The Great Renassance Man Leonardo da Vinci
Come
and see our traveling exhibit Works of Leonardo da Vinci! This amazing exhibit will be displayed at the
Saint Louis Art Museum during January 2004. The
exhibit includes original drawings and sketches by Leonardo himself! Also in the exhibit are models of inventions
designed by Leonardo da Vinci as much as 400 years before they would
become real. See the model automobile made by
Leonardo’s designs. Also explore the myriad of
chains, ladders, and flying machines. Watch us
demonstrate a parachute, made by Leonardo, that works just as well as
parachutes used today. Don’t wait or it’ll be
too late!
Who
exactly is Leonardo da Vinci?
Leonardo
da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the small town of Vinci, near
Florence, Italy. During his teenage years
Leonardo moved with his family to Florence, where he was apprenticed to
a well known painter named Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo
studied under Verrocchio from 1466-1478. Leonardo
traveled to many places during his years as an artist, sculptor,
architect, and even an engineer. Some of the
places Leonardo visited included Milan, Italy; Rome, Italy; and Amboise,
France. Leonardo was all that a true
Renaissance man should be. He was a painter, a
sculptor, an engineer, and an inventor. He
exercised his talent in many areas, and he was often trying to learn
about the world, about subjects like medicine and physics. Sadly,
Leonardo da Vinci died in Amboise, France, on May 2, 1519, at the age
of 67.
Was
Leonardo da Vinci really an Inventor?
Leonardo
da Vinci drew designs for many amazing inventions that would not be
built or used regularly until many years after his death. Some
of these inventions include portable bridges, cannons, even automobiles
and airplanes. Many of his drawings are
incredibly similar to what we actually use today. Take
the picture (above) of a tank. Though the
shape is unusual and it is propelled only by hand cranks, it is still an
ingenious idea, an idea that would become a reality until more than 400
years after it was drawn.
Of course, not all of Leonardo da Vinci’s
inventions were brand new and unheard of in his time. Leonardo
also created designs to improve devices such as chains and ladders. He also drew designs for a fort that could
withstand cannon fire, though cannons had yet to become practical
military items. Some of these ideas were never
used, but the genius behind them is most obvious, for he saw the future
with those drawings and ideas.
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most free
thinking, unique, ingenuous, and famous men ever known throughout
history. He has created many amazing artworks
from his oil painting Mona Lisa to a mural of The Last Supper
in the monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy, to
anatomical drawings of humans that are so accurate that they are still
used today in some medical textbooks. These are
just some of the uncountable reasons why everyone should go to the St.
Louis Art museum and take a look at the traveling exhibit Works of
Leonardo da Vinci, the Great Renaissance Man.
Work Cited
Wallace, Robert. "Inventions of Leonardo" The World of Leonardo. New
York, Time Inc. 1966.
Biography
of Leonardo da Vinci
Museums
with Itallian Renassance Art