Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci (1452 - 1519) – Italian painter, sculptor and architect, natural scientist, writer and musician, inventor and mathematician, botanist and philosopher, bright representative Renaissance.
Childhood
Not far from 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, a fairly successful notary Pierrot, was 25 years old at that time. He was in love affair with the 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 to live with his mother.
After some time it became clear that married couple Yes, Vichni cannot have his own children, and then Piero took their common son Leonardo, who by that time was already three years old, from Katerina to raise. The baby was separated from his mother, and then all his life he diligently tried to recreate her image in his masterpieces.
IN new family the boy began to receive at the age of 4 primary education, he was taught Latin and reading, mathematics and writing.
Youth in Florence
When Leonardo was 13 years old, his stepmother died, his father married a second time and moved to Florence. Here he opened his own business, to which he tried to involve his son.
In those days, children born out of legal marriage were endowed with exactly the same rights as heirs born into an officially registered family. However, Leonardo had little interest in the laws of society, and then Piero's father decided to make his son an artist.
His teacher in painting was the representative of the Tuscan school, sculptor, bronze caster, and jeweler Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo was accepted into his workshop as an apprentice.
In those years, the entire intellect of Italy was concentrated in Florence, so that, in addition to painting, da Vinci here had the opportunity to study drawing, chemistry, humanities. Here he learned some technical skills, learned to work with materials such as metal, leather and plaster, and became interested in modeling and sculpture.
At the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke.
The first painting masterpieces
In those days, painting workshops practiced joint painting, when the teacher completed orders with the help of one of his students.
So Verrocchio, when he received his next order, chose da Vinci as his assistant. The painting “The Baptism of Christ” was needed; the teacher instructed Leonardo to paint one of the two angels. But when the master teacher compared the angel he was painting 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 was born a real genius.
Leonardo da Vinci mastered several painting techniques:
- Italian pencil;
- sanguine;
- silver pencil;
- feather.
Over the next five years, Leonardo worked on creating 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 sadism and were arrested. At that time, this was considered a terrible crime, for which the death penalty was imposed - burning at the stake. The artist’s guilt was not proven; no accusers or witnesses were found. The son of a noble Florentine nobleman was also among the suspects. These two circumstances helped da Vinci 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 an 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 artist, hydraulic engineer and military engineer. Moreover, 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 and develop in science and technology.
During the years of his life and work in Milan, da Vinci paid especially much attention to anatomy and architecture. He sketched several options for the central-domed temple; got hold of human skull and made a discovery - the cranial sinuses.
On the same Milanese period While working at court, he became very interested in cooking and the art of table setting. In order to make the work of cooks easier, Leonardo invented some culinary devices.
Artistic creations of the genius da Vinci
Although his contemporaries consider Leonardo da Vinci to be a great artist, he considered himself a learned engineer. He drew rather slowly and did not devote much time to fine arts, because I was too keen on science.
Some works have been lost or severely damaged over the years and centuries; many unfinished paintings remain. For example, the large altar composition “Adoration of the Magi”. That's why artistic heritage Leonardo isn't that great. But what has survived to this day is truly priceless. These are paintings such as “Madonna in the Grotto”, “La Gioconda”, “ last supper", "Lady with an ermine".
To depict so brilliantly in paintings human bodies, 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 it huge amount discoveries in other areas and areas.
In 1485, a plague epidemic occurred in Milan. About 50,000 city residents died from this disease. Da Vinci justified such a pestilence to the Duke by the fact that in the overpopulated city dirt reigned on the narrow streets, and came up with a proposal to build a new city. He proposed a plan according to which the city, designed for 30,000 inhabitants, was divided into 10 districts, each with its own sewerage system. Leonardo also proposed calculating the width of streets based on medium height horses. The Duke rejected his plan, as, indeed, many rejected it during his lifetime. brilliant creations da Vinci.
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 were responsible for the creation of a silver lyre, which was shaped like a horse's head; he could also play this lyre masterfully.
Leonardo was fascinated by the water element; he did many works related to water in one way or another. 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 underwater equipment is based on da Vinci's inventions. He studied hydraulics, the laws of fluid, developed the theory of sewer ports and locks, testing his ideas in practice.
And how passionate was he about development? 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 didn’t have a motor and couldn’t bring his ideas to life.
Absolutely everything about the human structure interested him; he worked very hard to study human eye.
Some interesting facts
Leonardo da Vinci had many students and friends. As for his relationships 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 strives for with keeping animals and birds in cages. In his diaries he wrote:
“We are all walking cemeteries because we live by killing other (animals).”
Almost 5 centuries have passed without a great genius, and the world is still trying to unravel the smile of Gioconda. It was studied by specialists and scientists in Amsterdam and the USA, even with the help computer technology identified the emotions that a smile conceals:
- happiness (83%);
- fear (6%);
- anger (2%);
- neglect (9%).
There is a version that when Mona Lisa posed for the master, she was entertained by jesters and musicians. And some scientists 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. Heritage genius man included not only paintings, but also huge library, tools, about 50,000 sketches. The manager of all this was his friend and student Francesco Melzi.
Leonardo da Vinci is a genius of the Renaissance.
Well, who doesn’t know the most famous painting of all times? What work of great artists is associated with the most famous creation? Most of us will answer that the Mona Lisa is a truly brilliant work of the Florentine master Leonardo da Vinci. Say he's just good artist- not to say anything.
This man is an example of universalism; this can be argued by recalling Leonardo’s numerous talents. These include not only painting, but also science, music, technology, engineering and writing. You could spend hours listing the famous works of da Vinci, despite the fact that the artist did not show all of his works.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 near Florence and in the town of Vinci, hence his nickname. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was an ordinary peasant woman, but his father took him in to raise him. As usual, parents want the best for their children, so they impose their opinions on their children, and so it is here. Leonardo's father, from his son's childhood, hoped that his son would become a great lawyer. He became great, but not as a lawyer, but as a man.
It is known that in 1469, father and son moved from the suburbs to Florence, where the young man got a job in Verrocchio’s workshop, famous artist of that time. This is where Leonardo's creative path begins. Life in the city brought him acquaintance with scientists and the awakening of his love for science, among them was the astronomer Paolo Toscanelli.
After some time (1476), da Vinci set up his workshop, where he wrote his first works: “The Annunciation”, “Benois Madonna”, “Adoration of the Magi”. Even then he established himself as a talented master.
The next period of his life was spent in Milan, where he gets a job with the Duke and organizes festivities, designs, paints portraits of a wealthy family, in general, shows his professionalism in various fields. Da Vinci managed to develop his own projects, for example, a flying machine (which he would later invent), but the Duke literally doesn’t care, he wants Leonardo to work only for him. In 1499, the painter wandered again, now to Venice. But he doesn’t live and work there too hard, he was just bored there and the genius understands that there can be nothing better than Florence and after 4 years he returns to his homeland.
This is where a whole series of Madonnas and, of course, La Gioconda came into play. It is believed that in the image of this woman da Vinci wanted to portray a person of that time, to show the primacy of reason. Biographers still cannot understand what is so touching about Gioconda, but nevertheless they have identified the main “attractive” features, these are, of course, eyes, lips (either a grin, or sadness), lack of eyebrows and the famous Leonard's sfumato (nebula), which later became his calling card.
In 1513 he left Florence again, and, alas, never returned there again. There he worked for the royal family and was not only an artist and engineer, but also an adviser and sage. Everything would have been fine if Leonardo had not gotten sick. It was not possible to recover, on May 2, 1519 greatest man gone. In addition to the generally recognized cultural and scientific heritage, he left behind 7,000 drawings and drawings. There are many omissions and omissions in the biography of Leonardo da Vinci, but art historians are still trying to restore data and study projects that the artist did not have time to implement.
Leonardo da Vinci is the greatest artist and brilliant scientist, whose achievements are difficult to compare with anyone else. Born on April 15, 1452 near the city of Vinci (where the prefix of his surname came from).
His artistic interests are not limited to painting, architecture and sculpture. Despite the enormous achievements in the field exact sciences(mathematics, physics) and natural sciences, Leonardo did not find sufficient support and understanding. Only many years later his work was truly appreciated.
Fascinated by the idea of creating an aircraft, Leonardo da Vinci first developed the simplest aircraft (Daedalus and Icarus) based on wings. His new idea was an airplane with full control. However, it was not possible to implement it due to the lack of a motor. Also the famous idea of the scientist is a device with vertical take-off and landing.
Studying the laws of fluid and hydraulics in general, Leonardo made significant contributions to the theory of locks and sewer ports, testing ideas in practice.
Famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci are “La Gioconda”, “The Last Supper”, “Madonna with an Ermine”, “Mona Lisa” and many others. Leonardo was demanding and precise in all his affairs. Even when he became interested in painting, he insisted on fully studying the object before starting to draw.
Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts are priceless. They were published in full only in the 19th and 20th centuries, although even during his lifetime the author dreamed of publishing part 3. In his notes, Leonardo noted not just thoughts, but supplemented them with drawings, drawings, and descriptions.
Being talented in many fields, Leonardo da Vinci made significant contributions to the history of architecture, art, and physics.
End of Life
Two years before his death, the master went numb right hand, and he could hardly move without outside help. 67-year-old Leonardo spent the third year of his life in Amboise in bed. On April 23, 1519, he left a will, and on May 2, he died surrounded by his students and his masterpieces in Clos-Luce.
Diaries
To date, about 7,000 pages of Leonardo’s diaries have survived, located in various collections. At first, the priceless notes belonged to the master's favorite student, Francesco Melzi, but when he died, the manuscripts disappeared. Individual fragments began to “emerge” at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. At first they did not meet with enough interest. Numerous owners did not even suspect what kind of treasure fell into their hands. But when scientists established the authorship, it turned out that the barn books, art history essays, anatomical sketches, strange drawings, and research on geology, architecture, hydraulics, geometry, military fortifications, philosophy, optics, and drawing techniques were the fruit of one person. All entries in Leonardo's diaries are made in a mirror image.
Great art
"Mona Lisa", aka "Gioconda". Full name - Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo- a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Louvre (Paris, France), one of the most famous works painting in the world.
Even the first Italian biographers of Leonardo da Vinci wrote about the place this painting occupied in the artist’s work. Leonardo did not shy away from working on the Mona Lisa - as was the case with many other orders, but, on the contrary, devoted himself to it with some kind of passion. All the time he had left from working on “The Battle of Anghiari” was devoted to her. He spent considerable time on it and, leaving Italy in mature age, took with him to France among some other selected paintings. Da Vinci had a special affection for this portrait, and also thought a lot during the process of its creation; in the “Treatise on Painting” and in those notes on painting techniques that were not included in it, one can find many indications that undoubtedly relate to “La Gioconda” "
After life
In 1485, after a terrible plague epidemic in Milan, Leonardo proposed to the authorities a project for an ideal city with certain parameters, layout and sewer system. The Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, rejected the project. Centuries passed, and the London authorities recognized Leonardo's plan as the perfect basis for the further development of the city. In modern Norway there is an active bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Tests of parachutes and hang gliders made according to the master’s sketches confirmed that only the imperfection of materials did not allow him to take to the skies.
- Leonardo was the first to explain why the sky is blue. In the book “On Painting” he wrote: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.”
- Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good with his right and left hands. They even say that he could write at the same time different texts different hands. However, he wrote most of his works with his left hand from right to left.
- Leonardo in his famous diaries wrote from right to left in mirror image. Many people think that in this way he wanted to make his research secret. Perhaps this is true. According to another version, the mirror handwriting was his individual feature(there is even evidence that it was easier for him to write this way than in the normal way); There is even a concept of “Leonardo’s handwriting.”
- According to one of the put forward versions, “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of the artist.
Born in Vinci, Italy (near Florence) in 1452. He was the son of Ser Piero da Vinci, a legal specialist, and a peasant girl named Caterina. They were not married, so their son was illegitimate. His father married a woman from a wealthy family and he was sent to live with his grandparents. He later lived with his father's family, but as an illegitimate son he was deprived of the means to receive good education and mastering profitable professions. However, such restrictions could not suppress da Vinci's ambition and love of knowledge.
At the age of 15, da Vinci became a student of Andrea del Verocchio in Florence, where his skills as an artist flourished and even intimidated his mentor. But he was always interested in invention, in 1482 he made a change of scenery, which revealed a real inventor in him
From 1478 to 1482, he created his own studio.
In search of a wider scope of work, da Vinci moved from Florence to the cultural capital of Italy, Milan. There, da Vinci sold himself to Duke Ludovico Sforza as a military engineer.
Da Vinci spent 17 years in Milan working for the Duke, inventing, creating paintings, sculptures, studying science and bringing many innovative and daring ideas to life. Without a doubt, the 17 years spent in Milan were the most productive for da Vinci.
In 1499 the French invaded Milan and the Duke of Sforza escaped. Leonardo spent the remaining years of his life traveling in cities like Venice and Rome. During this period, he created the Mona Lisa (in 1503) and performed more than 30 autopsies.
He died in 1519, in the middle of the Renaissance.
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Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the village of Anchiato near the city of Vinci (hence the prefix to his surname). The boy's father and mother were not married, so Leonardo spent his first years with his mother. Soon his father, who served as a notary, took him into his family.
In 1466, da Vinci entered as an apprentice in the studio of the artist Verrocchio in Florence, where Perugino, Agnolo di Polo, Lorenzo di Credi also studied, Botticelli worked, Ghirlandaio and others visited. At this time, Leonardo became interested in drawing, sculpture and modeling, studied metallurgy, chemistry , drawing, mastered working with plaster, leather, and metal. In 1473, da Vinci qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke.
Early creativity and scientific activity
At the beginning creative path Leonardo devoted almost all his time to working on paintings. In 1472 - 1477 the artist created the paintings “The Baptism of Christ”, “The Annunciation”, “Madonna with a Vase”. At the end of the 70s he finished “Madonna of the Flower” (“ Madonna Benoit"). In 1481, the first major work in the work of Leonardo da Vinci was created - “The Adoration of the Magi”.
In 1482 Leonardo moved to Milan. Since 1487, da Vinci has been developing a flying machine that was based on bird flight. Leonardo first created a simple apparatus based on wings, and then developed an airplane mechanism with full control. However, it was not possible to bring the idea to life, since the researcher did not have a motor. In addition, Leonardo studied anatomy and architecture, and discovered botany as an independent discipline.
Mature period of creativity
In 1490, da Vinci created the painting “Lady with an Ermine”, as well as the famous drawing “Vitruvian Man”, which is sometimes called “ canonical proportions" In 1495 - 1498 Leonardo worked on one of his most important works - the fresco “The Last Supper” in Milan in the monastery of Santa Maria del Grazie.
In 1502, da Vinci entered the service of Cesare Borgia as a military engineer and architect. In 1503, the artist created the painting “Mona Lisa” (“La Gioconda”). Since 1506, Leonardo has served under King Louis XII of France.
Recent years
In 1512, the artist, under the patronage of Pope Leo X, moved to Rome.
From 1513 to 1516 Leonardo da Vinci lived in the Belvedere, working on the painting “John the Baptist”. In 1516, Leonardo, by invitation French king settles in the castle of Clos-Lucé. Two years before his death, the artist’s right hand became numb and it was difficult for him to move independently. Last years spent his short biography of Leonardo da Vinci in bed.
Died great artist And scientist Leonardo da Vinci on May 2, 1519 at the castle of Clos Luce near the city of Amboise in France.
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