leonardo da vinci essay

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Leonardo da vinci (1452–1519).

A Bear Walking

• Leonardo da Vinci

The Head of a Woman in Profile Facing Left

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio

The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right

Allegory on the Fidelity of the Lizard (recto); Design for a Stage Setting (verso)

The Head of a Grotesque Man in Profile Facing Right

After Leonardo da Vinci

Head of a Man in Profile Facing to the Left

Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso)

Studies for Hercules Holding a Club Seen in Frontal View, Male Nude Unsheathing a Sword, and the Movements of Water (Recto); Study for Hercules Holding a Club Seen in Rear View (Verso)

Carmen Bambach Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2002

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is one of the most intriguing personalities in the history of Western art. Trained in Florence as a painter and sculptor in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (1435–1488), Leonardo is also celebrated for his scientific contributions. His curiosity and insatiable hunger for knowledge never left him. He was constantly observing, experimenting, and inventing, and drawing was, for him, a tool for recording his investigation of nature. Although completed works by Leonardo are few, he left a large body of drawings (almost 2,500) that record his ideas, most still gathered into notebooks. He was principally active in Florence (1472–ca. 1482, 1500–1508) and Milan (ca. 1482–99, 1508–13), but spent the last years of his life in Rome (1513–16) and France (1516/17–1519), where he died. His genius as an artist and inventor continues to inspire artists and scientists alike centuries after his death.

Drawings Outside of Italy, Leonardo’s work can be studied most readily in drawings. He recorded his constant flow of ideas for paintings on paper. In his Studies for the Nativity ( 17.142.1 ), he studied different poses and gestures of the mother and her infant , probably in preparation for the main panel in his famous altarpiece known as the Virgin of the Rocks (Musée du Louvre, Paris). Similarly, in a sheet of designs for a stage setting ( 17.142.2 ), prepared for a staging of a masque (or musical comedy) in Milan in 1496, he made notes on the actors’ positions on stage alongside his sketches, translating images and ideas from his imagination onto paper. Leonardo also drew what he observed from the world around him, including human anatomy , animal and plant life, the motion of water, and the flight of birds. He also investigated the mechanisms of machines used in his day, inventing many devices like a modern-day engineer. His drawing techniques range from rather rapid pen sketches, in The   Head of a Man in Profile Facing to The Left ( 10.45.1) , to carefully finished drawings in red and black chalks, as in The   Head of the Virgin ( 51.90 ). These works also demonstrate his fascination with physiognomy, and contrasts between youth and old age, beauty and ugliness.

The Last Supper (ca. 1492/94–1498) Leonardo’s Last Supper , on the end wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is one of the most renowned paintings of the High Renaissance. Recently restored, The Last Supper had already begun to flake during the artist’s lifetime due to his failed attempt to paint on the walls in layers (not unlike the technique of tempera on panel), rather than in a true fresco technique . Even in its current state, it is a masterpiece of dramatic narrative and subtle pictorial illusionism.

Leonardo chose to capture the moment just after Christ tells his apostles that one of them will betray him, and at the institution of the Eucharist. The effect of his statement causes a visible response, in the form of a wave of emotion among the apostles. These reactions are quite specific to each apostle, expressing what Leonardo called the “motions of the mind.” Despite the dramatic reaction of the apostles, Leonardo imposes a sense of order on the scene. Christ’s head is at the center of the composition, framed by a halo-like architectural opening. His head is also the vanishing point toward which all lines of the perspectival projection of the architectural setting converge. The apostles are arranged around him in four groups of three united by their posture and gesture. Judas, who was traditionally placed on the opposite side of the table, is here set apart from the other apostles by his shadowed face.

Mona Lisa (ca. 1503–6 and later) Leonardo may also be credited with the most famous portrait of all time, that of Lisa, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and known as the Mona Lisa (Musée du Louvre, Paris). An aura of mystery surrounds this painting, which is veiled in a soft light, creating an atmosphere of enchantment. There are no hard lines or contours here (a technique of painting known as sfumato— fumo in Italian means “smoke”), only seamless transitions between light and dark. Perhaps the most striking feature of the painting is the sitter’s ambiguous half smile. She looks directly at the viewer, but her arms, torso, and head each twist subtly in a different direction, conveying an arrested sense of movement. Leonardo explores the possibilities of oil paint in the soft folds of the drapery, texture of skin, and contrasting light and dark (chiaroscuro). The deeply receding background, with its winding rivers and rock formations, is an example of Leonardo’s personal view of the natural world: one in which everything is liquid, in flux, and filled with movement and energy.

Bambach, Carmen. “Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/leon/hd_leon.htm (October 2002)

Further Reading

Bambach, Carmen C., ed. Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman . Exhibition catalogue.. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Additional Essays by Carmen Bambach

• Bambach, Carmen. “ Anatomy in the Renaissance .” (October 2002)
• Bambach, Carmen. “ Renaissance Drawings: Material and Function .” (October 2002)

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Leonardo da Vinci

By: History.com Editors

Updated: July 13, 2022 | Original: December 2, 2009

Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, engineer, architect, inventor, and student of all things scientific. His natural genius crossed so many disciplines that he epitomized the term “ Renaissance man.” Today he remains best known for two of his paintings, " Mona Lisa " and "The Last Supper." Largely self-educated, he filled dozens of secret notebooks with inventions, observations and theories about pursuits from aeronautics to human anatomy. His combination of intellect and imagination allowed him to create, at least on paper, such inventions as the bicycle, the helicopter and an airplane based on the physiology and flying ability of a bat.

When Was Leonardo da Vinci Born?

Da Vinci was born in Anchiano, Tuscany (now Italy), in 1452, close to the town of Vinci that provided the surname we associate with him today. In his own time he was known just as Leonardo or as “Il Florentine,” since he lived near Florence—and was famed as an artist, inventor and thinker.

Did you know? Leonardo da Vinci’s father, an attorney and notary, and his peasant mother were never married to one another, and Leonardo was the only child they had together. With other partners, they had a total of 17 other children, da Vinci’s half-siblings.

Da Vinci’s parents weren’t married, and his mother, Caterina, a peasant, wed another man while da Vinci was very young and began a new family. Beginning around age 5, he lived on the estate in Vinci that belonged to the family of his father, Ser Peiro, an attorney and notary. Da Vinci’s uncle, who had a particular appreciation for nature that da Vinci grew to share, also helped raise him.

Early Career

Da Vinci received no formal education beyond basic reading, writing and math, but his father appreciated his artistic talent and apprenticed him at around age 15 to the noted sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio of Florence. For about a decade, da Vinci refined his painting and sculpting techniques and trained in mechanical arts.

When he was 20, in 1472, the painters’ guild of Florence offered da Vinci membership, but he remained with Verrocchio until he became an independent master in 1478. Around 1482, he began to paint his first commissioned work, The Adoration of the Magi, for Florence’s San Donato, a Scopeto monastery.

However, da Vinci never completed that piece, because shortly thereafter he relocated to Milan to work for the ruling Sforza clan, serving as an engineer, painter, architect, designer of court festivals and, most notably, a sculptor.

The family asked da Vinci to create a magnificent 16-foot-tall equestrian statue, in bronze, to honor dynasty founder Francesco Sforza. Da Vinci worked on the project on and off for 12 years, and in 1493 a clay model was ready to display. Imminent war, however, meant repurposing the bronze earmarked for the sculpture into cannons, and the clay model was destroyed in the conflict after the ruling Sforza duke fell from power in 1499.

'The Last Supper' 

Although relatively few of da Vinci’s paintings and sculptures survive—in part because his total output was quite small—two of his extant works are among the world’s most well-known and admired paintings.

The first is da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” painted during his time in Milan, from about 1495 to 1498. A tempera and oil mural on plaster, “The Last Supper” was created for the refectory of the city’s Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Also known as “The Cenacle,” this work measures about 15 by 29 feet and is the artist’s only surviving fresco. It depicts the Passover dinner during which Jesus Christ addresses the Apostles and says, “One of you shall betray me.”

One of the painting’s stellar features is each Apostle’s distinct emotive expression and body language. Its composition, in which Jesus is centered among yet isolated from the Apostles, has influenced generations of painters.

'Mona Lisa'

When Milan was invaded by the French in 1499 and the Sforza family fled, da Vinci escaped as well, possibly first to Venice and then to Florence. There, he painted a series of portraits that included “La Gioconda,” a 21-by-31-inch work that’s best known today as “Mona Lisa.” Painted between approximately 1503 and 1506, the woman depicted—especially because of her mysterious slight smile—has been the subject of speculation for centuries.

In the past she was often thought to be Mona Lisa Gherardini, a courtesan, but current scholarship indicates that she was Lisa del Giocondo, wife of Florentine merchant Francisco del Giocondo. Today, the portrait—the only da Vinci portrait from this period that survives—is housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, where it attracts millions of visitors each year.

Around 1506, da Vinci returned to Milan, along with a group of his students and disciples, including young aristocrat Francesco Melzi, who would be Leonardo’s closest companion until the artist’s death. Ironically, the victor over the Duke Ludovico Sforza, Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, commissioned da Vinci to sculpt his grand equestrian-statue tomb. It, too, was never completed (this time because Trivulzio scaled back his plan). Da Vinci spent seven years in Milan, followed by three more in Rome after Milan once again became inhospitable because of political strife.

Inventions and Philosophy 

Da Vinci’s interests ranged far beyond fine art. He studied nature, mechanics, anatomy, physics, architecture, weaponry and more, often creating accurate, workable designs for machines like the bicycle, helicopter, submarine and military tank that would not come to fruition for centuries. He was, wrote Sigmund Freud, “like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.”

Several themes could be said to unite da Vinci’s eclectic interests. Most notably, he believed that sight was mankind’s most important sense and that “saper vedere” (“knowing how to see”) was crucial to living all aspects of life fully. He saw science and art as complementary rather than distinct disciplines, and thought that ideas formulated in one realm could—and should—inform the other.

Probably because of his abundance of diverse interests, da Vinci failed to complete a significant number of his paintings and projects. He spent a great deal of time immersing himself in nature, testing scientific laws, dissecting bodies (human and animal) and thinking and writing about his observations. 

Da Vinci’s Notebooks

At some point in the early 1490s, da Vinci began filling notebooks related to four broad themes—painting, architecture, mechanics and human anatomy—creating thousands of pages of neatly drawn illustrations and densely penned commentary, some of which (thanks to left-handed “mirror script”) was indecipherable to others.

The notebooks—often referred to as da Vinci’s manuscripts and “codices”—are housed today in museum collections after having been scattered after his death. The Codex Atlanticus, for instance, includes a plan for a 65-foot mechanical bat, essentially a flying machine based on the physiology of the bat and on the principles of aeronautics and physics.

Other notebooks contained da Vinci’s anatomical studies of the human skeleton, muscles, brain, and digestive and reproductive systems, which brought new understanding of the human body to a wider audience. However, because they weren’t published in the 1500s, da Vinci’s notebooks had little influence on scientific advancement in the Renaissance period.

How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die?

Da Vinci left Italy for good in 1516, when French ruler Francis I generously offered him the title of “Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King,” which afforded him the opportunity to paint and draw at his leisure while living in a country manor house, the Château of Cloux, near Amboise in France.

Although accompanied by Melzi, to whom he would leave his estate, the bitter tone in drafts of some of his correspondence from this period indicate that da Vinci’s final years may not have been very happy ones. (Melzi would go on to marry and have a son, whose heirs, upon his death, sold da Vinci’s estate.)

Da Vinci died at Cloux (now Clos-Lucé) in 1519 at age 67. He was buried nearby in the palace church of Saint-Florentin. The French Revolution nearly obliterated the church, and its remains were completely demolished in the early 1800s, making it impossible to identify da Vinci’s exact gravesite.

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Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance artist and engineer, known for paintings like "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa,” and for inventions like a flying machine.

(1452-1519)

Who Was Leonardo da Vinci?

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman — the epitome of a true Renaissance man. Gifted with a curious mind and a brilliant intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work. His drawings, paintings and other works have influenced countless artists and engineers over the centuries.

Da Vinci was born in a farmhouse outside the village of Anchiano in Tuscany, Italy (about 18 miles west of Florence) on April 15, 1452.

Born out of wedlock to respected Florentine notary Ser Piero and a young peasant woman named Caterina, da Vinci was raised by his father and his stepmother.

At the age of five, he moved to his father’s estate in nearby Vinci (the town from which his surname derives), where he lived with his uncle and grandparents.

Young da Vinci received little formal education beyond basic reading, writing and mathematics instruction, but his artistic talents were evident from an early age.

Around the age of 14, da Vinci began a lengthy apprenticeship with the noted artist Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. He learned a wide breadth of technical skills including metalworking, leather arts, carpentry, drawing, painting and sculpting.

His earliest known dated work — a pen-and-ink drawing of a landscape in the Arno valley — was sketched in 1473.

Early Works

At the age of 20, da Vinci qualified for membership as a master artist in Florence’s Guild of Saint Luke and established his own workshop. However, he continued to collaborate with del Verrocchio for an additional five years.

It is thought that del Verrocchio completed his “Baptism of Christ” around 1475 with the help of his student, who painted part of the background and the young angel holding the robe of Jesus.

According to Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects , written around 1550 by artist Giorgio Vasari, del Verrocchio was so humbled by the superior talent of his pupil that he never picked up a paintbrush again. (Most scholars, however, dismiss Vasari’s account as apocryphal.)

In 1478, after leaving del Verrocchio’s studio, da Vinci received his first independent commission for an altarpiece to reside in a chapel inside Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio.

Three years later the Augustinian monks of Florence’s San Donato a Scopeto tasked him to paint “Adoration of the Magi.” The young artist, however, would leave the city and abandon both commissions without ever completing them.

Was Leonardo da Vinci Gay?

Many historians believe that da Vinci was a homosexual: Florentine court records from 1476 show that da Vinci and four other young men were charged with sodomy, a crime punishable by exile or death.

After no witnesses showed up to testify against 24-year-old da Vinci, the charges were dropped, but his whereabouts went entirely undocumented for the following two years.

Leonardo da Vinci: Paintings

Although da Vinci is known for his artistic abilities, fewer than two dozen paintings attributed to him exist. One reason is that his interests were so varied that he wasn’t a prolific painter. Da Vinci’s most famous works include the “Vitruvian Man,” “The Last Supper” and the “ Mona Lisa .”

Vitruvian Man

Art and science intersected perfectly in da Vinci’s sketch of “Vitruvian Man,” drawn in 1490, which depicted a nude male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart inside both a square and a circle.

The now-famous sketch represents da Vinci's study of proportion and symmetry, as well as his desire to relate man to the natural world.

The Last Supper

Around 1495, Ludovico Sforza, then the Duke of Milan, commissioned da Vinci to paint “The Last Supper” on the back wall of the dining hall inside the monastery of Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie.

The masterpiece, which took approximately three years to complete, captures the drama of the moment when Jesus informs the Twelve Apostles gathered for Passover dinner that one of them would soon betray him. The range of facial expressions and the body language of the figures around the table bring the masterful composition to life.

The decision by da Vinci to paint with tempera and oil on dried plaster instead of painting a fresco on fresh plaster led to the quick deterioration and flaking of “The Last Supper.” Although an improper restoration caused further damage to the mural, it has now been stabilized using modern conservation techniques.

In 1503, da Vinci started working on what would become his most well-known painting — and arguably the most famous painting in the world —the “Mona Lisa.” The privately commissioned work is characterized by the enigmatic smile of the woman in the half-portrait, which derives from da Vinci’s sfumato technique.

Adding to the allure of the “Mona Lisa” is the mystery surrounding the identity of the subject. Princess Isabella of Naples, an unnamed courtesan and da Vinci’s own mother have all been put forth as potential sitters for the masterpiece. It has even been speculated that the subject wasn’t a female at all but da Vinci’s longtime apprentice Salai dressed in women’s clothing.

Based on accounts from an early biographer, however, the "Mona Lisa" is a picture of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant. The painting’s original Italian name — “La Gioconda” — supports the theory, but it’s far from certain. Some art historians believe the merchant commissioned the portrait to celebrate the pending birth of the couple’s next child, which means the subject could have been pregnant at the time of the painting.

If the Giocondo family did indeed commission the painting, they never received it. For da Vinci, the "Mona Lisa" was forever a work in progress, as it was his attempt at perfection, and he never parted with the painting. Today, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, secured behind bulletproof glass and regarded as a priceless national treasure seen by millions of visitors each year.

Battle of Anghiari

In 1503, da Vinci also started work on the "Battle of Anghiari," a mural commissioned for the council hall in the Palazzo Vecchio that was to be twice as large as "The Last Supper."

He abandoned the "Battle of Anghiari" project after two years when the mural began to deteriorate before he had a chance to finish it.

In 1482, Florentine ruler Lorenzo de' Medici commissioned da Vinci to create a silver lyre and bring it as a peace gesture to Ludovico Sforza. After doing so, da Vinci lobbied Ludovico for a job and sent the future Duke of Milan a letter that barely mentioned his considerable talents as an artist and instead touted his more marketable skills as a military engineer.

Using his inventive mind, da Vinci sketched war machines such as a war chariot with scythe blades mounted on the sides, an armored tank propelled by two men cranking a shaft and even an enormous crossbow that required a small army of men to operate.

The letter worked, and Ludovico brought da Vinci to Milan for a tenure that would last 17 years. During his time in Milan, da Vinci was commissioned to work on numerous artistic projects as well, including “The Last Supper.”

Da Vinci’s ability to be employed by the Sforza clan as an architecture and military engineering advisor as well as a painter and sculptor spoke to da Vinci’s keen intellect and curiosity about a wide variety of subjects.

Flying Machine

Always a man ahead of his time, da Vinci appeared to prophesy the future with his sketches of devices that resemble a modern-day bicycle and a type of helicopter.

Perhaps his most well-known invention is a flying machine, which is based on the physiology of a bat. These and other explorations into the mechanics of flight are found in da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds, a study of avian aeronautics, which he began in 1505.

Like many leaders of Renaissance humanism, da Vinci did not see a divide between science and art. He viewed the two as intertwined disciplines rather than separate ones. He believed studying science made him a better artist.

In 1502 and 1503, da Vinci also briefly worked in Florence as a military engineer for Cesare Borgia, the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and commander of the papal army. He traveled outside of Florence to survey military construction projects and sketch city plans and topographical maps.

He designed plans, possibly with noted diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli , to divert the Arno River away from rival Pisa in order to deny its wartime enemy access to the sea.

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Da Vinci’s Study of Anatomy and Science

Da Vinci thought sight was humankind’s most important sense and eyes the most important organ, and he stressed the importance of saper vedere, or “knowing how to see.” He believed in the accumulation of direct knowledge and facts through observation.

“A good painter has two chief objects to paint — man and the intention of his soul,” da Vinci wrote. “The former is easy, the latter hard, for it must be expressed by gestures and the movement of the limbs.”

To more accurately depict those gestures and movements, da Vinci began to study anatomy seriously and dissect human and animal bodies during the 1480s. His drawings of a fetus in utero, the heart and vascular system, sex organs and other bone and muscular structures are some of the first on human record.

In addition to his anatomical investigations, da Vinci studied botany, geology, zoology, hydraulics, aeronautics and physics. He sketched his observations on loose sheets of papers and pads that he tucked inside his belt.

Da Vinci placed the papers in notebooks and arranged them around four broad themes—painting, architecture, mechanics and human anatomy. He filled dozens of notebooks with finely drawn illustrations and scientific observations.

Ludovico Sforza also tasked da Vinci with sculpting a 16-foot-tall bronze equestrian statue of his father and founder of the family dynasty, Francesco Sforza. With the help of apprentices and students in his workshop, da Vinci worked on the project on and off for more than a dozen years.

Da Vinci sculpted a life-size clay model of the statue, but the project was put on hold when war with France required bronze to be used for casting cannons, not sculptures. After French forces overran Milan in 1499 — and shot the clay model to pieces — da Vinci fled the city along with the duke and the Sforza family.

Ironically, Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, who led the French forces that conquered Ludovico in 1499, followed in his foe’s footsteps and commissioned da Vinci to sculpt a grand equestrian statue, one that could be mounted on his tomb. After years of work and numerous sketches by da Vinci, Trivulzio decided to scale back the size of the statue, which was ultimately never finished.

Final Years

Da Vinci returned to Milan in 1506 to work for the very French rulers who had overtaken the city seven years earlier and forced him to flee.

Among the students who joined his studio was young Milanese aristocrat Francesco Melzi, who would become da Vinci’s closest companion for the rest of his life. He did little painting during his second stint in Milan, however, and most of his time was instead dedicated to scientific studies.

Amid political strife and the temporary expulsion of the French from Milan, da Vinci left the city and moved to Rome in 1513 along with Salai, Melzi and two studio assistants. Giuliano de’ Medici, brother of newly installed Pope Leo X and son of his former patron, gave da Vinci a monthly stipend along with a suite of rooms at his residence inside the Vatican.

His new patron, however, also gave da Vinci little work. Lacking large commissions, he devoted most of his time in Rome to mathematical studies and scientific exploration.

After being present at a 1515 meeting between France’s King Francis I and Pope Leo X in Bologna, the new French monarch offered da Vinci the title “Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King.”

Along with Melzi, da Vinci departed for France, never to return. He lived in the Chateau de Cloux (now Clos Luce) near the king’s summer palace along the Loire River in Amboise. As in Rome, da Vinci did little painting during his time in France. One of his last commissioned works was a mechanical lion that could walk and open its chest to reveal a bouquet of lilies.

How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die?

Da Vinci died of a probable stroke on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67. He continued work on his scientific studies until his death; his assistant, Melzi, became the principal heir and executor of his estate. The “Mona Lisa” was bequeathed to Salai.

For centuries after his death, thousands of pages from his private journals with notes, drawings, observations and scientific theories have surfaced and provided a fuller measure of the true "Renaissance man."

Book and Movie

Although much has been written about da Vinci over the years, Walter Isaacson explored new territory with an acclaimed 2017 biography, Leonardo da Vinci , which offers up details on what drove the artist's creations and inventions.

The buzz surrounding the book carried into 2018, with the announcement that it had been optioned for a big-screen adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio .

Salvator Mundi

In 2017, the art world was sent buzzing with the news that the da Vinci painting "Salvator Mundi" had been sold at a Christie's auction to an undisclosed buyer for a whopping $450.3 million. That amount dwarfed the previous record for an art work sold at an auction, the $179.4 million paid for “Women of Algiers" by Pablo Picasso in 2015.

The sales figure was stunning in part because of the damaged condition of the oil-on-panel, which features Jesus Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left holding a crystal orb, and because not all experts believe it was rendered by da Vinci.

However, Christie's had launched what one dealer called a "brilliant marketing campaign," which promoted the work as "the holy grail of our business" and "the last da Vinci." Prior to the sale, it was the only known painting by the old master still in a private collection.

The Saudi Embassy stated that Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud of Saudi Arabia had acted as an agent for the ministry of culture of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Around that time, the newly-opened Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that the record-breaking artwork would be exhibited in its collection.

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QUICK FACTS

• Name: Leonardo da Vinci
• Birth Year: 1452
• Birth date: April 15, 1452
• Birth City: Vinci
• Birth Country: Italy
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance artist and engineer, known for paintings like "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa,” and for inventions like a flying machine.
• Science and Medicine
• Writing and Publishing
• Architecture
• Technology and Engineering
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Nacionalities
• Interesting Facts
• Leonardo da Vinci was born out of wedlock to a respected Florentine notary and a young peasant woman.
• Da Vinci used tempera and oil on dried plaster to paint "The Last Supper," which led to its quick deterioration and flaking.
• For da Vinci, the "Mona Lisa" was forever a work in progress, as it was his attempt at perfection, and he never parted with the painting.
• Death Year: 1519
• Death date: May 2, 1519
• Death City: Amboise
• Death Country: France

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Leonardo da Vinci Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/artists/leonardo-da-vincii
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: August 28, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
• Nothing is hidden beneath the sun.
• Obstacles cannot bend me. Every obstacle yields to effort.
• We make our life by the death of others.
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• The painter who draws by practice and judgment of the eye without the use of reason, is like the mirror that reproduces within itself all the objects which are set opposite to it without knowledge of the same.
• He who does not value life does not deserve it.
• Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
• Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.

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Life and Paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci: Essay Example

Leonardo da vinci essay introduction, a great artist and a true legend, painting of a life time – mona lisa, the last supper (1495-1499), illustrations of leonardo – vitruvian man, leonardo’s life, essay on leonardo da vinci: conclusion, works cited.

There are certain individuals in the world that have transformed the word success. They have reached the heights of it and they are known as a legend. Leonardo Da Vinci was among those individuals that are claimed to be the greats of the world. He was a sculptor, a painter, an architect.

His numerous skills have earned him the name of “renaissance master”. In this paper we will highlight the greatness of this legend and we will focus on the masterpieces he has produced. The life of Leonardo and his achievements are discussed in detail.

Leonardo was an epic individual and he was born on April 15, 1452. The place of his birth was Vinci and he was a member of the Tuscan hill town which was located near the Amoco River and was included in the territory of Florence.

His father’s name was Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci. It was quite astonishing that Leonardo doesn’t have any surname and Da Vinci means from Vinci. He was living with his father at the at the age of 5 and his father married a sixteen year old girl who was interested in Leonardo but unfortunately she died in an early age.

Leonardo started training at a very early age and he was apprenticed to one of the best artist of his times Andrea di Cione, who was also known as “Verrocchio” (Phillps, 2008). He slowly and gradually become very experienced and earned a reputation of a legend.

Pablo Picasso was known as the biggest rival of Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15 th century. Leonardo was known as the master of all the fields and arts and science. He is known as one of the most famous painters ever lived in this world. His diversity and his sense of seeing things in an artistic manner was the beauty of this man.

He was primarily known as a painter and his most famous works are “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”. These two painting are occupy a seniority among all the other paintings of the world and these two paintings are treated as the most parodied and the most reproduced paintings of all times.

His drawing of the Vitruvius Man is also of iconic nature. Leonardo Da Vince developed a huge number of paintings but about 15 (fifteen) of his paintings survived because of his experimentation with new techniques.

The most famous painting of Leonardo is known as the “The Last Supper” and it was actually painted in Milan. The idea that was described in the painting was the last meal shared by the Jesus Christ with all his disciples before his capture and his actual death.

The moment when Jesus said “one of you will betray me.” was displayed beautifully in that monument. The story of consternation was displayed in an effective manner by Leonardo.

He lived for 67 years and experienced a career which was filled with success and fame. At certain times he was also humiliated and casted away. His life experiences affected his work and often his paintings were partially completed.

Although a hefty amount paintings were developed by Leonardo but very few of them remained because some of them weren’t completed and the others were destroyed. A total of 20 notebooks of Leonardo are found which easily depict the quality centered work of Leonardo. These note books are preserved and all of his work in scattered in different areas of the globe.

Mona Lisa of Leonardo di Vinci is the most famous and the most celebrated paintings of all times. The greatness and the mastery of this painting are depicted by its subtle details. The faint smile is the most noticed thing of this painting and this painting at the time of its creation till now is one of the masterpieces of all times.

This work of Leonardo is said to be commissioned by a gentlemen who requested Leonardo to paint the picture of his wife. That’s why the painting of Leonardo da Vinci is also known as the paining of La Giaconda. However, many scholars are not agreeing on this point and they are rejecting this theory.

Besides being the most renowned painting in the world, Mona Lisa is considered to be one of the widely reproduced paintings of all the times. There are many posters, paintings and reproduction available in different hues and different sizes. Many great artists like Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Botero reproduced the work of Mona Lisa in the form of oil paintings, self portraits etc (Heaton, 2001).

The use of this epic painting doesn’t end there and Mona Lisa is used in items like jewelry, clothing and even in the modern day advertising Mona Lisa is used. It is also used as the sign of mockery that Mona Lisa having marijuana, Mona Lisa having braces etc.

Thus, the beauty of this painting will always remain and it can easily be predicted that the epical paintings of Leonardo di Vinci will be reproduced.

The last Super is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Leonardo’s work and historians suggest that it took 3 years of dedicated work of Leonardo to produce this epic painting. About, 500 years are passed yet this painting remains the most studied painting of all times.

The concept of the painting is quite clear and Leonardo beautifies it with his elegant brush work. Leonardo was asked to paint the supper of Christ with his disciples. Leonardo was immensely talented and therefore he chooses to paint the moment when the Christ declared the name of traitor.

The 12 disciples of Leonardo were very cleverly divided into three groups and they were surrounded by Christ. Christ arms were open and they were divided and he was depicting a triangular shape. This triangular shape was expressing the “Divine Trinity” which was quite beautifully displayed by Leonardo. Geometric shapes are used quite effectively in this painting in order to create groups.

Judas was included in the rest of the disciples and in most of the paintings of other artists Judas was separated from the group. This inclusion of Judas in the group makes the painting attractive and people called it a masterpiece because of this. The crystal clear display of the painting and portraying the notion of disciples was quite extraordinary.

This painting of Da Vinci is found in most of the holy institutions and homes around the world. Similarly, the reproduction of these paintings is an effective way to bring Leonardo at home. Although, many paintings of Leonardo are long lasting and they are timeless too, but this painting is chipping way and although people are making efforts to save this real painting and restorations have taken place to conserve this painting.

Besides other paintings and sculptors, Vitruvian Man is considered as the best illustration of Leonardo Di Vinci. He used both the text and the image to present his ideas. This illustration of this great artist praises the divine by properly creating the proportions and measurements of the human body. Different artists prior to Di Vinci have tried a lot to explain this theory but most of them have failed to express the right ideas of Vitruvian Man.

This illustration is a beautiful combination of pen ink drawing of a male whose figure is outstretched and it’s touching the circumference of the circle and the edges of the square. The naval of this individual falls exactly in the centre of the circle. The text surrounds the entire figure and the figure is static in nature but the dynamism of Da Vinci’s art portrays it as a living being.

This illustration depicts the clearness of words and image. The core idea of this illustration is to gather the ideas of architecture, art, anatomy in a single image. The importance of this illustration lies in its clear reflection of ideas.

Leonardo Di Vinci in his early times was asked by his father to paint a round shield. He gathered his thoughts and started to paint a really creepy head. He brought all sorts of lizards, bats etc and started to paint a really disgusting monster that was exhaling poisoned gases. After seeing the painting his father was so astonished that he predicted that his son would definitely be an artist.

He was himself an example of his quote which was “art is never finished, only abandoned (Stanley, 2000).”He was considered to be a castle of knowledge and his realistic attitude was quite evident in every walks of life. He moved from one topic to another and keeps on changing his interests.

Usually when he studied one subject for a long time a questions arises in his mind that he might change his interest. That’s the main reason why he completed only six pieces in just 17 years. He completed his 6 pieces when he was in Milan his masterpieces at that include “The Last Supper” and “The Virgin on the Rocks”. Many projects and paintings were not completed which also includes “Big Horse”.

However, he posses the tendency of not spending the time idle and when he wasn’t painting, sculpturing or involved in any other form of art he was usually studying. His major interests were studying the fields of science which includes anatomy, zoology etc. He has the tendency to spend hours in unlocking year old theories and framing new concepts from his mind.

When Leonardo was in Milan he was constantly occupied by the Duke of that time. He was allotted the work to paint the complete design the festivals of the court. The Duke offered Leonardo to show his talents and he asked Leonardo to design weapons, machinery and buildings. Leonardo was deeply involved in religious affairs and he also designed a number of churches.

All of his ideas were ahead of his time and as an engineer he used to conceptualize a helicopter, a calculator and certain other modern day inventions. Some of his engineered designs can be used at that time and some were constructed too.

But some of his inventions entered the manufacturing arena after a certain time but reports suggest that these inventions and their concept were unfortunately not acknowledged. Besides being a top notch painter he excelled in the field of science and certain ideas of Leonardo Di Vinci revolutionized the fields of optics, hydrodynamics, and anatomy.

At that time those who write with left hands were disgraced and the society didn’t like left handed people. Left hander writers were forced to write with their right hand. At that time Leonardo explained this phenomenon and said that this “difference” is a sign of genius and this is a distinctive feature in them. He was amongst the initiators of reverse writing and his writings can easily be deciphered through the mirror.

Leonardo was informed about the death of his father on July 9, 1504 but due to the evil nature of his step fathers he was not given the share of inheritance. Shortly, after the death of his father he was given the notice about the death of his uncle. He fought with his brothers and then ran with the money and some land that was inherited from his uncle.

He started to work n Rome, with his newly inherited money and he opened a workshop and he was involved in working for the projects of pope. He left France in the year 1516. Leonardo was considered to be the best painter when he was in France. In France Leonardo was working for Francis I and his job was near royal chateau an Amboise.

When Leonardo di Vinci left France he was suffering from paralysis and this affected his right hand. However, he was still working and fulfilling his passion. He continued his paintings and started to teach people who were interested in paintings and arts. Besides, arts and paintings he also started teaching anatomical studies and engineering.

Thus in a nutshell we can conclude that Leonardo Di Vinci was one of the most influential individuals from the field of arts and architecture. He was a true legend and his paintings truly display the element of geniuses in Leonardo. He was undoubtedly one of the most famous personalities in the Italian Renaissance.

He left his marks on all the fields which include arts, architecture, science, anatomy, anatomical studies. His reputation in entire life time was immense and influenced many contemporary artists of that time. He not only influenced great painters of Florentine like Raphael but also impressed the painters of Milan and Northern Italy. His painting of Mona Lisa is considered to be the best among all and it’s the most reproduced paintings of all times.

Heaton, M. (2001). Leonardo da Vinci and His Works. Adamant Media Corporation.

Phillps, J. (2008). World History Biographies: Leonardo da Vinci: The Genius Who Defined the Renaissance. National Geographic Children’s Books.

Stanley, D. (2000). Leonardo da Vinci. HarperCollins.

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Leonardo da Vinci Essay Sample

Leonardo da Vinci was a genius. He is widely known for his numerous achievements in diverse areas such as art, science, and engineering. In this essay, we will explore the life of Leonardo da Vinci and how he has influenced our world today. This essay will discuss the role of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper within its historical context.

Essay Example on Leonardo da Vinci

• Thesis Statement of Leonardo da Vinci Essay
• Introduction of Leonardo da Vinci Essay
• Main Body of Leonardo da Vinci Essay

Thesis Statement of Leonardo da Vinci Essay Although art and science were an essential part of Da Vinci’s life, he is most widely known for his numerous contributions in the field of engineering. Introduction of Leonardo da Vinci Essay Leonardo da Vinci needs no introduction to the people because of his popular contribution in every field of life during the period of renaissance in Europe. His marvelous contribution to painting art is unforgettable as the renowned painting Mona Lisa is not lacking its sheen in the modern time even. This shows how popular and admirable Leonardo da Vinci was during his time. He did not show his talent in the single field only as he imparted a great contribution in the world of science, engineering, and literature as well. If we give in-depth care to his works we can see the depth of philosophy in various works of the Vinci in which he worked for the welfare of society. Main Body of Leonardo da Vinci Essay Being a renaissance man he used to be very much enthusiastic about the new things and learning them. Printing press enables him to approach the different writings of the people and their opinions on the subject and that makes out him one of the famous and great jewels of his age. We cannot find people like Leonardo da Vinci in modern times who are equally professional in every arena of life under tough circumstances. Vinci gets most of his admiration for the painting Mona Lisa which holds records and earned the highest price for it. An oil painting that was prepared at that time was popular just because of this person who is the father of many things and invented them for a Nobel cause. Buy Customized Essay on Leonardo da Vinci At Cheapest Price Order Now As far as the success of science and its development is concerned we cannot forget the role of Leonardo da Vinci to start the various new things in science which later evolves out at major discoveries and inventions in the world. In the limited number of sources and tough situations he survived and managed to make a piece of the work which is hard to compare to date to any other piece of art. Many painters are still chasing the perfection that they find in the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci. Although we cannot doubt the modern painters still no one can compete with the person Leonardo da Vinci which had a unique vision for art and was admired across the length and breadth of the globe wholeheartedly. His fans are crazy about the Mona Lisa painting and get it on their favorite bedrooms and other material stuff to show their respect towards the art. Learning from the experiences of Vinci can give a big divert to the lives of people who want to excel in more than one field. But then you have to make sure that each field you are opting for is your hobby and you are doing it for your own interest and not to show others that you are a genius. That is how you can take the benefit of the life experiences of Leonardo da Vinci easily. Have a look: Essay Sample on Franchising Code – Conduct, Competitor And Consumer Act Conclusion If we conclude the essay on Leonardo da Vinci we will come to know that he was not a person having perfection in a single field. Equal professionalism in every side of life can be shown only by a superhuman and Vinci was a real master of the art, science, and other spheres of life which is an undeniable fact. His contribution to society cannot be forgotten at any cost with the passage of time because comparing his art with the modern time would be an injustice to him as he did all this when there was no sign of technology for making beautiful paintings like the one he made during his period of life. Very few people like Vinci take birth on this earth and we cannot skip praising them throughout our life. Hire USA Experts for Leonardo da Vinci Essay Order Now

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Da Vinci – Last Supper Essay

Deep Into The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. Sforza wanted Da Vinci to paint this image on the wall in the dining hall of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a church in Northern Italy. Unlike other presentations of The Last Supper , Leonardo’s version depicts a specific moment in time. The enormous painting (15 feet by 29 feet) shows the moment just seconds after Jesus explained to his disciples that one of them will betray him and turn him in to the authorities. Da Vinci’s use of perspective, moreover, allows for so much more detail of the subjects.

Da Vinci makes this piece look almost 3D with his use of depth. All thirteen men are placed perfectly behind the table. The back wall looks as if it was several feet behind them. Thomas’s head shows but his body is covered by James the Greater. Peter’s neck is behind Judas but his face is shown in the ear of John the apostle. In their interactions with each other, trying to find out who the traitor is, Da Vinci depicts the sadness and confusion in their faces after Jesus reveals his inevitable betrayal. Peter is especially confused and begins whispering to John the apostle to ask him who Jesus was talking about (King, 181).

Leonardo didn’t make this mural painting the way others were made. Instead of using pigments and plaster, Da Vinci started out using a strong base coat on the wall of the church. After laying the base coat of lead white on the wall, Da Vinci hammered a nail into the plaster. The nail identified the center of the mural, which was where all lines and attention would be, the face of Jesus. Leonardo called this nail the “diminishing point” which was the location where all lines of sight “tend and converge.” You can still see the small hole in the right temple of Jesus inside the church.

Da Vinci painted the disciples so that you could tell their emotions by their body language and hand gestures. The hand gestures shown by many of the disciples express their thoughts. Leonardo used this technique often but more so in The Last Supper . The painting is full of gestures and expressions that suggest the disciples are shocked, confused, and even sad after Jesus makes his statement. To the left of Jesus, Philip’s hands are on his chest, James the Greater has his hands thrown wide open, while John closes his hands together. Peter has one hand on John the apostle and is holding a knife in the other hand. John has one of the simpler hand gestures with his hands together on the table and his fingers interlaced. Leonardo noted that this gesture could be used to indicate sorrow.

John the apostle was the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He is portrayed as a slightly feminine character in this painting. The reason for this is mainly because he is much younger than the other disciples. Although John the apostle looks feminine in most Last Supper paintings, Leonardo made him look this way so that people would recognize him when they saw him beside Christ. During the time of the Last Supper, he is leaning on Jesus’s bosom and is still there after Jesus warns them of a traitor. Peter then asks John who Jesus was speaking of. John asked Jesus saying, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus replies “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it” and then when he dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot.

Judas, the traitor, is among the group of disciples. He is sitting in between John the apostle and Peter while holding the bag of coins that had been given to him for the betrayal of Jesus. Inside this bag was money that Judas had received from the chief priests. He had gone to them and made a bargain. Judas asked them what they would give him if he would lead them to where Jesus was. They then counted out and presented Judas with the thirty pieces of silver. During the time of The Last Supper, Judas arrives with the bag of coins but still is unsuspicious to the other disciples. This was because Judas was the treasurer of the disciples. The disciples were used to him carrying money so he gained no attention when Jesus told the disciples there was a traitor in the midst of them.

Da Vinci managed to capture The Last Supper’s most climatic moment and make it look more realistic than ever. He did this using many schemes, from how he gave the disciples different facial expressions and hand gestures, all the way down to how he positioned them so that they could interact the way he wanted them to. Da Vinci gave us a clearer view of how The Last Supper went down, all the while making it easy for us to know who is who in the painting.

King, Ross. Leonardo and the Last Supper . London: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.

“Last Supper – History.” Last Supper – History . N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2016. <http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/davi/project/history.htm>.

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments . New York: American Bible Society, 1962. Print.

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110 Leonardo da Vinci Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best leonardo da vinci topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about leonardo da vinci, 📌 simple & easy leonardo da vinci essay titles, 👍 good essay topics on leonardo da vinci, ❓ questions about leonardo da vinci.

• Leonardo Da Vinci The other great work by Leonardo is the Mona Lisa, which he painted in the 1500s, and it is arguably one of the most famous paintings in the world to date.
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• Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”: Line, Space, Light, Color When looking at the picture, the variation of colors is such that one can easily identify the background. The ambiguity of the painting is very amusing.
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• The Artwork “The Vitruvius Man” by Leonardo da Vinci This drawing is often referred to as the canon of proportion because it was used as the basis for the correlations of human proportions and the reference to geometry as it is illustrated in the […]
• “Leonardo Da Vinci: Homo Minister ET Interpres Naturae” by Walter Pater Pater uses descriptions of Leonardo’s angel in Verrocchio’s Baptism of the Christ to illustrate the early genius of the boy in Florence who seemed to instinctively resent the superficial miniature perfection of the masters of […]
• Da Vinci’s Painting Last Supper: Art of Being Ahead of Time The Last Supper, for instance, renders the anguish soaring in the air with the help of its spacious elements; compared to the thought provoking empty elements of the picture, the vapid lack of space in […]
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• Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring Both “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and the “Mona Lisa” are considered masterpieces of their respective periods; both painters were able to capture their subjects in a way that is both realistic and evocative.
• Lippi’s vs. Da Vinci’s Artworks Comparison Hence, within the framework of this work, the works of The Pitti Tondo by Filippo Lippi and Madonna and Child with St.
• Fuseli’s The Nightmare vs. Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks Paintings The mythical story of a young John the Baptist and Jesus leaving Egypt and meeting in the wilderness is depicted in the painting Virgin of the Rocks.
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• Leonardo Da Vinci and His Painting “Last Supper” The lack of obstruction in the picture and the simplicity of the room used in the image depict the drama of the event.
• Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as a Source of Inspiration In both Mona Lisa and Instafamous, Lisa del Gioconda is at the center of the composition. However, in Mona Lisa, it is Da Vinci’s gaze that determines how she is depicted and perceived, while in […]
• Leonardo Da Vinci and Galileo Galilei: Art and Science From the art, Leonardo described the wakes’ tricky nature and the vertical up-welling of water in the paths. The case of Galileo is similar to that of Leonardo in terms of influence as art-informed science.
• Humanities. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Portfolio He developed ideas by understanding how each part of the existing machines worked and he eventually combined them to come up with new improved machines besides inventions that never existed In 1482 he entered the […]
• Analysis of a Postcard Reproduction of Leonard Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa by Duchamp Taking into account Greenberg’s model and aesthetic criteria for evaluating the works of art, Marcel Duchamp’s reproduction of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa can be defined as a clear representation of kitsch.
• Engineering Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci Among these inventions were the Machine for Storming Walls, the Automatic Igniting Device for Firearms, the Ornithopter Flying Machine, the Stretching Device for a Barrel, the Flying Machine 1488, the Flying Machine 2, the Armoured […]
• Leonardo Da Vinci – The Greatest Artist of Renaissance In the modern day, Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many to be the greatest artist and possibly even the greatest person of all time. The greatness of Leonardo is evidenced by the description of […]
• Style and Composition: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Some artists prefer to use definite colors to identify the mood and the primary meaning of a certain allegory or a set of images in the picture, while others try to compose the same images […]
• The Painting St. John the Baptist by Leonardo Da Vinci The whole construct of this painting is maintained in the nature of Renaissance and glory of antique art. The frontal element of the whole performance is concentrated on the hand of the man.
• Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol It is also to misunderstand Leonardo, for the Mona Lisa’s smile is the supreme example of that complex inner life, caught and fixed in durable material, which Leonardo in all his notes on the subject […]
• “The Da Vinci Code”, “Angels and Demons” and “Deception Point” by Dan Brown All his books invariably deal with plots in the nature of conspiracies in one way or the other and in this regard, his two novels, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are very […]
• Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci: Two Geniuses The two implications of these is that mannerisms was used to refer to the actual style of the artist, or to acknowledge that the artist had a unique approach that was beautiful in its own […]
• Louvre Museum: Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” The composition is based upon the pyramid of the woman’s body, giving the painting a great deal of stability, as well as the organic curvilinear forms of the feminine. The Louvre is so full of […]
• The Genius and Mysterious Leonardo Da Vinci The techniques that Da Vinci used in his paintings showed his careful studies in anatomy, lighting, and in the juxtaposition of elements in a painting.
• Michelangelo and Da Vinci’s Art Appreciation It symbolizes the incident of the last supper during the last days of Jesus when he declared that one of his disciples would inform him. The artist did the masterpiece in an attempt to produce […]
• Leonardo da Vinci’s vs. Fra Filippo Lippi’s Paintings The high Renaissance is also characterized by the need to paint ideals of the cosmic world in sculptures and paintings. In the case of the early Renaissance, artists were interested in humanism.
• Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci and Its Interpretations To prove this statement it is possible to introduce the special set of pictures which can serve as the best evidence to the idea of diversity between reproductions and pictures devoted to the same issue.
• The Portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci Analysis Some people are of the view that the person in the portrait is too old to be Da Vinci. There is great disparity between the age that Da Vinci died of and the age of […]
• The Italian Renaissance: Leonardo Da Vinci It marked the transformation of the continent from the middle ages to the modern era. Leonardo captured the emotion and attitudes of his subject as was expected in the renaissance.
• Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti The same light is used to tell us more about the environment The extreme end of the image which represent the distance between the lady and the landscape is lighter.
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper The painting of the last supper draws the attention of any admirer to the center of the work, which is Jesus Christ’s head.
• Will The Da Vinci Code be still relevant in 2070? The reason why Brown’s novel was able to attain such popularity is that the motifs, contained in it, correspond to the unconscious anxieties, on the part of those for whom it was written the dwellers […]
• Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown After considering the evidence that Brown uses in the ‘Da Vinci Code’, especially the gospel of Philip, I am of the opinion that although Gnostic gospels rejected by the early church portray Jesus as more […]
• The Da Vinci Code As of today, a clear correlation can be seen between the quality of living in every particular country and the extent of citizens’ sense of religiosity the higher are the standards of living, the lesser […]
• Form and Content: Leonardo Da Vinci & Claude Monet What accounts for the earlier mentioned qualitative subtlety of this particular painting is that, while working on it, Da Vinci took a practical advantage of the artistic technique of a linear perspective, which in turn […]
• The Life and Times of Artist and Scientist Leonardo da Vinci
• The Early Life, Successes and Influence of Leonardo Da Vinci
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s Impact on the World
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s Painting Techniques through Light and Shadow
• Vitruvian Man and Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
• Influential Artists Harriet Beecher Stowe, Daniel Defoe, Leonardo Da Vinci and Pablo Picasso
• Mathematical Order in the Artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci
• Symbolism in Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’
• The Creative, Calculative, Coherent Leonardo Da Vinci
• The Achievements of Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci in the Renaissance Period
• Portrait Composition: Comparing And Contrasting Leonardo Da Vinci & Rafael Sanzio
• Leonardo Da Vinci And His Famous Depiction Of Classical Learning
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s Inventions and Other Contributions to Civilization
• The Life and Legendary Contributions of Leonardo da Vinci to Science and Art
• The Symbolism of Lord’s Hands in The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
• The Life of Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance Period for the Scientific Revolution
• The Virtual Characteristics of the Mona Lisa Painting by Leonardo da Vinci
• Leonardo da Vinci and His Influence in the Renaissance Period
• The Life, Works Impact, and Success of Leonardo da Vinci
• Painting at the Court of Milan by Leonardo Da Vinci
• The Effects of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti on the World
• The Similar Lives that Aristotle and Leonardo da Vinci Lived
• Leonardo Da Vinci : The Epitome Of A Renaissance Man
• Leonardo da Vinci as the Definition of Renaissance Artist
• Leonardo Da Vinci : The Greatest Of The Renaissance Period
• The Life and Artistic Genius of the Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci
• The Characteristics Of Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Dwarf
• The Use of the Iconic Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci in the Twenty-First Century
• The Restoration Issues of The Virgin Child with Saint Anne, an Unfinished Painting by Leonardo da Vinci
• The Differing Geniuses of Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton
• Leonardo Da Vinci ‘s Impact On The World During The Renaissance Era
• Understanding the Man Leonardo Da Vinci and His Scientific Observations
• The Influences of Verrocchio, and the Styles and Characteristics of Leonardo da Vinci in Annunciation
• Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan According to Giorgione Vasari
• The History of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Famous Painting, The Mona Lisa
• The Importance Of Humanism And Leonardo Da Vinci
• Learning Never Exhausts The Minds, By Leonardo Da Vinci
• Life and Works of the Michelangelo, Raphael, Titan and Leonardo da Vinci
• Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci and Their Renaissance Art
• Freeing Leonardo da Vinci’s Fight for the Standard in the Hall of the Five Hundred at Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper And Jacopo Tintoretto’s
• Why Is Leonardo Da Vinci So Famous?
• How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Die?
• Why Leonardo Da Vinci Is a Genius?
• How Old Was Leonardo Da Vinci When He Died?
• How Beloved British Artist Ralph Steadman Illustrates the Life of Leonardo Da Vinci?
• In What Was Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci?
• How Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo Are Alike and Also Different?
• How “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo Da Vinci and “Sistine Chapel” by Michelangelo Are Alike and Also Different?
• What Are Three Facts About Leonardo Da Vinci?
• Did Leonardo Da Vinci Cut Off His Ear?
• How Long Did It Take To Paint the “Mona Lisa” for Leonardo Da Vinci?
• Was Leonardo Da Vinci Left-Handed?
• How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Look?
• What Is the Main Idea of Leonardo Da Vinci?
• How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Inspire Us?
• What Is Leonardo Da Vinci Most Famous for and Why?
• What Can We Learn From Leonardo Da Vinci?
• What Makes Leonardo Da Vinci’s Art Unique?
• How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Impact the World?
• Who Did Leonardo Da Vinci Inspire?
• What Was Leonardo Da Vinci’s Most Significant Achievement?
• What Was Leonardo Da Vinci’s Greatest Invention?
• What Were Leonardo Da Vinci’s Top 7 Inventions?
• How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Change the World With Art?
• What Is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Most Famous and Most Important Work?
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Da Vinci’s Been Dead for 500 Years. Who Gets to Profit from His Work?

Italian officials and a German puzzle maker are battling over a 1,000-piece puzzle bearing the image of the artist’s “Vitruvian Man.”

By Derrick Bryson Taylor

Reporting from London

In the late 15th century, when the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci completed “Vitruvian Man” — one of his most famous drawings, which depicts the proportions of the human body — he could not have predicted it would be reproduced onto cheap notebooks, coffee mugs, T-shirts, aprons and even puzzles.

Centuries later, the Italian government and the German puzzle maker Ravensburger are battling over who has the right to reproduce “Vitruvian Man” and profit from it.

At the center of the dispute is Italy’s cultural heritage and landscape code, which was adopted in 2004 and allows cultural institutions, like museums, to request concession fees and payments for the commercial reproduction of cultural properties, like “Vitruvian Man.”

That code is at odds with European Union law, which states that works in the public domain (like “Vitruvian Man”) are not subject to copyright.

For more than a decade, Ravensburger sold a 1,000-piece puzzle with the image of the famed drawing. But in 2019, the Italian government and the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, where the famous work and other da Vinci pieces are on display, used the Italian code to demand that Ravensburger stop selling the puzzle and pay a licensing fee.

Ravensburger refused, and later argued that the Italian code did not apply outside Italy.

In 2022, a Venice court ordered the company to pay a penalty of 1,500 euros, or about $1,630, to the government and the Gallerie dell’Accademia for each day it delays payment.

But last month, the legal battle took a turn when a court in Germany sided with Ravensburger, ruling that the company did not have to pay up and that Italy’s cultural heritage code did not apply beyond its borders. The court said the Italian code broke with European law, which standardizes copyright protections for 70 years after the death of the artist. (Da Vinci has been dead for 505 years.)

“The Italian state does not have the regulatory power to apply it outside Italian territory,” the German court ruled. “The opposite view violates the sovereignty of the individual states and must therefore be rejected.”

But Italy has continued to push back. A spokesman for the Italian government told an Italian news outlet last week that the German ruling was “abnormal” and that the government would challenge it before “every national, international and community court.”

Italy’s Ministry of Culture did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Heinrich Huentelmann, a spokesman for Ravensburger, said in a statement on Tuesday that the company remained in contact with the involved parties and was working to resolve the conflict.

Ravensburger stopped selling the puzzle worldwide amid the legal battle, Mr. Huentelmann said, but a quick Google search revealed similar puzzles made by other companies are still available online.

Eleonora Rosati, an Italian-qualified lawyer and professor of intellectual property law at Stockholm University, said Italian officials were attempting to simultaneously safeguard the country’s cultural heritage and monetize it.

Companies both inside and outside Italy that use Italian culture heritage pieces on products may want to operate with caution, Ms. Rosati said. She noted that in 2014 Italian officials famously went after an Illinois-based gun maker for using an image of Michelangelo’s statue of David to promote a rifle .

Italian officials again screamed foul in 2022 when the Uffizi Gallery in Florence sued Jean Paul Gaultier for reproducing a Botticelli painting on clothing. And last year, a court in Florence ruled against GQ Italia for using an image of the David statue on the cover of one of its magazines in 2020 without permission.

“I don’t think that this German decision is the final word that has been spelled on this matter, and indeed all those using the images of Italian cultural heritage may want to assess the risk they are facing in doing that,” Ms. Rosati said. “Right now, the situation has become quite heated.”

But Italy’s fervent approach to protecting culturally important works could backfire, according to Geraldine Johnson, a professor of art history at the University of Oxford.

“The result might be that legitimate companies that could be producing high-quality goods depicting iconic Italian works of art will turn instead to non-Italian objects,” Ms. Johnson said, noting that such a shift might reduce that influence of Italian culture globally while illegal counterfeit goods continue to be made cheaply with images deemed unlawful by the Italian courts.

“That would not seem to be in the best interests of increasing Italy’s global status and relevance through the ‘soft’ power of iconic visual imagery,” she said.

Derrick Bryson Taylor covers breaking and trending news and is based in London. More about Derrick Bryson Taylor

Francis Collins: Why I’m going public with my prostate cancer diagnosis

I served medical research. now it’s serving me. and i don’t want to waste time..

Over my 40 years as a physician-scientist, I’ve had the privilege of advising many patients facing serious medical diagnoses. I’ve seen them go through the excruciating experience of waiting for the results of a critical blood test, biopsy or scan that could dramatically affect their future hopes and dreams.

But this time, I was the one lying in the PET scanner as it searched for possible evidence of spread of my aggressive prostate cancer . I spent those 30 minutes in quiet prayer. If that cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes, bones, lungs or brain, it could still be treated — but it would no longer be curable.

Why am I going public about this cancer that many men are uncomfortable talking about? Because I want to lift the veil and share lifesaving information, and I want all men to benefit from the medical research to which I’ve devoted my career and that is now guiding my care.

Five years before that fateful PET scan, my doctor had noted a slow rise in my PSA, the blood test for prostate-specific antigen. To contribute to knowledge and receive expert care, I enrolled in a clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health, the agency I led from 2009 through late 2021.

At first, there wasn’t much to worry about — targeted biopsies identified a slow-growing grade of prostate cancer that doesn’t require treatment and can be tracked via regular checkups, referred to as “active surveillance.” This initial diagnosis was not particularly surprising. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States, and about 40 percent of men over age 65 — I’m 73 — have low-grade prostate cancer . Many of them never know it, and very few of them develop advanced disease.

Why am I going public about this cancer that many men are uncomfortable talking about? Because I want to lift the veil and share lifesaving information.

But in my case, things took a turn about a month ago when my PSA rose sharply to 22 — normal at my age is less than 5. An MRI scan showed that the tumor had significantly enlarged and might have even breached the capsule that surrounds the prostate, posing a significant risk that the cancer cells might have spread to other parts of the body.

New biopsies taken from the mass showed transformation into a much more aggressive cancer. When I heard the diagnosis was now a 9 on a cancer-grading scale that goes only to 10, I knew that everything had changed.

Thus, that PET scan, which was ordered to determine if the cancer had spread beyond the prostate, carried high significance. Would a cure still be possible, or would it be time to get my affairs in order? A few hours later, when my doctors showed me the scan results, I felt a rush of profound relief and gratitude. There was no detectable evidence of cancer outside of the primary tumor.

Later this month, I will undergo a radical prostatectomy — a procedure that will remove my entire prostate gland. This will be part of the same NIH research protocol — I want as much information as possible to be learned from my case, to help others in the future.

While there are no guarantees, my doctors believe I have a high likelihood of being cured by the surgery.

My situation is far better than my father’s when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer four decades ago. He was about the same age that I am now, but it wasn’t possible back then to assess how advanced the cancer might be. He was treated with a hormonal therapy that might not have been necessary and had a significant negative impact on his quality of life.

Because of research supported by NIH, along with highly effective collaborations with the private sector, prostate cancer can now be treated with individualized precision and improved outcomes.

As in my case, high-resolution MRI scans can now be used to delineate the precise location of a tumor. When combined with real-time ultrasound, this allows pinpoint targeting of the prostate biopsies. My surgeon will be assisted by a sophisticated robot named for Leonardo da Vinci that employs a less invasive surgical approach than previous techniques, requiring just a few small incisions.

Advances in clinical treatments have been informed by large-scale, rigorously designed trials that have assessed the risks and benefits and were possible because of the willingness of cancer patients to enroll in such trials.

I feel compelled to tell this story openly. I hope it helps someone. I don’t want to waste time.

If my cancer recurs, the DNA analysis that has been carried out on my tumor will guide the precise choice of therapies. As a researcher who had the privilege of leading the Human Genome Project , it is truly gratifying to see how these advances in genomics have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

I want all men to have the same opportunity that I did. Prostate cancer is still the No. 2 cancer killer among men. I want the goals of the Cancer Moonshot to be met — to end cancer as we know it. Early detection really matters, and when combined with active surveillance can identify the risky cancers like mine, and leave the rest alone. The five-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer is 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society , but it’s only 34 percent if the cancer has spread to distant areas of the body.

But lack of information and confusion about the best approach to prostate cancer screening have impeded progress. Currently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all men age 55 to 69 discuss PSA screening with their primary-care physician, but it recommends against starting PSA screening after age 70.

Other groups, like the American Urological Association , suggest that screening should start earlier, especially for men with a family history — like me — and for African American men, who have a higher risk of prostate cancer. But these recommendations are not consistently being followed.

Our health-care system is afflicted with health inequities. For example, the image-guided biopsies are not available everywhere and to everyone. Finally, many men are fearful of the surgical approach to prostate cancer because of the risk of incontinence and impotence, but advances in surgical techniques have made those outcomes considerably less troublesome than in the past. Similarly, the alternative therapeutic approaches of radiation and hormonal therapy have seen significant advances.

A little over a year ago, while I was praying for a dying friend, I had the experience of receiving a clear and unmistakable message. This has almost never happened to me. It was just this: “Don’t waste your time, you may not have much left.” Gulp.

Having now received a diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer and feeling grateful for all the ways I have benefited from research advances, I feel compelled to tell this story openly. I hope it helps someone. I don’t want to waste time.

Francis S. Collins served as director of the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021 and as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH from 1993 to 2008. He is a physician-geneticist and leads a White House initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States, while also continuing to pursue his research interests as a distinguished NIH investigator.

An earlier version of this article said prostate cancer is the No. 2 killer of men. It is the No. 2 cause of cancer death among men. The article has been updated.

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