelings were recorded, we still have learned a great deal about his personality. It was apar rent that Leonardo was a man of many contradictions and uncertainties, these things are primarily reflected by his diverse thoughts, and his neverending search for the perfect form (Bacci, p. 5). For me the most interesting thing found in his sketchbook is the manor in wich he recorded information, in a way that a normal glancing eye can't decipher e his right to left, reversed letter print (Wallace, p. 13). In the late 1460's, Leonardo became an apprentice to Andrea Del Verrocchio, who was the leading painter and sculptor in Florence at the time.

After some years Leonardo finished his apprentiship to Verrocchio, he stayed and went on to become his assistant (Summers, p. 1). At age 20 da Vinci was admitted into the in 1478 (Wallace, p. 16). Shortly after he received a commission to paint a church altar piece Known as the adoration of the kings This particular piece like many others remained unfinished due to his leaving of Florence. Even though some works were left incomplete, he did manage to produce many life studies, and many designs, one of them being a water powered engine (Wohl, p. 8).

Leonardo Moved to the city of Milan in 1482 and became coart artist for Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan. da Vinci had a number of roles as coart artist. As a military engineer da Vinci designed artillery and complex fortresses which could be a great resource during times of war. As a civil engineer he divided a stages for pageants that were to be held in town, da Vinci also made plans and studies for a huge monument ofthe dukes father mounted onto a horse, though it either was never completed (Summers, p. 2). leonardo's painting career and accomplishments can be divided into two major time periods, the Florence years, and the Milan years. da Vinci's first documented painting was in 1475 when he assisted Verrocchio with the Baptism of Christ by painting the angel. Then in 1478 he began to paint the so called Benois and finally finished in 1480. At the same time that he finished Benois. he started on Saint Jerome, even though it reminded unfinished it is still considered to be a hallmark of his mature style. Probably one of the most important of his early paintings was the Adoration of Magi.

This painting displays for the first time, his method of organizing object into pyramids so that the point of intrest is focused on the main subject. This painting was started in 1481 but was also unfinished because of his move to Milan 1482. During his years in Milan, da Vinci produced Madonna of the Rocks, the supposed meeting of the christ child, an altar piece that was started in 1483 and took two years to complete. That painting was then followed by Duke Lodovico's favorite portrait of Cecilia Galle rani, this particular painting took a total of five years to complete. In 1495 da Vinci began to paint The Last Supper, a 1310"x 297.5" piece that shows Jesus at the table with the apostles around him. One talked about feature of this painting is the startled looks that da Vinci placed on the apostles faces.

The Last Supper was painted for the refectory of the church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie (Brown, p. 2). Around 1508 da Vinci's painting career started to draw to an end. A painting of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is one of the only paintings that remain from his last ten years (Wallace, p. 18). During his last years, Leonardo became first painter and engineer to francis the first, king of france.

Under King Francis, da Vinci worked on many anatomical drawings, of the the worlds greatest artists came to an end. It was said that da Vinci in fact died in the arms of King Francis (Summers, p. 2). da Vinci was praised as the highest expression of the renaissance (Bacci, p. 9). The career of Leonardo da Vinci is a perfect example of the renaissance belief in man's power to shape his own destiny and to shape the world around him (Wohl, p. 14).

Bibliography

1 Bacci, Mina, Leonardo. New York: Avenel Books, 1978 2 Brown, David, Leonardo da Vinci.
Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc. 1995 3 Summers, David".
Leonardo da Vinci" The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia 4 Wallace, Robert. The World of Leonardo. New York: Time Incorporated, 1966 McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1967 328.