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How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Change The World

Decent Essays

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Leonardo da Vinci was a quiet man, but is well known for his intelligence. He was a man of few words, and never bragged about his intelligence. He let his work do the talking for him. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the world’s most incredible minds. He changed the word with his scientific discoveries, many inventions, and beautiful art. Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was born out of wedlock to Ser Piero and a peasant women. His father was a well-respected notary, but was never involved in Leonardo’s life (“Renaissance Man”). Leonardo only received a general education, which included reading, writing, and basic math. His teachers and mother quickly realized his potential, …show more content…

The Renaissance was a new age in Europe. It means “rebirth’, which was a demonstration of what was going on at the time. People began to explore the world, develop new artistic styles, and make advances in math and science (“Renaissance”). Leonardo was the leader of the pack. He is the man behind the brush of some of the most iconic paintings ever, including “The Last Supper”, “Mona Lisa”, and “Vitruvian Man.” He was commissioned by Ludovico in 1495 to begin the last supper. The painting took da Vinci nearly three years, and shows the moment went Jesus notifies his Twelve Apostles that one of them would soon betray him. Da Vinci does an incredible job of capturing the intensity of the moment. He demonstrates his brilliance with his masterful strokes that portray the facial expressions and body language of everyone in the room (“Leonardo da Vinci”). Leonardo spent a lot of time examining the human body to try perfecting his art. He had an acute understanding of proportions and movements of the human body. In his painting, “Vitruvian Man”, it is clear that he understands more than most humans of that time period. “Vitruvian Man” states that the average man is nearly two meters tall, and his outstretched arms are equal to the length of his body (“The Complete Works”). In the “Mona Lisa”, uses some of his own techniques to make the painting extremely realistic. He treated objects as 3-D figures, and used shadows, instead of lines, when outlining figures. Nobody knows who “Mona Lisa” depicts, but that is beside the fact. It is easily one of the most famous paintings of all time. Using his knowledge, da Vinci made his paintings more realistic and defined. He is also credited with developed the techniques known as “chiaroscuro” and “sfumato.” These techniques involve using shadows and subtle gradations in the paint. These techniques, along with his overall understanding

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