Leonardo da Vinci biography
Life of one of the most important heroes of culture: davinci
Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15th in 1452, Anchiano Vinci, a small Italian town, which by that time was divided into several provinces controlled by families who tried to achieve power. Lenardo Da Vinci was Catherine son, a villager, and his father was a wealthy man from Florence; this place would be the place where he would spend his childhood absorbing the artistic culture. His parents had never married, they lived their lives making with different men and women, this situation gave Da Vinci 17 stepsiblings who left him nothing of his father legacy. Childhood and education of Leonardo Da Vinci As a rich child, he received the most expensive and magnificent education than a any boy could have in Florence; at the age of 14 he enrolls himself in the Andrea de Verocchio workshop, a great painter, sculptor and goldsmith of the time. Da Vinci started learning attarpiece painting and bronze and marble sculpturing. Among his studies he realized human dissections in the Medicine University becoming an anatomy expert, activity he developed during his whole life. |
His real life beginsDuring 1472, Da Vinci makes the Florence painters union; takes part in the work of Verocchio called “The baptism of Christ” painting the landscapes and a small angel. In 1478, Leonardo Da Vinci, is already considered a master who had his own original style. In 1481 he gave birth to his first great work, which had been asked by the monks of San Donato monastery, “The magicians worship”, this would lead to other wonderful works such us “The Benois Madonna”, “Ginebra de Benci” and “Saint Jeronimo”. The duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, decide to contract Da Vinci; Da Vinci accepted but and sent the due a note specifying the skills he would be able to enjoy: paint, sculpture, architecture, construction of any kind (army, ships, maths), etc. Between 1482 and 1500, Da Vinci gave birth to amazing works such us “The Rocks Virgin”, “The last super” among others; this works have developed innovating methods and techniques. |
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Main works of Leonardo Da Vinci After being expulsed by the French troops, Da Vinci spent 17 years working in different kind of projects, doing his role as an engineer with the aim of helping the Duke; he was also involved in the different theatrical methods; scientific and artistic projects. He spent a year in Rome and in 1502, he offered his services to Caesar Borgia, son of the Pope Alexander VI; he got involved in different constructions and designed a bridge to allow the cross to the Istanbul Gulf, but this one was never built. In 1503, Da Vinci was the staring of the decision of replacing the Miguel Angel David, a controversial decision till today. Between 1503 and 1506, settled in Florence again, many of his masterpieces see the light; form all the ones which have survived, we know “The Gioconda”, the most popular of history and the favourite work of Leonardo; although this work is surrounded by enigmas, many people consider this painting as a portrait. In 1507, he was named as the French King’s painter, Lewis XII, who lived in Italy, and in 1509 he helped Luca Pacioli in his work called “The divine proportion”. In 1516, Da Vinci travels to Francis I court in France, where he died on May 2nd in 1519, at the age of 67. He was buried in the Saint Valentine church; he left his scrolls, money and some of his painting like “the Gioconda” to Francesco Melzi, one of his students. |
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Leonardo Da Vinci is considered the greatest genius in history due to his accurate handling of the coulours and the structures, also due to the innovation of different methods in painting, to his quality in every field: science and arts, to his ability as a drawer who could project revolutionary ideas, etc. Da Vinci was the inspiration of many of our present artists, among them we find Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Berni, etc. Da Vinci influenced many artists of many fields and his history is still studied and spread around the world, we’re able to see his masterpieces in different museums of Europe, his most important work, The Giocond or also know as The Monalisa still remains in France. |
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