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Leonardo da Vinci

On April 15, 1452 in a small town called Tuscany near Florence a young extraordinary and gifted boy was born. Leonardo da Vinci was his name, he lived in a lion colored stone house with his wealthy Florentine notary and his mother. Practically non-existent, nothing known and nothing learned of her appearance, age, or even intelligence, she is only understood to be known as a peasant woman within biographies of Leonardo’s life. He was an illegitimate child fathomed as being more superior in his art then anyone ever dreamed.

In the mid 1460’s Leonardo’s family settled in Florence where he received the best education a major intellectual and artistic center of Italy could offer. He advanced in many activities like music, science, painting, and sculpturing. Leonardo was known to be very intellectual in many other subjects as well.

This artist began his career in his twenties for instance in 1472 he entered the painters guild of Florence. Then in 1476 he was considered Verroccio’s assistant because Leonardo painted the kneeling angel on the left side of the painting Baptist of Christ. In 1478 Leonardo’s first commission was to paint an altar piece of a chapel in Palazzo Veccio. Not too long after his first commission he painted his first large painting called The Adoration of the Magi, but was left unfinished in San Donata a Scopeto in 1481.

A genius of the Renaissance and perhaps of all time, Leonardo da Vinci was known for his unique fashion. So involved in his work Leonardo learned to love something even greater, “the romance of art”. His styles of his pieces are old world European contemporary with architectural touches that create distinct emotions and feeling. “A painter of disquieting smiles that suggest the riddles of human personality, and of hands that point to mysteries beyond the earth”(Wallace, 1966, pg.9) In his prodigious creation of drawings Leonardo used every technique then, known to his time and is believed to have developed still others. From red chalk to pastel; if not the originator surely the first master of these techniques. Three pieces of his later work that I especially like are; “The Mists of Youth”, “The Final Trumpet”, and “The Amboise Castle”. These three pieces are based on a style that reflected not only on time but aging for he created them in his later years.

His life changed in 1482 by becoming a principal engineer in dukes numerous military enterprises and architecture by writing a letter to duke Milan. In the letter Leonardo explained his strengths like building portable bridges, cannons, ships, armored vehicles, catapults, other war machines and that he could execute sculptures in marble, bronze, and clay. During his stay at duke Milan, Leonardo still went on painting. For instance from 1483-1485 the Virgin Rock painting was placed in Louvre in Paris, it was known as the most important painting of his own at that time. But soon in the next few years another painting was born. Between 1495-1597 The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci was painted and said to be the most famous religious painting ever done. After his success with the painting of The Last Supper in December, 1499 Leonardo and his family was driven out of duke Milan by French Forces, so they returned to Florence by 1500.

Two years later in 1502, Leonardo became a chief architect and engineer once again. Then in 1503-1506 he painted the world famous and most beautiful painting ever made called The Mona Lisa. Between 1506-1514 Leonardo split his time between Milan and florence. He often visited his half brothers and sisters. From 1514-1516 Leonardo lived in Rome in the Palazzo Belvadeer in the Vatican. In 1516 he went to France where he spent his last years being one of the most famous painters of all time. He stayed at the Chateau de Cloux where he died in the year 1519.

The Mists of Youth is a half smiling and mysteriously pointing woman is a sketch done by Leonardo in 1513. I would describe this as a sketch, but also a finished product of a sketch of his feelings. Not only was he failing in his health as a man, but the sketch gives off a faded style of a dream that is withering away with his age. On another perspective she is like an angel in a dream pointing the way for him and others to take a path. This sketch gives me comfort making me feel as if Leonardo felt something