Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, and natural philosopher of the Renaissance. He is widely regarded as the archetype of the universal man, and his surviving paintings are among the most celebrated works in the history of European art. His notebooks record an extraordinary range of inquiries, from anatomy and optics to mechanics and hydraulics.

Early Life and Training

Leonardo was born in 1452 near the town of Vinci, in the territory of Florence. He was the illegitimate son of a notary, and he received little formal education in Latin, though he acquired a knowledge of mathematics and of the mechanical arts.

He was apprenticed to the painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence, where he learned painting, sculpture, and the techniques of the workshop. He was admitted to the painters' guild in 1472.

His early works show the influence of his master and of the Florentine tradition, and they already display the soft modelling and the close observation of nature that characterise his mature style.

Milan and the Court of Ludovico Sforza

Leonardo entered the service of Ludovico Sforza, the ruler of Milan, about 1482. He worked for the court for nearly two decades as a painter, engineer, and designer of festivals.

He painted the Virgin of the Rocks and began the mural of the Last Supper in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The Last Supper, completed about 1498, is one of the most famous images in Western art.

He also worked on fortifications, on canal schemes, and on designs for machines and weapons. He studied anatomy and began the systematic observation that fills his notebooks.

The Notebooks

Leonardo's notebooks, of which several thousand pages survive, contain drawings and notes on an astonishing variety of subjects. He wrote in mirror script, and the pages are filled with sketches of machines, of anatomical studies, and of natural forms.

His anatomical drawings, based on dissection, are remarkable for their accuracy and for their beauty. He studied the muscles, the bones, and the organs, and he anticipated many later discoveries.

His studies of water, of the flight of birds, and of the geometry of plant growth show a mind that sought the underlying order of nature. The notebooks were never published in his lifetime, and they remained unknown for centuries.

Later Career and the Mona Lisa

Leonardo left Milan after the fall of Ludovico and worked in Florence, Mantua, and Venice. He painted the Mona Lisa, the most famous portrait in the world, and the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.

He entered the service of the French king Francis I in 1516 and spent his last years in France. He died at Clos Lucé, near Amboise, in 1519.

He completed very few paintings, and many of his projects were left unfinished. His reputation rests on the quality of the works that survive and on the range and the originality of his thought.

Legacy

Leonardo's influence on the later history of art is immense. His use of sfumato and of chiaroscuro, and his insistence on the close study of nature, set a standard for the painters who followed.

He is also remembered as an engineer and as a scientist. His designs anticipate the aeroplane, the helicopter, and the tank, though few of them were built.

His notebooks have been studied by historians of science, of art, and of technology. He remains a symbol of curiosity and of the unity of knowledge.

Painting Technique and Theory

Leonardo developed the technique of sfumato, in which tones are blended so gradually that there is no visible transition between light and shade. The effect produces a softness and an atmospheric depth that had not been achieved before.

He also developed chiaroscuro, the strong contrast of light and dark, and he used it to model the figures and to create dramatic effects. His treatment of light became a model for later painters.

He wrote on the theory of painting and argued that it was a science, because it was based on the observation of nature and on the laws of optics. The paragone, or comparison of the arts, was a theme of the period.

Anatomy and the Study of the Body

Leonardo dissected some thirty human bodies and made detailed drawings of the muscles, the bones, and the organs. He studied the mechanics of movement and the action of the heart.

His drawing of the fetus in the womb and his studies of the proportions of the human figure are among the most famous anatomical images ever made. The Vitruvian Man expresses the harmony of the human form.

His work was not published in his lifetime, and it had little influence on the medicine of his day. It was rediscovered in the nineteenth century and recognised as a landmark of observational science.

Engineering and Inventions

Leonardo designed machines for the manufacture of textiles, for the working of metal, and for the lifting of heavy loads. He studied the flight of birds and designed flying machines.

His designs for an armoured vehicle, for a diving suit, and for a revolving bridge anticipate later technology. Most of them were never built, and some were not technically feasible with the materials of the time.

He worked as a military engineer and designed fortifications and weapons. He also worked on schemes for the diversion of rivers and the drainage of marshes.

Reputation and Influence

Leonardo's reputation grew after his death, and he became the model of the universal genius. His paintings were admired for their beauty and for their technical mastery.

His notebooks were published in the nineteenth century and revealed the range of his interests. They have been studied by historians of science, of technology, and of art.

He remains one of the most famous figures of the Renaissance. His life has been the subject of many biographies, novels, and films.

See also

• Renaissance art
• Italian painting