Leonardo Da Vinci, Renaissance Man

the Mona Lisa

the Last Supper 

the Vitruvian Man 

just a few of the iconic works that made

Leonardo da Vinci one of the most famous

artists in history 

but da Vinci was also

a scientist architect sculptor musician

engineer an inventor 

who once said the knowledge of all things is possible 

his boundless curiosity and achievements are

the reasons DaVinci is still recognized

as the ideal of Renaissance man 

Leonardo da Vinci was born an illegitimate child

in the province of Vinci Italy on April 15 1452 

at 15 he apprenticed under the

famous painter Verrocchio and Florence

there he refined his skills and adapted

his trademark sfumato or smoky technique

which avoids harsh outlines 

this technique gives da Vinci's paintings a

unique depth 

eventually he surpassed Verrocchio himself who allegedly vowed

never to pick up a paintbrush again

after teaching the young Leonardo 

in 1482 da Vinci became a professional

painter in Milan he completed 

the virgin of the rocks-- and the Last Supper

shortly after his arrival for the Last Supper

da Vinci used a new renaissance technique 

called perspective that brought new realism to paintings by

making distant objects smaller than

those closest to the viewer

da Vinci draws the viewers eye to the

space above Jesus 

which gives it the illusion of great space and depth 

during his 17 years in Milan da Vinci finished

only six paintings 

instead he focused on various scientific studies 

da Vinci said Learning never exhausts the mind." 

he kept track of his ideas with meticulous illustrations and entries 

in a series of notebooks 

these notebooks revealed Vinci's true genius 

da Vinci drew plans

for everything from churches and fortresses 

to water systems in bridges

for the Duke of Milan he designed

advanced weapons including a tank and machine gun 

da Vinci's fascination with flight

produced sketches for flying machines

centuries before the first airplane was built

da Vinci's interest in human anatomy was

expressed in the Vitruvian Man 

a drawing that explains the proportions of the human body 

his study of anatomy brought

a gripping realism to his paintings

especially the Mona Lisa or La Gioconda The Laughing one 

which he finished around 1507 

fellow Renaissance painter Giorgio Vasari said 

that the Mona Lisa's smile was so pleasing that 

it seemed divine rather than human 

and those who saw it were amazed to find

it was as alive as the original 

da Vinci's famed ever subsided 

even after his death in 1519 

crowds still wait in line to see

the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in France 

just as writers scientists and

historians continue to study his works

and marvel at his genius 

da Vinci's advice for the development of a complete mind 

was study the science of art 

study the art of science.

Develop your senses

especially learn how to see.

realize that everything connects to everything else

he did not see a divide between art and

science and was perhaps one of the most

diversely talented people who ever lived 

it is for this reason that many

call Leonardo da Vinci the first Renaissance man