Where was Leonardo born? Leonardo da Vinci: where he was born, what he became famous for, interesting facts

Name: Leonardo da Vinci

Place of Birth: near Vinci, Florentine Republic

A place of death: Castle of Clos-Lucé, near Amboise, Duchy of Touraine, Republic of Florence

Age: 67 years old

Leonardo da Vinci - biography

Leonardo da Vinci was called a “universal man,” that is, a person whose activities and achievements were not limited to a single sphere. He was an artist, musician, writer, the most prominent representative of the art of the Renaissance. But the private, personal life of a genius is covered in secrets and mysteries. Perhaps this is due to a lack of information, or maybe it’s all about the mysterious figure of the Italian master.

Leonardo da Vinci - childhood

Leonardo da Vinci, whose biography is of great interest to fans of this greatest artist, was born on April 15, 1452, not far from the city, whose name today is associated primarily with the names of great painters.

The future artist was born near Florence, in the middle of the 15th century. His father was a notary, and his mother was a peasant. Such a misalliance could not exist, and soon Father Leonardo found himself a more a suitable wife- a girl from a noble family. Until the age of three, the child lived with his mother, and after that his father took him into his family. All subsequent years, the painter tried to recreate the image of his mother on canvas.

For some time, his father fiercely sought to instill in Leonardo a love for family business. But his efforts were in vain: his son was not interested in the laws of society.

At the age of fourteen, Leonardo went to Florence and became an apprentice to the sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio. At that time, Florence was the intellectual center of Italy, which allowed the young man to combine work with study. He learned the basics of drawing and chemistry. But most of all he was interested in drawing, sculpture and modeling.

The main feature of the Renaissance masterpieces is a return to the ideals of Antiquity. During this era, the ancient Greek canons received new life. Students and seasoned masters discussed and argued about revolutionary events in culture and art. Leonardo did not take part in these disputes. He worked more and more, spending days in the workshop.

It would be unfair to miss one of the important facts in the biography of Leonardo da Vinci. One day his teacher received an order. The painting “The Baptism of Christ” was to be painted. According to the traditions of that time, he entrusted two fragments to his young student. Leonardo was commissioned to depict the angels.

When the painting was ready, Verrocchio looked at the canvas and threw down his brush in anger. Some fragments clearly indicated that the student had significantly outgrown the teacher in his skill. From then until last hour Throughout his life, Andrea del Verrocchio did not return to painting.

In the 15th century, there was an association of artists in Italy called the Guild of St. Luke. Membership in this guild allowed local artists to open their own workshops and sell their works on the official market. In addition, all members of the association were provided with financial and social support. As a rule, these were experienced and mature artists, sculptors and printers. Leonardo da Vinci joined the guild at the age of twenty.

Leonardo da Vinci - personal life

Little is known about the personal life of the titanic figure of the Renaissance. There are sources that talk about accusations of sodomy, that is, deviant sexual behavior. The accusation was based on an anonymous denunciation. But in those days in Florence, denunciation and slander flourished with violent force. The artist was arrested, kept in prison and released two months later due to lack of testimony.

In Florence, during the time of da Vinci, there was an organization called the “Officers of the Night.” The servants of this organization zealously monitored the moral character of the townspeople and actively fought against sodomists. For some time the painter was under the supervision of these fighters for morality. But this is according to one version.

And according to another, da Vinci was not accused of anything like that at all, and he was present at the trial solely as a witness. There is a third version, whose adherents claim that the sexual preferences of the great master were far from the generally accepted norm; the power and influence of his father allowed him to avoid imprisonment.

But be that as it may, there is no information in the biography about the painter’s relationships with women. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, he long time lived with young people. also did not stand aside from the debate about the sex life of the genius and conducted his own investigation. The famous psychotherapist was sure of Da Vinci's homosexuality.

For almost thirty years, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, better known today as Salai, lived in the maestro’s workshop. When Leonardo da Vinci was already a fully accomplished master, a boy of angelic beauty appeared in his house. His image is present in many masterpieces. But he was not just a model. Officially, he is considered a student. Salai's paintings were not widely known.

But according to the entries in da Vinci’s diary, the aspiring artist was not distinguished by honesty and, at times, behaved like the last scoundrel. What made the great painter keep this man next to him is not known. But it was hardly paternal feelings or admiration for young talent. Da Vinci's student did not write anything great, and he was not an orphan. All that remains is guesswork.

More than one painter emerged from the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. The master devoted a lot of time, first of all, to training young people. According to his methodology, the aspiring artist had to first study the shapes of objects, learn to copy the works of the master, examine the creations of other experienced authors, and only then begin to create his own work.

What kind of relationship a genius had with his followers in his free time from teaching is not so important. The important thing is that the master’s lessons were not in vain, and they subsequently managed to create new image male body, sensuality and love.

The end of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vicci passed away on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67 years. His body was interred in a place near Ambauze. All his drawings and tools were transferred to his favorite student Francesco Melzi. All the paintings were inherited by his other student, Salai.

23916 Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (Italian: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci). Born on April 15, 1452 in the village of Anchiano, near the town of Vinci, near Florence - died on May 2, 1519, Clos Luce castle, near Amboise, Touraine, France. Italian artist (painter, sculptor, architect) and scientist (anatomist, naturalist), inventor, writer, one of the largest representatives of art.

High Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci - « shining example universal man

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the village of Anchiano near the small town of Vinci, not far from Florence at “three o’clock in the morning,” that is, at 22:30 according to modern time. A noteworthy entry in the diary of Leonardo’s grandfather, Antonio da Vinci (1372-1468) (literal translation): “On Saturday, at three o’clock in the morning on April 15, my grandson, the son of my son Piero, was born. The boy was named Leonardo. He was baptized by Father Piero di Bartolomeo."

His parents were the 25-year-old notary Pierrot (1427-1504) and his lover, the peasant woman Katerina. Leonardo spent the first years of his life with his mother. His father soon married a rich and noble girl, but this marriage turned out to be childless, and Piero took his three-year-old son to be raised. Separated from his mother, Leonardo spent his whole life trying to recreate her image in his masterpieces. At that time he lived with his grandfather. In Italy at that time, illegitimate children were treated almost as legal heirs. Many influential people of the city of Vinci took part in future fate Leonardo. When Leonardo was 13 years old, his stepmother died in childbirth. The father remarried - and again soon became a widower. He lived to be 77 years old, was married four times and had 12 children. The father tried to introduce Leonardo to the family profession, but to no avail: the son was not interested in the laws of society.

Leonardo had no last name modern sense; "da Vinci" simply means "(originally) from the town of Vinci." His full name is Italian. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, that is, “Leonardo, son of Mr. Piero from Vinci.”

In his “Biographies” the most famous painters, sculptors and architects” Vasari says that once a peasant he knew asked Leonardo’s father to find an artist to paint a round wooden shield. Ser Pierrot gave the shield to his son. Leonardo decided to depict the head of the gorgon Medusa, and in order for the image of the monster to make the right impression on the audience, he used lizards, snakes, grasshoppers, caterpillars, bats and “other creatures” as subjects, “from a variety of which, combining them in different ways, he created the monster very disgusting and terrible, which poisoned with its breath and ignited the air.” The result exceeded his expectations: when Leonardo showed the finished work to his father, he was scared. The son told him: “This work serves the purpose for which it was made. So take it and give it away, for this is the effect that is expected from works of art.” Ser Piero did not give Leonardo's work to the peasant: he received another shield, bought from a junk dealer. Father Leonardo sold the shield of Medusa in Florence, receiving one hundred ducats for it. According to legend, this shield passed to the Medici family, and when it was lost, the sovereign owners of Florence were expelled from the city by the rebellious people. Many years later, Cardinal del Monte commissioned a painting of Caravaggio's Gorgon Medusa. The new talisman was presented to Ferdinand I de' Medici in honor of his son's marriage.

In 1466 Leonardo da Vinci entered Verrocchio's workshop as an apprentice artist. Verrocchio's workshop was located in the intellectual center of what was then Italy, the city of Florence, which allowed Leonardo to study humanities, and also acquire some technical skills. He studied drawing, chemistry, metallurgy, working with metal, plaster and leather. In addition, the young apprentice was engaged in drawing, sculpture and modeling. In addition to Leonardo, Perugino, Lorenzo di Credi, Agnolo di Polo studied in the workshop, Botticelli worked, and such famous masters as Ghirlandaio and others often visited. Subsequently, even when Leonardo’s father hires him to work in his workshop, he continues to collaborate with Verrocchio .

In 1473, at the age of 20, Leonardo da Vinci qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke.

In the 15th century, ideas about the revival of ancient ideals were in the air. At the Florentine Academy the best minds Italy created a theory of new art. Creative youth spent time in lively discussions. Leonardo remained aloof from his busy social life and rarely left his studio. He had no time for theoretical disputes: he improved his skills. One day Verrocchio received an order for the painting “The Baptism of Christ” and commissioned Leonardo to paint one of the two angels. This was a common practice in art workshops of that time: the teacher created a picture together with student assistants. The most talented and diligent were entrusted with the execution of an entire fragment. Two Angels, painted by Leonardo and Verrocchio, clearly demonstrated the superiority of the student over the teacher. As Vasari writes, the amazed Verrocchio abandoned his brush and never returned to painting.

In 1472-1477 Leonardo worked on: “The Baptism of Christ”, “The Annunciation”, “Madonna with a Vase”.

In the second half of the 70s, the “Madonna with a Flower” (“Benois Madonna”) was created.

At the age of 24, Leonardo and three other young men were put on trial on false, anonymous charges of sodomy. They were acquitted. Very little is known about his life after this event, but it is likely (there are documents) that he had his own workshop in Florence in 1476-1481.

In 1481, da Vinci completed the first large order in his life - the altar image “The Adoration of the Magi” (not completed) for the monastery of San Donato a Sisto, located near Florence. In the same year, work began on the painting “Saint Jerome”.

In 1482, Leonardo, being, according to Vasari, a very talented musician, created a silver lyre in the shape of a horse's head. Lorenzo Medici sent him to Milan as a peacemaker to Lodovico Moro, and sent the lyre with him as a gift. At the same time, work began on the equestrian monument to Francesco Sforza.

Leonardo had many friends and students. As for love relationship, there is no reliable information on this matter, since Leonardo carefully hid this side of his life. He was not married, and there is no reliable information about his affairs with women. According to some versions, Leonardo had a relationship with Cecilia Gallerani, a favorite of Lodovico Moro, with whom he wrote his famous painting"Lady with an Ermine" A number of authors, following the words of Vasari, suggest intimate relationships with young men, including students (Salai), others believe that, despite the painter’s homosexuality, the relationship with the students was not intimate.

Leonardo was present at the meeting of King Francis I with Pope Leo X in Bologna on December 19, 1515. In 1513-1516 Leonardo lived in the Belvedere and worked on the painting “John the Baptist”.

Francis commissioned a master to construct a mechanical lion capable of walking, from whose chest a bouquet of lilies would appear. Perhaps this lion greeted the king in Lyon or was used during negotiations with the pope.

In 1516, Leonardo accepted the invitation of the French king and settled in his castle of Clos-Lucé, where Francis I spent his childhood, not far from royal castle Amboise. In his official capacity as the first royal artist, engineer and architect, Leonardo received an annual annuity of one thousand ecus. Never before in Italy did Leonardo have the title of engineer. Leonardo was not the first Italian master, who, by the grace of the French king, received “freedom to dream, think and create” - before him, a similar honor was shared by Andrea Solario and Fra Giovanni Giocondo.

In France, Leonardo almost did not draw, but was masterfully involved in organizing court festivities, planning a new palace in Romorantan with a planned change in the river bed, designing a canal between the Loire and the Saone, and the main two-way spiral staircase in the Chateau de Chambord. Two years before his death, the master went numb right hand, and he had difficulty moving without assistance. 67-year-old Leonardo spent the third year of his life in Amboise in bed. On April 23, 1519, he left a will, and on May 2, he died surrounded by his students and his masterpieces in Clos-Luce.

According to Vasari, da Vinci died in the arms of King Francis I, his close friend. This unreliable, but widespread legend in France is reflected in the paintings of Ingres, Angelika Kaufman and many other painters. Leonardo da Vinci was buried at Amboise Castle. On gravestone the inscription was engraved: “Within the walls of this monastery lie the ashes of Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest artist, engineer and architect of the French kingdom.”

The main heir was Leonardo's student and friend Francesco Melzi, who for the next 50 years remained the main manager of the master's inheritance, which included, in addition to paintings, tools, a library and at least 50 thousand original documents on various topics, of which only a third has survived to this day. Another student of Salai and a servant each received half of Leonardo's vineyards.

Our contemporaries know Leonardo primarily as an artist. In addition, it is possible that da Vinci could also have been a sculptor: researchers from the University of Perugia - Giancarlo Gentilini and Carlo Sisi - claim that the terracotta head they found in 1990 is the only sculptural work of Leonardo da Vinci that has come down to us.

However, da Vinci himself, at different periods of his life, considered himself primarily an engineer or scientist. He gave fine arts not very much time and worked quite slowly. Therefore, Leonardo’s artistic heritage is not large in quantity, and a number of his works have been lost or severely damaged. However, his contribution to the world artistic culture is extremely important even against the background of the cohort of geniuses that the Italian Renaissance produced. Thanks to his works, the art of painting moved to high quality new stage of its development.

The Renaissance artists who preceded Leonardo decisively rejected many conventions medieval art. This was a movement towards realism and much had already been achieved in the study of perspective, anatomy, greater freedom in compositional solutions. But in terms of painting, working with paint, the artists were still quite conventional and constrained. The line in the picture clearly outlined the object, and the image had the appearance of a painted drawing.

The most conventional was the landscape that played minor role. Leonardo realized and implemented a new painting technique. His line has the right to be blurry, because that’s how we see it. He realized the phenomenon of light scattering in the air and the appearance of sfumato - haze between the viewer and the depicted object, which softens color contrasts and lines. As a result, realism in painting moved to a qualitatively new level.

His only invention that received recognition during his lifetime was a wheel lock for a pistol (started with a key). At the beginning, the wheeled pistol was not very widespread, but by the middle of the 16th century it had gained popularity among the nobles, especially among the cavalry, which was even reflected in the design of the armor, namely: Maximilian armor for the sake of firing pistols began to be made with gloves instead of mittens. The wheel lock for a pistol, invented by Leonardo da Vinci, was so perfect that it continued to be found in the 19th century.

Leonardo da Vinci was interested in the problems of flight. In Milan he made many drawings and studied the flight mechanism of birds different breeds And bats. In addition to observations, he also conducted experiments, but they were all unsuccessful. Leonardo really wanted to build a flying machine. He said: “He who knows everything can do everything. If only you could find out, you’ll have wings!”

At first, Leonardo developed the problem of flight using wings driven by human muscle power: the idea of the simplest apparatus of Daedalus and Icarus. But then he came up with the idea of building such an apparatus to which a person should not be attached, but should maintain complete freedom in order to control it; the apparatus must set itself in motion own strength. This is essentially the idea of an airplane. Leonardo da Vinci worked on a vertical take-off and landing apparatus. Leonardo planned to place a system of retractable staircases on the vertical “ornitottero”. Nature served as an example for him: “look at the stone swift, which sat on the ground and cannot take off because of its short legs; and when he is in flight, pull out the ladder, as shown in the second image from above... this is how you take off from the plane; these stairs serve as legs...” Regarding landing, he wrote: “These hooks (concave wedges) which are attached to the base of the ladders serve the same purpose as the tips of the toes of the person who jumps on them, without his whole body being shaken by it, as if he was jumping on his heels.” Leonardo da Vinci proposed the first design of a telescope with two lenses (now known as the Kepler telescope). In the manuscript of the Codex Atlanticus, sheet 190a, there is an entry: “Make glasses (ochiali) for the eyes to see the large Moon.”

Leonardo da Vinci may have first formulated simplest form the law of conservation of mass for the movement of fluids, describing the flow of a river, however, due to the vagueness of the formulation and doubts about the authenticity, this statement has been criticized.

During his life, Leonardo da Vinci made thousands of notes and drawings on anatomy, but did not publish his work. While dissecting the bodies of people and animals, he accurately conveyed the structure of the skeleton and internal organs, including small parts. According to clinical anatomy professor Peter Abrams, scientific work da Vinci was 300 years ahead of her time and in many ways superior to the famous Gray's Anatomy.

Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci:

Parachute
Wheel lock
Bike
Tank
Lightweight portable bridges for the army
Spotlight
Catapult
Robot
Two-lens telescope.

The creator of “The Last Supper” and “La Gioconda” also showed himself as a thinker, early realizing the need theoretical justification artistic practice: “Those who devote themselves to practice without knowledge are like a sailor setting off on a journey without a rudder or compass... practice should always be based on good knowledge theories."

Demanding from the artist in-depth study depicted objects, Leonardo da Vinci recorded all his observations in notebook, which he always carried with him. The result was a kind of intimate diary, the like of which is not found in all world literature. Drawings, drawings and sketches are accompanied here short notes on issues of perspective, architecture, music, natural science, military engineering and the like; all this is sprinkled with various sayings, philosophical reasoning, allegories, anecdotes, fables. Taken together, the entries in these 120 books provide materials for an extensive encyclopedia. However, he did not strive to publish his thoughts and even resorted to secret writing, full transcript his records have not yet been completed.

Recognizing experience as the only criterion of truth and contrasting the method of observation and induction with abstract speculation, Leonardo da Vinci not only in words, but in deeds death blow medieval scholasticism with its predilection for abstract logical formulas and deduction. For Leonardo da Vinci, speaking well means thinking correctly, that is, thinking independently, like the ancients, who did not recognize any authorities. So Leonardo da Vinci comes to deny not only scholasticism, this echo of feudal-medieval culture, but also humanism, a product of still fragile bourgeois thought, frozen in superstitious admiration for the authority of the ancients.

Denying book learning, declaring the task of science (as well as art) to be the knowledge of things, Leonardo da Vinci anticipates Montaigne's attacks on literary scholars and opens the era of a new science a hundred years before Galileo and Bacon.

Huge literary heritage Leonardo da Vinci has survived to this day in a chaotic form, in manuscripts written with his left hand. Although Leonardo da Vinci did not print a single line from them, in his notes he constantly addressed an imaginary reader and everything last years throughout his life he never gave up the thought of publishing his works.

After the death of Leonardo da Vinci, his friend and student Francesco Melzi selected from them passages related to painting, from which the “Treatise on Painting” (Trattato della pittura, 1st ed., 1651) was subsequently compiled. In its entirety, the handwritten legacy of Leonardo da Vinci was published only in XIX-XX centuries. In addition to the enormous scientific and historical significance it also has artistic value due to its compressed, energetic style and unusually clear language.

Living in the era of the heyday of humanism, when Italian language considered secondary compared to Latin, Leonardo da Vinci delighted his contemporaries with the beauty and expressiveness of his speech (according to legend, he was a good improviser), but did not consider himself a writer and wrote as he spoke; his prose is therefore an example spoken language intelligentsia of the 15th century, and this saved it in general from the artificiality and eloquence inherent in the prose of humanists, although in some passages of the didactic writings of Leonardo da Vinci we find echoes of the pathos of the humanistic style.

Even in the least “poetic” fragments by design, Leonardo da Vinci’s style is distinguished by its vivid imagery; Thus, his “Treatise on Painting” is equipped with magnificent descriptions (for example, famous description flood), with amazing mastery of verbal transmission of pictorial and plastic images. Along with descriptions in which one can feel the manner of an artist-painter, Leonardo da Vinci gives in his manuscripts many examples of narrative prose: fables, facets ( funny stories), aphorisms, allegories, prophecies. In fables and facets, Leonardo stands on the level of the prose writers of the 14th century with their simple-minded practical morality; and some of its facets are indistinguishable from Sacchetti’s short stories.

Allegories and prophecies are more fantastic in nature: in the first, Leonardo da Vinci uses the techniques of medieval encyclopedias and bestiaries; the latter are in the nature of humorous riddles, distinguished by brightness and precision of phraseology and imbued with caustic, almost Voltairean irony, directed at the famous preacher Girolamo Savonarola. Finally, in the aphorisms of Leonardo da Vinci his philosophy of nature, his thoughts about inner essence of things. Fiction had a purely utilitarian, auxiliary meaning for him.

To date, about 7,000 pages of Leonardo’s diaries have survived, located in various collections. At first, the priceless notes belonged to the master's favorite student, Francesco Melzi, but when he died, the manuscripts disappeared. Individual fragments began to “emerge” at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. At first they did not meet with enough interest. Numerous owners did not even suspect what kind of treasure fell into their hands. But when scientists established the authorship, it turned out that the barn books, and art history essays, and anatomical sketches, and strange drawings, and studies on geology, architecture, hydraulics, geometry, military fortifications, philosophy, optics, and drawing techniques were the fruit of one person. All entries in Leonardo's diaries are made in a mirror image.

The following students came out of Leonardo's workshop: "Leonardeschi"): Ambrogio de Predis, Giovanni Boltraffio, Francesco Melzi, Andrea Solario, Giampetrino, Bernardino Luini, Cesare da Sesto.

In 1485, after a terrible plague epidemic in Milan, Leonardo proposed to the authorities a project for an ideal city with certain parameters, layout and sewer system. The Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, rejected the project. Centuries passed, and the authorities of London recognized Leonardo's plan as the perfect basis for the further development of the city. In modern Norway there is an active bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Tests of parachutes and hang gliders made according to the master’s sketches confirmed that only the imperfection of materials did not allow him to take to the skies. At the Roman airport named after Leonardo da Vinci, there is a gigantic statue of the scientist with a model of a helicopter in his hands, stretching into the sky. “He who is directed towards a star does not turn around,” wrote Leonardo.

Leonardo, apparently, did not leave a single self-portrait that could be unambiguously attributed to him. Scientists have doubted that the famous self-portrait of Leonardo's sanguine (traditionally dated 1512-1515), depicting him in old age, is such. It is believed that perhaps this is just a study of the head of the apostle for the Last Supper. Doubts that this is a self-portrait of the artist have been expressed since the 19th century, the latest to be expressed recently by one of the leading experts on Leonardo, Professor Pietro Marani. But recently, Italian scientists announced a sensational discovery. They claim that an early self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered. The discovery belongs to the journalist Piero Angela.

He played the lyre masterfully. When Leonardo's case was heard in the Milan court, he appeared there precisely as a musician, and not as an artist or inventor. Leonardo was the first to explain why the sky is blue. In the book “On Painting” he wrote: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.”

Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good with his right and left hands. They even say that he could write at the same time different texts different hands. However, he wrote most of his works with his left hand from right to left.

It is believed that da Vinci was a vegetarian (Andrea Corsali, in a letter to Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, compares Leonardo to an Indian who did not eat meat).

The phrase often attributed to da Vinci: “If a person strives for freedom, why does he keep birds and animals in cages? .. man is truly the king of animals, because he cruelly exterminates them. We live by killing others. We are walking cemeteries! Also in early age I gave up meat" taken from English translation novel by Dmitry Merezhkovsky “Resurrected Gods. Leonardo da Vinci."

Leonardo in his famous diaries wrote from right to left in mirror image. Many people think that in this way he wanted to make his research secret. Perhaps this is true. According to another version, the mirror handwriting was his individual feature(there is even evidence that it was easier for him to write this way than in the normal way); There is even a concept of “Leonardo’s handwriting.”

Leonardo's hobbies even included cooking and the art of serving. In Milan, for 13 years he was the manager of court feasts. He invented several culinary devices to make the work of cooks easier. Leonardo's original dish - thinly sliced stewed meat with vegetables laid on top - was very popular at court feasts.

Leonardo da Vinci can safely be attributed to unique people our planet... After all, he is known not only as one of the greatest artists and sculptors of Italy, but also as the greatest scientist, explorer, engineer, chemist, anatomist, botanist, philosopher, musician and poet. His creations, discoveries and research were several epochs ahead of their time.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 near Florence, in the city of Vinci (Italy). Quite a bit of information is known about da Vinci’s mother, only that she was a peasant woman, was not married to Leonardo’s father, and raised her son in the village until he was 4 years old, after which he was sent to his father’s family. But Leonardo’s father, Piero Vinci, was a fairly wealthy citizen, worked as a notary, and also owned land and the title of Messer.

Leonardo da Vinci received his primary education, which included the ability to write, read, and basic mathematics and Latin, at home. For many, his manner of writing in mirror image from left to right was interesting. Although, if necessary, he could write traditionally without much difficulty. In 1469, the son and his father moved to Florence, where Leonardo began to study the profession of an artist, which was not the most revered at that time, although Piero had a desire for his son to inherit the profession of a notary. But at that time, an illegitimate child could not be a doctor or a lawyer. And already in 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the guild of painters of Florence, and in 1473 the very first dated work of Leonardo da Vinci was written. This landscape showed a sketch of a river valley.

Already in 1481 - 1482. Leonardo was accepted into the service of the ruler of Milan at that time, Lodovico Moro, where he served as the organizer of court holidays, and part-time as a military engineer and hydraulic engineer. Being engaged in architecture, da Vinci had a huge influence on the architecture of Italy. In his works, he developed various options for a modern ideal city, as well as projects for a central domed temple.

At this time, Leonardo da Vinci tried himself in various scientific directions and almost everywhere reaches unprecedented positive results, but he just couldn’t find the favorable environment he needed so much in Italy at that time. Therefore, with great pleasure, in 1517 he accepted the invitation of the French king Francis I to the position of court painter and arrived in France. During this period, the French court tried to become quite actively involved in culture. Italian Renaissance, therefore, the artist is surrounded by universal veneration, although, according to the testimony of many historians, this veneration was rather ostentatious and of an external nature. The artist’s weakened strength was at its limit and after two years, on May 2, 1519, Leonardo da Vinci died in, near Amboise, in France. But despite the short life path Leonardo da Vinci became a recognized symbol of the Renaissance.

The era of the High Renaissance. And then there’s the recent success of Dan Brown’s book “The Da Vinci Code” and its film adaptation. It is not surprising that Leonardo’s works are always shrouded in mystery - you can expect anything from such a genius! So 10 best works Leonardo da Vinci:

This half-length portrait Italian woman against a beautiful backdrop mountain landscape well known throughout the world, and not only for its artistic qualities: in 1911 it was stolen by a Louvre security guard and found only 2 years later. This incident added to the popularity of the painting, and now Mona Lisa occupies an honorable separate place in the Louvre.

The amazing fresco was created in 1795-1498. in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria (Milan). It depicts the scene of the last supper of Jesus Christ surrounded by the apostles. Art critics believe that the artist reproduced the moment when the Savior tells his disciples that one of them will betray him. This is a true milestone of Renaissance art! In it, da Vinci used the correct reproduction of the depth of perspective (which was new) - thanks to it, the image acquired depth and liveliness.

This is a drawing created as an illustration for a book about the works of Vitruvius (Roman encyclopedist). This drawing clearly shows the image of a man in two positions, one on top of the other. What's special about this drawing? He is called canonical proportion. "Vitruvian Man" received the status of a work of art and scientific work.

The most reliable source of our knowledge about what the great artist looked like is his Turin self-portrait. It was made with sanguine on paper, but over time it was quite damaged, and this moment not exhibited. There are a lot of speculations around the drawing: in particular, some studies have found that it is a sketch for the painting “Mona Lisa”!

One of the recurring themes of da Vinci's paintings was that of the Madonna and Child - traditional religious plot. "Madonna Litta" became one of best paintings this topic. It's all about the perfection of lines and shapes - for example, pay attention to how harmoniously the figure of a nursing mother is combined with the clear lines of the window openings depicted in the background. IN currently kept in the Hermitage.

One of early paintings Leonardo da Vinci. There is no perspective in it yet (it was simply not used before Leonardo), but carefully drawn folds on the clothes and the expressive hands of the Virgin Mary are already visible. By the way, the wings of the Archangel Gabriel were initially more proportional, but later some Unknown artist I finished drawing them, and the wings turned out to be somewhat bulky.

The earliest, most touching and spontaneous of all Leonardo da Vinci's Madonnas. All the works he created later (including the aforementioned Litta) are close to it in style and composition. The image of a young mother conveys gentleness and tranquility. Some researchers explain a certain disproportion of the child’s body by the absence of a baby sitter for the artist, and yet it is strange to suspect the great master of drawing “at random”! Most likely, he wanted to emphasize the unearthly origin of this child.

This is just a sketch made with pencil and chalk, but it amazes art connoisseurs with the careful depiction of details (for example, curls of hair) and the accurate transmission of emotions manifested in the eyes of a young woman, the curve of her lips...

The painting was painted towards the end of the 15th century. The girl in the picture is presumably Cecilia Galleroni, the favorite of Duke Ludovico Sforzi, because at the time the picture was painted, da Vinci was in the service of this nobleman. But this painting is not at all like a standard portrait of a beautiful grande dame. The figure is depicted in three quarters, and the gaze is directed to the side (da Vinci's innovation). By the way, the girl herself is not such an “air nymph” at all: despite her attractiveness, the hard fold of her lips betrays her imperious character. Just like the hand that holds the animal - supposedly carefully, but at the same time tenaciously (and da Vinci’s hands always turned out to be very expressive). Well, in order to become the favorite of such a noble man, an iron character was indeed required...

A figure often depicted in painting, but how was the Baptist usually depicted? A middle-aged man, with a beard and a stern look... But not a sweet smiling young man, as Leonardo portrayed him! The picture belongs to late period artist's creativity. It's surprising that there's nothing familiar in the background picturesque landscape: John’s light body stands out against the gloomy monotonous background.
Each of these works, despite the fact that they are very different, is an entire era in art. Is it any wonder why Leonardo da Vinci is considered the greatest artist?

Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci (1452 - 1519) - Italian painter, sculptor and architect, natural scientist, writer and musician, inventor and mathematician, botanist and philosopher, bright representative Renaissance.

Childhood

Not far from Italian Florence The small town of Vinci is located, near it in 1452 there was the village of Anchiano, where the genius Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15.

His father, a fairly successful notary Pierrot, was 25 years old at that time. He was in love affair with the beautiful peasant woman Katerina, as a result of which a child was born. But later the father was legally married to a noble and rich girl, and Leonardo stayed to live with his mother.

After some time, it turned out that the married couple and Vicni could not have their own children, and then Piero took their common son Leonardo, who by that time was already three years old, from Katerina to raise. The baby was separated from his mother, and then all his life he diligently tried to recreate her image in his masterpieces.

IN new family the boy began to receive primary education at the age of 4; he was taught Latin and reading, mathematics and writing.

Youth in Florence

When Leonardo was 13 years old, his stepmother died, his father married a second time and moved to Florence. Here he opened his own business, to which he tried to involve his son.

In those days, children born out of legal marriage were endowed with exactly the same rights as heirs born into an officially registered family. However, Leonardo had little interest in the laws of society, and then Pierrot's father decided to make his son an artist.

His teacher in painting was the representative of the Tuscan school, sculptor, bronze caster, and jeweler Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo was accepted into his workshop as an apprentice.

In those years, the entire intellect of Italy was concentrated in Florence, so that, in addition to painting, da Vinci here had the opportunity to study drawing, chemistry, and the humanities. Here he learned some technical skills, learned to work with materials such as metal, leather and plaster, and became interested in modeling and sculpture.

At the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke.

The first painting masterpieces

In those days, painting workshops practiced joint painting, when the teacher completed orders with the help of one of his students.

So Verrocchio, when he received his next order, chose da Vinci as his assistant. The painting “The Baptism of Christ” was needed; the teacher instructed Leonardo to paint one of the two angels. But when the master teacher compared the angel he was painting with the work of da Vinci, he threw away his brush and never returned to painting. He realized that the student not only surpassed him, but a real genius was born.

Leonardo da Vinci mastered several painting techniques:

Italian pencil;
sanguine;
silver pencil;
feather.

Over the next five years, Leonardo worked on creating such masterpieces as “Madonna with a Vase”, “Annunciation”, “Madonna with a Flower”.

Period of life in Milan

In the spring of 1476, da Vinci and three of his friends were accused of sadism and were arrested. At that time, this was considered a terrible crime, for which the death penalty was imposed - burning at the stake. The artist’s guilt was not proven; no accusers or witnesses were found. The son of a noble Florentine nobleman was also among the suspects. These two circumstances helped da Vinci avoid punishment; the defendants were flogged and released.

After this incident, the young man did not return to Verrocchio, but opened his own painting workshop.

In 1482, the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, invited Leonardo da Vinci to his court as the organizer of the holidays. His job was to create costumes, masks and mechanical “miracles”; the holidays turned out great. Leonardo had to simultaneously combine several positions: engineer and architect, court artist, hydraulic engineer and military engineer. Moreover, his salary was less than that of a court dwarf. But Leonardo did not despair, because in this way he had the opportunity to work for himself and develop in science and technology.

During the years of his life and work in Milan, da Vinci paid especially much attention to anatomy and architecture. He sketched several options for the central-domed temple; got hold of a human skull and made a discovery - cranial sinuses.

During the same Milanese period, while working at court, he became very interested in cooking and the art of table setting. In order to make the work of cooks easier, Leonardo invented some culinary devices.

Artistic creations of the genius da Vinci

Although his contemporaries consider Leonardo da Vinci to be a great artist, he considered himself a learned engineer. He drew rather slowly and did not devote much time to fine art, as he was too keen on science.

Some works have been lost or severely damaged over the years and centuries; many unfinished paintings remain. For example, the large altar composition “Adoration of the Magi”. Therefore, Leonardo's artistic legacy is not so great. But what has survived to this day is truly priceless. These are paintings such as “Madonna in the Grotto”, “La Gioconda”, “ Last Supper", "Lady with an ermine".

To depict so brilliantly in paintings human bodies, Leonardo was the first in the world of painting to study the structure and location of muscles, for which he dismembered corpses.

Other areas of activity of Leonardo

But he owns it great amount discoveries in other areas and areas.
In 1485, a plague epidemic occurred in Milan. About 50,000 city residents died from this disease. Da Vinci justified such a pestilence to the Duke by the fact that in the overpopulated city dirt reigned on the narrow streets, and came up with a proposal to build a new city. He proposed a plan according to which the city, designed for 30,000 inhabitants, was divided into 10 districts, each with its own sewerage system. Leonardo also proposed calculating the width of streets based on the average height of horses. The Duke rejected his plan, as, indeed, many rejected it during his lifetime. brilliant creations da Vinci.

However, several centuries will pass, and the State Council of London will take advantage of the proportions proposed by Leonardo, call them ideal and will apply them when laying out new streets.

Da Vinci was also very talented in music. His hands were responsible for the creation of a silver lyre, which was shaped like a horse's head; he could also play this lyre masterfully.

Leonardo was fascinated by the water element; he created many works related to water in one way or another. He owns the invention and description of a device for diving under water, as well as breathing apparatus, which can be used for scuba diving. All modern underwater equipment is based on da Vinci's inventions. He studied hydraulics, the laws of fluid, developed the theory of sewer ports and locks, testing his ideas in practice.

And how passionate was he about development? aircraft, and created the simplest of them based on wings. These are his ideas - an airplane with full control and a device that will have vertical takeoff and landing. He didn’t have a motor and couldn’t bring his ideas to life.

Absolutely everything about the structure of man interested him; he worked very hard to study human eye.

Some interesting facts

Leonardo da Vinci had many students and friends. As for his relationships with the female sex, there is no reliable information on this matter. It is known for certain that he was not married.

Leonardo da Vinci slept very little and was a vegetarian. He did not understand at all how a person could combine the freedom he strives for with keeping animals and birds in cages. In his diaries he wrote:

“We are all walking cemeteries because we live by killing other (animals).”

Almost 5 centuries have passed since there was no great genius, and the world is still trying to unravel the smile of Gioconda. It was studied by specialists and scientists in Amsterdam and the USA, even with the help computer technology identified the emotions that a smile conceals:

happiness (83%);
fear (6%);
anger (2%);
neglect (9%).

There is a version that when Mona Lisa posed for the master, she was entertained by jesters and musicians. And some scientists suggested that she was pregnant and smiled blissfully from the realization of this secret.

Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519, surrounded by his students. Heritage genius man included not only paintings, but also huge library, tools, about 50,000 sketches. The manager of all this was his friend and student Francesco Melzi.