Leonardo da Vinci developed. Biography of Leonardo da Vinci

He seemed to know the evolutionary keys to the secrets of the human psyche. Thus, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s secrets was a special sleep formula: he slept for 15 minutes every 4 hours, thus reducing his daily sleep from 8 to 1.5 hours. Thanks to this, the genius immediately saved 75 percent of his sleep time, which actually extended his lifespan from 70 to 100 years!

“The painter’s painting will not be perfect if he takes the paintings of others as an inspiration; but if he learns from objects of nature, then he will produce good fruit...”

Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist - all this is Leonardo da Vinci. Wherever such a person turns, his every action is so divine that, leaving behind himself all other people, he reveals himself to be something given to us by God, and not acquired by human art. Leonardo da Vinci. Great, mysterious, attractive. So distant and so modern. Like a rainbow, the master’s fate is bright, mosaic, and colorful. His life is full of wanderings, meetings with amazing people and events. How much has been written about him, how much has been published, but it will never be enough. The mystery of Leonardo begins with his birth, in 1452 on April 15 in a town west of Florence. He was the illegitimate son of a woman about whom almost nothing is known. We don’t know her last name, age, appearance, we don’t know whether she was smart or stupid, whether she studied anything or not. Biographers call her a young peasant woman. Let it be so. Much more is known about Leonardo's father, Piero da Vinci, but not enough. He was a notary and came from a family that had settled in Vinci at least in the 13th century. Leonardo was brought up in his father's house. His education was obviously the same as that of any boy from a good family living in a small town: reading, writing, beginnings of mathematics, Latin. His handwriting is amazing, He writes from right to left, the letters are reversed so that the text is easier to read with the help of a mirror. In later years, he was interested in botany, geology, observing the flight of birds, the play of sunlight and shadow, and the movement of water. All this testifies to his curiosity and also to the fact that in his youth he spent a lot of time in the fresh air, walking around the outskirts of the town. These surroundings, which have changed little over the past five hundred years, are now almost the most picturesque in Italy. The father noticed and, taking into account the high flight of his son’s talent in art, one fine day selected several of his drawings, took them to Andrea Verrocchio, who was his great friend, and urgently asked him to say whether Leonardo, having taken up drawing, would achieve any success . Struck by the enormous potential that he saw in the drawings of the novice Leonardo, Andrea supported Ser Piero in his decision to devote him to this work and immediately agreed with him that Leonardo would enter his workshop, which Leonardo did more than willingly and began to practice not in just one area, but in all those areas where the drawing is included.

Painting Madonna in the Grotto. 1483-86

In nature, everything is wisely thought out and arranged, everyone should mind their own business, and in this wisdom lies the highest justice of life. Leonardo da Vinci

Painting Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). 1503-04

By 1514 - 1515 refers to the creation of a masterpiece by the great master - the painting La Gioconda. Until recently, they thought that this portrait was painted much earlier, in Florence, around 1503. They believed the story of Vasari, who wrote: “Leonardo undertook to make for Francesco del Gioconda a portrait of Monna Lisa, his wife, and, having worked on it for four years, left it unfinished. This work is now in the possession of the French king in Fontainebleau. By the way, Leonardo resorted to the following technique: since Madonna Lisa was very beautiful, while painting the portrait he held people who were playing the lyre or singing, and there constantly there were jesters who kept her cheerful and removed the melancholy that painting usually imparts to the portraits it makes.”

Where the spirit does not guide the artist's hand, there is no art.

Painting Madonna with a Flower (Benois Madonna). 1478

Thinking I was learning to live, I learned to die.

Painting of Madonna Litta. 1490

Painting "Madonna with Pomegranate". 1469

Painting Madonna. 1510

Painting Lady with an ermine. 1483-90

Painting Portrait of Ginevra de Benci. 1474-76

Painting of the Annunciation. 1472-75

Last Supper. 1498

Painting of John the Baptist. 1513-16

Head of a woman. 1500?

"Vitruvian Man". 1487

Virgin Mary with child and St. Anne

Portrait of a musician

The greatest scientist of his time, Leonardo da Vinci enriched almost all areas of knowledge with insightful observations and guesses. But how surprised the genius would have been if he had learned that many of his inventions are in use even 555 years after his birth. Oddly enough, only one invention of da Vinci received recognition during his lifetime - a wheel lock for a pistol that was wound with a key. At first, this mechanism was not widespread, but by the middle of the 16th century it had gained popularity among nobles, especially in the cavalry, which was even reflected in the design of the armor: Maximilian armor began to be made with gloves instead of mittens for the sake of firing pistols. The wheel lock for a pistol, invented by Leonardo da Vinci, was so perfect that it continued to be found in the 19th century. But, as often happens, recognition of geniuses comes centuries later: many of his inventions were expanded and modernized, and are now used in everyday life. For example, Leonardo da Vinci created a device that could compress air and force it through pipes. This invention has a very wide range of applications: from lighting stoves to ... ventilating rooms. He was educated at home, played the lyre masterfully, was the first to explain why the sky is blue and the moon is so bright, he was ambidextrous and suffered from dyslexia. He masters several drawing techniques: Italian pencil, silver pencil, sanguine, pen. In 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the guild of painters - the Guild of St. Luke, but remained to live in Verrocchio's house. He opened his own workshop in Florence between 1476 and 1478. On April 8, 1476, following a denunciation, Leonardo da Vinci was accused of being a gardener and arrested along with three friends. At that time in Florence, sadomea was a crime, and the capital punishment was burning at the stake. Judging by the records of that time, many doubted Leonardo’s guilt; neither an accuser nor witnesses were ever found. It was probably helped to avoid a harsh sentence by the fact that among those arrested was the son of one of the nobles of Florence: there was a trial, but the offenders were released after a short flogging. In 1482, having received an invitation to the court of the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, Leonardo da Vinci unexpectedly left Florence. Lodovico Sforza was considered the most hated tyrant in Italy, but Leonardo decided that Sforza would be a better patron for him than the Medici, who ruled in Florence and disliked Leonardo. Initially, the Duke took him on as the organizer of court holidays, for which Leonardo came up with not only masks and costumes, but also mechanical “miracles.” Magnificent holidays worked to increase the glory of Duke Lodovico. For a salary less than that of a court dwarf, in the Duke's castle Leonardo served as a military engineer, hydraulic engineer, court artist, and later as an architect and engineer. At the same time, Leonardo “worked for himself,” working in several areas of science and technology at the same time, but he was not paid for most of the work, since Sforza did not pay any attention to his inventions. In 1484-1485, about 50 thousand residents of Milan died from the plague. Leonardo da Vinci, who believed that the reason for this was the overpopulation of the city and the dirt that reigned in the narrow streets, suggested that the Duke build a new city. According to Leonardo's plan, the city was to consist of 10 districts of 30 thousand inhabitants each, each district was to have its own sewer system, the width of the narrowest streets was to be equal to the average height of a horse (a few centuries later, the Council of State of London recognized the proportions proposed by Leonardo as ideal and gave the order to follow them when laying out new streets). The design of the city, like many other technical ideas of Leonardo, was rejected by the Duke. Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to found an art academy in Milan. For teaching, he compiled treatises on painting, light, shadows, movement, theory and practice, perspective, movements of the human body, proportions of the human body. The Lombard school, consisting of Leonardo's students, appeared in Milan. In 1495, at the request of Lodovico Sforza, Leonardo began painting his Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. On July 22, 1490, Leonardo settled young Giacomo Caprotti in his house (later he began to call the boy Salai - “Demon”). No matter what the young man did, Leonardo forgave him everything. The relationship with Salai was the most constant in the life of Leonardo da Vinci, who had no family (he did not want a wife or children), and after his death Salai inherited many of Leonardo’s paintings.
After the fall of Lodovic Sforza, Leonardo da Vinci left Milan. Over the years he lived in Venice (1499, 1500), Florence (1500-1502, 1503-1506, 1507), Mantua (1500), Milan (1506, 1507-1513), Rome (1513-1516). In 1516 (1517) he accepted the invitation of Francis I and left for Paris. Leonardo da Vinci did not like to sleep for long periods of time and was a vegetarian. According to some evidence, Leonardo da Vinci was beautifully built, had enormous physical strength, and had good knowledge of chivalry, horse riding, dancing, and fencing. In mathematics he was attracted only by what can be seen, so for him it primarily consisted of geometry and the laws of proportion. Leonardo da Vinci tried to determine the coefficients of sliding friction, studied the resistance of materials, studied hydraulics, and modeling. The areas that were interesting to Leonardo da Vinci included acoustics, anatomy, astronomy, aeronautics, botany, geology, hydraulics, cartography, mathematics, mechanics, optics, weapons design, civil and military engineering, and city planning. Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 at the Castle of Cloux near Amboise (Touraine, France).

If you happen to fly, then from now on you will walk on the ground, turning your eyes to the sky, for there you have been and there you will always strive.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci is a genius whose inventions belong entirely to both the past, present and future of humanity. He lived ahead of his time, and if even a small part of what he invented had been brought to life, then the history of Europe, and perhaps the world, would have been different: already in the 15th century we would have driven cars and crossed the seas by submarines. Leonardo da Vinci enriched almost all areas of knowledge with insightful observations and guesses. But how surprised a genius would be if he found out that many of his inventions are used even centuries after his birth.

I present to your attention a couple of inventions of Leonard da Vinci: Military equipment, Aircraft, Hydraulics, Various mechanisms.

The most daring dream of Leonardo the inventor, without a doubt, was human flight. One of the very first (and most famous) sketches on this topic is a diagram of a device that in our time is considered to be a prototype of a helicopter. Leonardo proposed making a propeller with a diameter of 5 meters from thin flax soaked in starch. It had to be driven by four people turning levers in a circle. Modern experts argue that the muscular strength of four people would not be enough to lift this device into the air (especially since even if lifted, this structure would begin to rotate around its axis), however, if, for example, a powerful spring were used as an “engine” , such a “helicopter” would be capable of flight - albeit short-term.

After a long and careful study of bird flight, which he began while still in Milan, Leonardo designed, and possibly built, the first model of a flying machine in 1490. This model had wings like a bat, and with its help, using the muscular efforts of the arms and legs, a person had to fly. Now we know that in this formulation the problem is unsolvable, because human muscular energy is not enough for flight.

The drawing of the device, which Leonardo himself described as follows, turned out to be prophetic: “If you have enough linen fabric sewn into a pyramid with a base of 12 yards (about 7 m 20 cm), then you can jump from any height without any harm to your body.” .

The figure shows an underwater breathing apparatus with parts of valves for air intake and release.

Swimming webbed gloves. To speed up swimming, the scientist developed a design of webbed gloves, which over time turned into the well-known flippers.

Diving suit. The project of Leonardo's diving suit was related to the problem of finding a person underwater. The suit was made of waterproof leather. It was supposed to have a large chest pocket, which was filled with air to increase volume, making it easier for the diver to rise to the surface. Leonardo's diver was equipped with a flexible breathing tube.

Lifebuoy. One of the most necessary things for teaching a person to swim is a lifebuoy. This invention of Leonardo remained virtually unchanged.

System for walking on water Leonardo's system for walking on water included swimming boots and poles.

Optics was popular in Leonardo's time and even had a philosophical connotation. Here are several machines for making mirrors and lenses. The second one from the top is intended for creating concave mirrors, the third one is for grinding them, the fourth one is for producing flat mirrors. The first and last machines make it possible to grind mirrors and lenses, making their surface smooth, while simultaneously converting rotational motion into alternating motion. There is also a known project (carried out by Leonardo between 1513 and 1516 during his stay in Rome) of a large parabolic mirror with many sides. It was conceived to heat laundry boilers by concentrating solar energy.

It is better to be deprived of movement than to be tired of being useful.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Milan's Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology is the largest in Europe. Leonardo da Vinci is famous for creating the ideal image of a person and expressing the ideal of female beauty in his painting "Mona Lisa", painted in 1503. Leonardo da Vinci, more often known only as an artist, was a genius who made numerous discoveries, developed innovative projects, and conducted research in the field of exact and natural sciences, including mathematics and mechanics. Leonardo wrote more than 7 thousand sheets of paper by hand in the process of developing his projects. Leonardo da Vinci made discoveries and guesses in almost all areas of knowledge, and his notes and sketches are considered as sheets from a natural philosophical encyclopedia. He became the founder of a new natural science that drew conclusions from experiments. Leonardo's favorite subject was mechanics, which he called “the paradise of mathematical sciences.” Leonardo believed that by unraveling the laws of mechanics, one could learn the secrets of the universe. Having devoted a lot of time to studying the flight of birds, he became the designer and creator of some flying machines and a parachute. Once you enter the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, you will be immersed in a world of interesting discoveries that will make you think about the infinity and ingenuity of the human mind.

Leonardo was not interested in anything! Incredibly, his interests even included cooking and the art of serving. In Milan, for 13 years he was the manager of court feasts. Leonardo invented several culinary devices to make the life of cooks easier. This is a device for chopping nuts, a bread slicer, a corkscrew for left-handed people, as well as a mechanical garlic press “Leonardo”, which is still used by Italian chefs to this day. In addition, he came up with an automatic spit for frying meat; a kind of propeller was attached to the spit, which was supposed to rotate under the influence of heated air flows coming up from the fire. A rotor was attached to a series of drives with a long rope; the forces were transmitted to the spit using belts or metal spokes. The hotter the oven heated up, the faster the spit rotated, which protected the meat from burning. Leonardo's original dish - thinly sliced ​​meat stewed with vegetables placed on top - was very popular at court feasts.
Leonardo da Vinci is a brilliant artist, a wonderful experimenter and an outstanding scientist, who embodied in his work all the most progressive trends of the Renaissance. Everything about him is amazing: his absolutely extraordinary versatility, his strength of thought, his scientific inquisitiveness, his practical mindset, his technical ingenuity, his wealth of artistic imagination, and his outstanding skill as a painter, draftsman and sculptor. Reflecting in his work the most progressive aspects of the Renaissance, he became that great, truly folk artist, whose historical significance far outgrew the framework of his era. He looked not to the past, but to the future.

Not impressed? Well, the bearing may not be the coolest thing an inventor can do, but a lot of modern technology works with the help of bearings. Ball bearings allow drive shafts to rotate, push goods in a store or factory, and are the basis of almost any moving mechanism. Smooth balls placed between two moving surfaces virtually eliminate friction. For the first time, the idea, as many believe, was born during the Roman Empire, but historians believe that it was in da Vinci’s notebooks that the first sketches of the bearing appeared. Many of the devices invented by the genius would not work without bearings. But as with many of the inventor's concepts, the bearing had to be reinvented by someone else.

The distance from which a body falls depends on two factors: the force of gravity, which pulls it down, and the resistance of the atmosphere in which it falls. In the absence of an atmosphere, a falling body will simply accelerate to tremendous speed until it hits the surface, but the air slows down the fall until the body reaches the so-called terminal velocity. Different objects have different maximum speeds. For a person falling in the Earth's atmosphere - a parachutist, for example - this speed is approximately 193.1 km/h. Slowly, right? Let it be so, but this is enough for a person falling from an airplane to turn into a cake after hitting the surface of the earth. Only a parachute can save him.

Da Vinci, fascinated by the idea of ​​a flying man, conceived his parachute as a means of drifting through the air. Its pyramidal structure was draped with fabric. As da Vinci wrote in his notes, such a device would allow a person to “fall from any height without any injury or damage.” The twenty-first century naturalists who implemented da Vinci's idea recognized that it worked exactly as he predicted.

Da Vinci was inspired by birds. He watched them, drew them and thought about creating his own flying machines. One of the results of this hobby was the ornithopter, a device invented by da Vinci that could theoretically lift a person into the air like a bird. While a da Vinci parachute would allow a man to jump off a cliff and stay alive, an ornithopter would allow him to float in the air above the ground.

On paper, an ornithopter looks more like a bird (or bat) than modern aircraft. Its wings will start working after the pilot turns the handle. This invention demonstrates da Vinci's deep understanding of aerodynamics. Modern attempts to reproduce the ornithopter have shown that it could indeed fly - if it were lifted into the air. Building an aircraft that uses weak human muscles would be more difficult.

The parachute and ornithopter were only two of the flying machines described by da Vinci in his notebooks. Others included a glider and a helicopter-like aircraft, which we may talk about later.

The da Vinci machine gun or "33-barrel organ" was not a machine gun in the modern sense. He could not quickly fire bullets from one barrel. But it could fire volleys at short intervals, and if built, it would effectively mow down the advancing infantry.

The mechanism of this machine gun is simple. Da Vinci proposed assembling 11 muskets on a rectangular board, and then folding three such boards into a triangle. By placing a shaft in the middle, the whole thing could be rotated so that one set of 11 guns would fire while the other two cooled down and reloaded. After this, the entire mechanism turned over and fired another salvo.

And although da Vinci constantly noted in his notebooks that he hated war and cursed killing machines, he needed money, and he could easily convince wealthy patrons that such machines would help them defeat their enemies. Perhaps it was for the best that none of the killing machines conceived by da Vinci were built.

While living in Venice in the late 15th century, da Vinci developed the idea to repel invading ships. It was enough to send men to the bottom of the harbor in diving suits, and there they would simply open the bottoms of ships like tin cans. You may be underwhelmed by this idea because its implementation currently seems quite simple. But in Da Vinci's time this was unheard of. Da Vinci's divers could breathe using an underwater bell filled with air and wore masks with glass holes through which they could see underwater. In another version of the concept, divers could breathe using wine bottles filled with air. In both cases, the men would carry bottles to urinate in, so they could stay underwater for a very long time. Da Vinci's plan was not only feasible - it was practical!

These diving suits were actually created, but the invaders they were intended to be used against were successfully defeated by the Venetian fleet before underwater sabotage was needed.

Armored tank

While working for the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, da Vinci proposed what would become his crowning achievement in the field of military vehicles: the armored tank. Assisted by eight strong men, the armored tank looked like a turtle, bristling with 36 guns on all sides. It was equipped with a system of gears that formed a sequence. Eight people were protected from battle by the outer shell, so they could deliver such a “hedgehog” on foot right into the thick of the battle without being wounded. A weapon firing in all directions from an armored tank could be disastrous for an enemy squad.

The diagram of the armored tank in Da Vinci's notes contains a funny flaw: the wheels for forward movement turned in the opposite direction from the rear wheels. Built this way, the tank would not be able to move. Da Vinci was too smart to make such an unfortunate mistake, so historians have given several reasons why the inventor made such a mistake deliberately. Perhaps he really didn't want this car to be built. Another possibility is that he was afraid that the scheme would fall into the clutches of enemies, so he made a mistake to make sure that no one else could build the tank except him.

Self-propelled trolley

Working model.

Da Vinci's self-propelled cart is being promoted as the first automobile in history. Moreover, since it did not have a driver, it can also be considered the first robotic vehicle in history.

Da Vinci's drawings did not fully reveal the internal mechanism, so modern engineers had to guess what made the cart move forward. The best guess was a spring mechanism like the one used in watches. The springs were hidden in drum-shaped housings and could be wound by hand. And while the spring unwinds, the cart moves forward like a wind-up toy. The steering wheel could be programmed using a series of blocks in the gear chain, although the fact that the cart could only turn to the right would have significantly limited its usefulness.

Leonardo apparently considered his cart to be something of a toy, but we can be sure that if it had been built, more useful improvements would soon have followed.

Cities of the future

Leonardo da Vinci Bridge.

When Leonardo lived in Milan around 1400, the Black Plague was raging across Europe. Cities suffered far more than the countryside, and da Vinci theorized that there was something special about cities that made them vulnerable to the disease. This idea is surprisingly relatable, considering that germ theory was only developed in the early 20th century. Da Vinci set out to develop his own plan: a city, originally designed and created from scratch, that would be sanitary and habitable.

The result was a triumph of urban planning that was never built. Da Vinci's “ideal city” was divided into several levels, each of which had minimal unsanitary conditions, and a network of canals facilitated the rapid removal of waste. Water was to be supplied to the buildings through a hydraulic system, which served as the prototype of the modern one. The resources needed to create such a city were beyond the means at Da Vinci's disposal, and he was unable to find a philanthropist willing to shell out his money to build such a city.

Air propeller

Da Vinci's propeller is probably the coolest project that was found in his notebooks. It would operate on the principle of a modern helicopter. The flying machine looked like a huge pinwheel. The helicopter's "blades" were made of flax. If spun fast enough, they could create thrust, the aerodynamic phenomenon that allows planes and helicopters to fly. The air would create pressure under each of the blades, thereby lifting the flying car into the sky.

At least that was the idea. Could such a propeller fly? Hardly. But it would be cool.

Robot Knight

Leonardo da Vinci carefully studied human anatomy.

If the da Vinci self-propelled cart was the first working design for robotic transport, the robot knight could be the first humanoid robot, C-3PO of the 15th century. Da Vinci carefully studied the anatomy of the human body and spent hours dissecting corpses to find out how it worked. He realized that muscles move bones. After this, he decided that the same principle could form the basis of a machine. Unlike most of da Vinci's inventions, Leonardo appears to have actually built a robot knight, but it was used primarily as entertainment at the parties of the genius's generous patron, Lodovico Sforza. Of course, that robot was much different from .

Da Vinci's robot has not survived, and no one knows exactly what he was capable of. But apparently, he walked, sat and even worked with his jaws. It used a system of pulleys and gears. In 2002, robotics expert Mark Rosheim took da Vinci's workbooks to build a working model of the 15th century robot. As a result, Rosheim borrowed some ideas to create planetary reconnaissance robots, which.

As you can see, after half a century of space exploration, Leonardo da Vinci's projects finally went into outer space.

Other scientists believe that the issue lies in the peculiarities of the author’s artistic style. Allegedly, Leonardo applied paints in such a special way that the face of Mona Lisa is constantly changing.

Many insist that the artist depicted himself in a female form on the canvas, which is why such a strange effect was obtained. One scientist even discovered symptoms of idiocy in Mona Lisa, citing disproportionate fingers and lack of flexibility in her hand. But, according to the British doctor Kenneth Keel, the portrait conveys the peaceful state of a pregnant woman.

There is also a version that the artist, who was allegedly bisexual, painted his student and assistant Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who was next to him for 26 years. This version is supported by the fact that Leonardo da Vinci left this painting as an inheritance when he died in 1519.

They say... ...that the great artist owes his death to the model of Mona Lisa. That many hours of grueling sessions with her exhausted the great master, since the model herself turned out to be a bio-vampire. They still talk about this today. As soon as the picture was painted, the great artist was gone.

6) When creating the fresco “The Last Supper,” Leonardo da Vinci searched for ideal models for a very long time. Jesus must embody Good, and Judas, who decided to betray him at this meal, is Evil.

Leonardo da Vinci interrupted his work many times, going in search of sitters. One day, while listening to a church choir, he saw a perfect image of Christ in one of the young singers and, inviting him to his workshop, made several sketches and studies from him.

Three years have passed. The Last Supper was almost completed, but Leonardo never found a suitable model for Judas. The cardinal, who was in charge of painting the cathedral, hurried the artist, demanding that the fresco be completed as soon as possible.

And then, after a long search, the artist saw a man lying in a gutter - young, but prematurely decrepit, dirty, drunk and ragged. There was no longer time for sketches, and Leonardo ordered his assistants to take him straight to the cathedral. With great difficulty they dragged him there and put him on his feet. The man did not really understand what was happening and where he was, but Leonardo da Vinci captured on canvas the face of a man mired in sins. When he finished his work, the beggar, who by this time had already come to his senses a little, approached the canvas and shouted:

– I’ve already seen this picture before!

- When? - Leonardo was surprised. – Three years ago, before I lost everything. At that time, when I sang in the choir, and my life was full of dreams, some artist painted Christ from me...

7) Leonardo had the gift of foresight. In 1494, he made a series of notes that paint pictures of the world to come, many of them have already come true, and others are coming true now.

“People will talk to each other from the most distant countries and answer each other” - we are undoubtedly talking about the telephone here.

“People will walk and not move, they will talk to someone who is not there, they will hear someone who does not speak” - television, tape recording, sound reproduction.

“You will see yourself falling from great heights without any harm to you” - obviously skydiving.

8) But Leonardo da Vinci also has mysteries that baffle researchers. Maybe you can solve them?

“People will throw away from their own homes the supplies that were meant to keep them alive.”

"The majority of the male race will not be allowed to reproduce, since their testicles will be taken away."

Do you want to learn even more about Da Vinci and bring his ideas to life?

Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci is a man of Renaissance art, sculptor, inventor, painter, philosopher, writer, scientist, polymath (universal person).

The future genius was born as a result of a love affair between the noble Piero da Vinci and the girl Katerina (Katarina). According to the social norms of that time, the marriage of these people was impossible due to the low origin of Leonardo’s mother. After the birth of her first child, she was married to a potter, with whom Katerina lived the rest of her life. It is known that she gave birth to four daughters and a son from her husband.

Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

The first-born Piero da Vinci lived with his mother for three years. Leonardo's father, immediately after his birth, married a rich representative of a noble family, but his legal wife was never able to give him an heir. Three years after the marriage, Pierrot took his son to him and began raising him. Leonardo's stepmother died 10 years later while trying to give birth to an heir. Pierrot remarried, but quickly became a widower again. In total, Leonardo had four stepmothers, as well as 12 paternal half-siblings.

Creativity and inventions of da Vinci

The parent apprenticed Leonardo to the Tuscan master Andrea Verrocchio. During his studies with his mentor, son Pierrot learned not only the art of painting and sculpture. Young Leonardo studied the humanities and engineering, leather craftsmanship, and the basics of working with metal and chemicals. All this knowledge was useful to Da Vinci in life.

Leonardo received confirmation of his qualifications as a master at the age of twenty, after which he continued to work under the supervision of Verrocchio. The young artist was involved in minor work on his teacher’s paintings, for example, he painted background landscapes and clothes of minor characters. Leonardo only got his own workshop in 1476.

In 1482, da Vinci was sent by his patron Lorenzo de' Medici to Milan. During this period, the artist worked on two paintings, which were never completed. In Milan, Duke Lodovico Sforza enrolled Leonardo in the court staff as an engineer. The high-ranking person was interested in defensive devices and devices for entertaining the courtyard. Da Vinci had the opportunity to develop his talent as an architect and his abilities as a mechanic. His inventions turned out to be an order of magnitude better than those proposed by his contemporaries.

The engineer stayed in Milan under Duke Sforza for about seventeen years. During this time, Leonardo painted the paintings “Madonna in the Grotto” and “Lady with an Ermine”, created his most famous drawing “The Vitruvian Man”, made a clay model of the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza, painted the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery with the composition “The Last Supper”, made a number of anatomical sketches and drawings of devices.

Leonardo's engineering talent also came in handy after his return to Florence in 1499. He entered the service of Duke Cesare Borgia, who relied on Da Vinci's ability to create military mechanisms. The engineer worked in Florence for about seven years, after which he returned to Milan. By that time, he had already completed work on his most famous painting, which is now kept in the Louvre Museum.

The master's second Milanese period lasted six years, after which he left for Rome. In 1516, Leonardo went to France, where he spent his last years. On the journey, the master took with him Francesco Melzi, a student and main heir of da Vinci’s artistic style.

Despite the fact that Leonardo spent only four years in Rome, it is in this city that there is a museum named after him. In three halls of the institution you can get acquainted with devices built according to Leonardo’s drawings, examine copies of paintings, photos of diaries and manuscripts.

The Italian devoted most of his life to engineering and architectural projects. His inventions were both military and peaceful in nature. Leonardo is known as the developer of prototypes of a tank, an aircraft, a self-propelled carriage, a searchlight, a catapult, a bicycle, a parachute, a mobile bridge, and a machine gun. Some of the inventor's drawings still remain a mystery to researchers.

In 2009, the Discovery TV channel aired the series of films “Da Vinci Apparatus.” Each of the ten episodes of the documentary series was devoted to the construction and testing of mechanisms based on Leonardo's original drawings. The film's technicians tried to recreate the inventions of the Italian genius using materials from his era.

Personal life

The master's personal life was kept in the strictest confidence. Leonardo used a code for entries in his diaries, but even after deciphering, researchers received little reliable information. There is a version that the reason for secrecy was da Vinci’s unconventional orientation.

The theory that the artist loved men was based on researchers’ guesses based on indirect facts. At a young age, the artist was involved in a case of sodomy, but it is not known for certain in what capacity. After this incident, the master became very secretive and stingy with comments about his personal life.

Leonardo's possible lovers include some of his students, the most famous of whom is Salai. The young man was endowed with an effeminate appearance and became a model for several paintings by da Vinci. John the Baptist is one of Leonardo's surviving works for which Szalai sat.

There is a version that the “Mona Lisa” was also painted from this sitter, dressed in a woman’s dress. It should be noted that there is some physical similarity between the people depicted in the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “John the Baptist”. The fact remains that da Vinci bequeathed his artistic masterpiece to Salai.

Historians also include Francesco Melzi among Leonardo's possible lovers.

There is another version of the secret of the Italian’s personal life. It is believed that Leonardo had a romantic relationship with Cecilia Gallerani, who is supposedly depicted in the portrait “Lady with an Ermine”. This woman was the favorite of the Duke of Milan, the owner of a literary salon, and a patron of the arts. She introduced the young artist to the circle of Milanese bohemia.

Among Da Vinci's notes was found a draft of a letter addressed to Cecilia, which began with the words: “My beloved goddess...”. Researchers suggest that the portrait “Lady with an Ermine” was painted with clear signs of unspent feelings for the woman depicted in it.

Some researchers believe that the great Italian did not know carnal love at all. He was not attracted to men or women in a physical sense. In the context of this theory, it is assumed that Leonardo led the life of a monk who did not give birth to descendants, but left a great legacy.

Death and grave

Modern researchers have concluded that the probable cause of the artist’s death was a stroke. Da Vinci died at the age of 67 in 1519. Thanks to the memoirs of his contemporaries, it is known that by that time the artist was already suffering from partial paralysis. Leonardo could not move his right hand, as researchers believe, due to a stroke suffered in 1517.

Despite the paralysis, the master continued his active creative life, resorting to the help of his student Francesco Melzi. Da Vinci's health deteriorated, and by the end of 1519 it was already difficult for him to walk without assistance. This evidence is consistent with the theoretical diagnosis. Scientists believe that a repeated attack of cerebrovascular accident in 1519 ended the life of the famous Italian.

At the time of his death, the master was in the castle of Clos-Lucé near the city of Amboise, where he lived for the last three years of his life. In accordance with Leonardo's will, his body was buried in the gallery of the Church of Saint-Florentin.

Unfortunately, the master's grave was destroyed during the Huguenot wars. The church in which the Italian was buried was looted, after which it fell into severe neglect and was demolished by the new owner of the Amboise castle, Roger Ducos, in 1807.

After the destruction of the Saint-Florentin chapel, the remains from many burials over the years were mixed and buried in the garden. Since the mid-nineteenth century, researchers have made several attempts to identify the bones of Leonardo da Vinci. Innovators in this matter were guided by the lifetime description of the master and selected the most suitable fragments from the found remains. They were studied for some time. The work was led by archaeologist Arsen Housse. He also found fragments of a tombstone, presumably from da Vinci's grave, and a skeleton in which some fragments were missing. These bones were reburied in the reconstructed artist's tomb in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert on the grounds of the Castle of Amboise.

In 2010, a team of researchers led by Silvano Vinceti was going to exhume the remains of the Renaissance master. It was planned to identify the skeleton using genetic material taken from the burials of Leonardo's paternal relatives. Italian researchers were unable to obtain permission from the castle owners to carry out the necessary work.

On the site where the Church of Saint-Florentin used to be located, at the beginning of the last century a granite monument was erected, marking the four hundredth anniversary of the death of the famous Italian. The engineer's reconstructed grave and stone monument with his bust are among the most popular attractions in Amboise.

The secrets of da Vinci's paintings

Leonardo's work has occupied the minds of art critics, religious researchers, historians and ordinary people for more than four hundred years. The works of the Italian artist have become an inspiration for people of science and creativity. There are many theories that reveal the secrets of da Vinci's paintings. The most famous of them says that when writing his masterpieces, Leonardo used a special graphic code.

Using a device of several mirrors, researchers were able to find out that the secret of the looks of the heroes from the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “John the Baptist” lies in the fact that they are looking at a creature in a mask, reminiscent of an alien. The secret code in Leonardo's notes was also deciphered using an ordinary mirror.

Hoaxes surrounding the work of the Italian genius led to the emergence of a number of works of art, the author of which was the writer. His novels became bestsellers. In 2006, the film “The Da Vinci Code” was released, based on Brown’s work of the same name. The film was met with a wave of criticism from religious organizations, but set box office records in its first month of release.

Lost and unfinished works

Not all of the master’s works have survived to this day. The works that have not survived include: a shield with a painting in the form of the head of Medusa, a sculpture of a horse for the Duke of Milan, a portrait of the Madonna with a spindle, the painting “Leda and the Swan” and the fresco “The Battle of Anghiari”.

Modern researchers know about some of the master’s paintings thanks to surviving copies and memoirs of da Vinci’s contemporaries. For example, the fate of the original work “Leda and the Swan” is still unknown. Historians believe that the painting may have been destroyed in the mid-seventeenth century on the orders of the Marquise de Maintenon, wife of Louis XIV. Sketches made by Leonardo's hand and several copies of the canvas made by different artists have survived to this day.

The painting showed a young naked woman in the arms of a swan, with babies hatched from huge eggs playing at her feet. When creating this masterpiece, the artist was inspired by a famous mythical plot. It is interesting that the painting based on the story of Leda’s copulation with Zeus, who took the form of a swan, was painted not only by da Vinci.

Leonardo's lifetime rival also painted a painting dedicated to this ancient myth. Buonarotti's painting suffered the same fate as da Vinci's work. Paintings by Leonardo and Michelangelo simultaneously disappeared from the collection of the French royal house.

Among the unfinished works of the brilliant Italian, the painting “Adoration of the Magi” stands out. The canvas was commissioned by the Augustinian monks in 1841, but remained unfinished due to the master’s departure to Milan. The customers found another artist, and Leonardo saw no point in continuing to work on the painting.

Researchers believe that the composition of the canvas has no analogues in Italian painting. The painting depicts Mary with the newborn Jesus and the Magi, and behind the pilgrims are riders on horses and the ruins of a pagan temple. There is an assumption that Leonardo depicted himself at the age of 29 among the men who came to the son of God.

• In 2009, researcher of religious mysteries Lynn Picknett published the book “Leonardo da Vinci and the Brotherhood of Zion,” naming the famous Italian one of the masters of a secret religious order.
• It is believed that da Vinci was a vegetarian. He wore clothes made of linen, neglecting outfits made of leather and natural silk.
• A group of researchers plans to isolate Leonardo's DNA from the master's surviving personal belongings. Historians also claim to be close to finding da Vinci's maternal relatives.
• The Renaissance was the time when noble women in Italy were addressed with the words “my lady”, in Italian - “ma donna”. In colloquial speech the expression was shortened to "monna". This means that the title of the painting “Mona Lisa” can be literally translated as “Lady Lisa”.

• Rafael Santi called da Vinci his teacher. He visited Leonardo's studio in Florence and tried to adopt some features of his artistic style. Raphael Santi also called Michelangelo Buonarroti his teacher. The three artists mentioned are considered the main geniuses of the Renaissance.
• Australian enthusiasts have created the largest traveling exhibition of the great architect's inventions. The exhibition was developed with the participation of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Italy. The exhibition has already visited six continents. During its operation, five million visitors were able to see and touch the works of the most famous engineer of the Renaissance.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 -1519) - Italian artist (painter, sculptor, architect) and scientist (anatomist, naturalist), inventor, writer, one of the largest representatives of the art of the High Renaissance, a vivid example of the “universal man”.

BIOGRAPHY OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

Born in 1452 near the city of Vinci (where the prefix of his surname came from). His artistic interests are not limited to painting, architecture and sculpture. Despite his enormous achievements in the field of exact sciences (mathematics, physics) and natural science, Leonardo did not find sufficient support and understanding. Only many years later his work was truly appreciated.

Fascinated by the idea of ​​​​creating an aircraft, Leonardo da Vinci first developed the simplest aircraft (Daedalus and Icarus) based on wings. His new idea was an airplane with full control. However, it was not possible to implement it due to the lack of a motor. The scientist’s also famous idea is a vertical take-off and landing device.

Studying the laws of fluid and hydraulics in general, Leonardo made significant contributions to the theory of locks and sewer ports, testing ideas in practice.

Famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci are “La Gioconda”, “The Last Supper”, “Madonna with an Ermine”, and many others. Leonardo was demanding and precise in all his affairs. Even when he became interested in painting, he insisted on fully studying the object before starting to draw.

Giaconda Last Supper Madonna with an ermine

Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts are priceless. They were published in full only in the 19th and 20th centuries, although even during his lifetime the author dreamed of publishing Part 3. In his notes, Leonardo noted not just thoughts, but supplemented them with drawings, drawings, and descriptions.

Being talented in many fields, Leonardo da Vinci made significant contributions to the history of architecture, art, and physics. The great scientist died in France in 1519.

THE WORK OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

Among Leonardo’s early works is the “Madonna with a Flower” (the so-called “Benois Madonna,” circa 1478), kept in the Hermitage, which is decidedly different from the numerous Madonnas of the 15th century. Refusing the genre and careful detailing inherent in the works of the early Renaissance masters, Leonardo deepens the characteristics and generalizes the forms.

In 1480, Leonardo already had his own workshop and received orders. However, his passion for science often distracted him from his studies in art. The large altar composition “Adoration of the Magi” (Florence, Uffizi) and “Saint Jerome” (Rome, Vatican Pinacoteca) remained unfinished.

The Milanese period includes paintings of a mature style - “Madonna in the Grotto” and “The Last Supper”. “Madonna in the Grotto” (1483-1494, Paris, Louvre) is the first monumental altar composition of the High Renaissance. Her characters Mary, John, Christ and the angel acquired features of greatness, poetic spirituality and fullness of life expressiveness.

The most significant of Leonardo’s monumental paintings, “The Last Supper,” executed in 1495-1497 for the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan, takes you into the world of real passions and dramatic feelings. Departing from the traditional interpretation of the Gospel episode, Leonardo gives an innovative solution to the theme, a composition that deeply reveals human feelings and experiences.

After Milan was captured by French troops, Leonardo left the city. Years of wandering began. Commissioned by the Florentine Republic, he made cardboard for the fresco “The Battle of Anghiari”, which was to decorate one of the walls of the Council Chamber in the Palazzo Vecchio (city government building). When creating this cardboard, Leonardo entered into competition with the young Michelangelo, who was executing an order for the fresco “The Battle of Cascina” for another wall of the same hall.

In Leonardo’s composition, full of drama and dynamics, the episode of the battle for the banner, the moment of the highest tension of the forces of the combatants is given, the cruel truth of the war is revealed. The creation of a portrait of Mona Lisa (“La Gioconda”, circa 1504, Paris, Louvre), one of the most famous works of world painting, dates back to this time.

The depth and significance of the created image is extraordinary, in which individual features are combined with great generalization.

Leonardo was born into the family of a wealthy notary and landowner Piero da Vinci; his mother was a simple peasant woman, Katerina. He received a good education at home, but he lacked systematic studies in Greek and Latin.

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.

According to one theory, Mona Lisa smiles from the realization of her secret pregnancy.

According to another version, Gioconda was entertained by musicians and clowns while she posed for the artist.

There is another theory according to which the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of 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.

Scientists at the University of Amsterdam and specialists from the United States, having studied the mysterious smile of Gioconda using a new computer program, unraveled its composition: according to them, it contains 83% happiness, 9% disdain, 6% fear and 2% anger.

In 1994, Bill Gates purchased Codex Leicester, a collection of works by Leonardo da Vinci, for $30 million. Since 2003 it has been on display at the Seattle Art Museum.

Leonardo loved water: he developed instructions for underwater diving, invented and described a device for underwater diving, and a breathing apparatus for scuba diving. All of Leonardo's inventions formed the basis of modern underwater equipment.

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.”

Observations of the moon in the waxing crescent phase led Leonardo to one of the important scientific discoveries - the researcher found that sunlight is reflected from the Earth and returns to the moon in the form of secondary illumination.

Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good with his right and left hands. He suffered from dyslexia (impaired reading ability) - this ailment, called “word blindness,” is associated with reduced brain activity in a certain area of ​​​​the left hemisphere. As you know, Leonardo wrote in a mirror way.

The Louvre recently spent $5.5 million to move the artist's famous masterpiece, La Gioconda, from the general public to a room specially equipped for it. Two-thirds of the State Hall, occupying a total area of ​​840 square meters, was allocated for La Gioconda. The huge room was rebuilt into a gallery, on the far wall of which Leonardo’s famous creation now hangs. The reconstruction, which was carried out according to the design of the Peruvian architect Lorenzo Piqueras, lasted about four years. The decision to move the “Mona Lisa” to a separate room was made by the administration of the Louvre due to the fact that in its original place, surrounded by other paintings by Italian painters, this masterpiece was lost, and the public had to stand in line to see the famous painting.

In August 2003, a painting by the great Leonardo da Vinci worth $50 million, “Madonna of the Spindle,” was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland. The masterpiece disappeared from the home of one of Scotland's richest landowners, the Duke of Buccleuch. Last November, the FBI released a list of the 10 most notorious art crimes, which included this robbery.

Leonardo left designs for a submarine, a propeller, a tank, a loom, a ball bearing and flying cars.

In December 2000, British parachutist Adrian Nicholas in South Africa descended from a height of 3 thousand meters from a hot air balloon using a parachute made according to a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci. The Discover website writes about this fact.

Leonardo was the first painter to dismember corpses in order to understand the location and structure of muscles.

A great fan of word games, Leonardo left in the Codex Arundel a long list of synonyms for the male penis.

While building canals, Leonardo da Vinci made an observation, which later entered geology under his name as a theoretical principle for recognizing the time of formation of the earth's layers. He came to the conclusion that the Earth is much older than the Bible believed.

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! Even at an early age, I gave up meat” is taken from the English translation of Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s novel “Resurrected Gods. Leonardo da Vinci."

Leonardo wrote in his famous diaries 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, mirror handwriting was his individual feature (there is even evidence that it was easier for him to write this way than in a 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 placed on top - was very popular at court feasts.

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.

In Terry Pratchett's books, there is a character named Leonard, whose prototype was Leonardo da Vinci. Pratchett's Leonard writes from right to left, invents various machines, practices alchemy, paints pictures (the most famous is the portrait of Mona Ogg)

Leonardo is a minor character in the game Assassin's Creed 2. Here he is shown as still a young but talented artist, as well as an inventor.

A considerable number of Leonardo's manuscripts were first published by the curator of the Ambrosian Library, Carlo Amoretti.

Bibliography

Symbols

• Fairy tales and parables of Leonardo da Vinci
• Natural science writings and works on aesthetics (1508).
• Leonardo da Vinci. "Fire and the Cauldron (story)"

About him

• Leonardo da Vinci. Selected natural science works. M. 1955.
• Monuments of world aesthetic thought, vol. I, M. 1962. Les manuscrits de Leonard de Vinci, de la Bibliothèque de l’Institut, 1881-1891.
• Leonardo da Vinci: Traité de la peinture, 1910.
• Il Codice di Leonardo da Vinci, nella Biblioteca del principe Trivulzio, Milano, 1891.
• Il Codice Atlantico di Leonardo da Vinci, nella Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano, 1894-1904.
• Volynsky A.L., Leonardo da Vinci, St. Petersburg, 1900; 2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1909.
• General history of art. T.3, M. “Art”, 1962.
• Gastev A. Leonardo da Vinci (ZhZL)
• Gukovsky M. A. Mechanics of Leonardo da Vinci. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1947. - 815 p.
• Zubov V.P. Leonardo da Vinci. M.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962.
• Pater V. Renaissance, M., 1912.
• Seil G. Leonardo da Vinci as an artist and scientist. Experience in psychological biography, St. Petersburg, 1898.
• Sumtsov N. F. Leonardo da Vinci, 2nd ed., Kharkov, 1900.
• Florentine readings: Leonardo da Vinci (collection of articles by E. Solmi, B. Croce, I. del Lungo, J. Paladina, etc.), M., 1914.
• Geymüller H. Les manuscrits de Leonardo de Vinci, extr. de la "Gazette des Beaux-Arts", 1894.
• Grothe H., Leonardo da Vinci als Ingenieur und Philosopher, 1880.
• Herzfeld M., Das Traktat von der Malerei. Jena, 1909.
• Leonardo da Vinci, der Denker, Forscher und Poet, Auswahl, Uebersetzung und Einleitung, Jena, 1906.
• Müntz E., Leonardo da Vinci, 1899.
• Péladan, Leonardo da Vinci. Textes choisis, 1907.
• Richter J. P., The literary works of L. da Vinci, London, 1883.
• Ravaisson-Mollien Ch., Les écrits de Leonardo de Vinci, 1881.

Leonardo Da Vinci in works of art

• The Life of Leonardo da Vinci is a 1971 television miniseries.
• Da Vinci's Demons is a 2013 American television series.

When writing this article, materials from the following sites were used:wikipedia.org ,

If you find any inaccuracies or want to add to this article, send us information to the email address admin@site, we, and our readers, will be very grateful to you.