Leonardo da Vinci already. Leonardo da Vinci - biography, information, personal life. Early creativity and scientific activity

The personality and work of Leonardo da Vinci has always been of great interest. Leonardo was too extraordinary a figure for his time. Books and articles are published, feature films and documentaries are released on screens. Art critics turn to scientists and mystics in an attempt to find a solution to the secrets of the great master's genius. There is even a separate direction in science that explores the heritage of the painter. In honor of Leonardo da Vinci, museums are opening, thematic exhibitions that break all attendance records are incessantly held around the world, and the Mona Lisa watches the crowds of tourists all day from behind its armored glass. Real historical facts and legends, scientific achievements and fictional fiction are closely intertwined around the name of one genius.

The fate of the great master

The future great artist and scientist was born on April 14, 1452 from the extramarital affair of a wealthy notary Sir Pierrot with either a peasant woman or a tavern owner from the town of Vinci. The boy was named Leonardo. Katerina, that was the name of the artist's mother, was engaged in raising her son for the first five years of his life, after which his father took the boy to his house.

Although Piero was officially married, he had no other children besides Leonardo. Therefore, the appearance of the child in the house was greeted warmly and cordially. The only thing that the artist remained deprived of, being fully supported by his father, is the right to inheritance. Leonardo's early years passed serenely, surrounded by the picturesque mountainous nature of Tuscany. He will carry admiration and love for his native land throughout his life, perpetuating its beauty in his landscapes.

The peace and quiet of provincial life ended when the family moved to Florence. Life began to play, seethed with all the colors of a real metropolis of that time. The city was ruled by representatives of the Medici family, known for their generosity, patrons of the arts, who created ideal conditions for the development of the arts on their patrimony.

During their reign, Florence became the cradle of the cultural and scientific revolution known as the Renaissance. Once here, young Leonardo found himself in the very center of events, when the city was approaching the apogee of its heyday and glory, the peak of greatness, of which the young artist became an integral part.

But greatness was ahead, but for now, the future genius just needed to get an education. As an illegitimate son, he could not continue his father's business, as well as become, for example, a lawyer or a doctor. Which, in general, did not harm the fate of Leonardo.

From an early age, the young man demonstrated outstanding artistic ability. Piero could not help but take this into account when deciding on the fate of his only son. Soon, his father sent eighteen-year-old Leonardo to study in a very successful and innovative painting workshop. The famous painter Andrea del Verrocchio became the artist's mentor.

A talented and broad-minded sculptor and artist, Verrocchio did not preach medieval aesthetic views, but tried to keep up with the times. He was keenly interested in examples of ancient art, which he considered unsurpassed, in his work he sought to revive the traditions of Rome and Greece. Nevertheless, recognizing and respecting progress, Verrocchio made extensive use of the technical and scientific achievements of his time, thanks to which painting increasingly approached realism.

Flat, schematic images of the Middle Ages receded, giving way to the desire to completely and completely imitate nature in everything. And for this it was necessary to master the techniques of linear and aerial perspective, to understand the laws of light and shadow, which meant the need to master mathematics, geometry, drawing, chemistry, physics and optics. Leonardo studied with Verrocchio the basics of all exact sciences, while mastering the technique of drawing, modeling and sculpture, acquired skills in working with plaster, leather and metal. His talent was revealed so quickly and clearly that soon the young talent went far from his teacher in the skill and quality of painting.

Already at the age of twenty, in 1472, Leonardo became a member of the honorary Florentine Guild of Artists. And even the absence of his own workshop, which he acquired only a few years later, did not prevent him from starting his own path of an independent master. Despite the obvious engineering skills and remarkable talent for the exact sciences, society saw in the artist only an artisan who did not yet have great prestige. The ideals of freedom and creativity were still far away.

The fate of the 15th century artist entirely depended on influential patrons. So Leonardo throughout his life had to look for a place of service with the mighty of this world, and the fulfillment of individual secular and church orders was built on the principle of a simple trade agreement.

The first ten years of the artist's life were spent in creative pursuits and work on a few orders. Until, one day, a rumor reached Leonardo that the Duke of Sforza, the ruler of Milan, needed a court sculptor. The young man immediately decided to try his hand.

The fact is that Milan at that time was one of the largest centers of arms production, and Leonardo was immersed in his latest hobby - the development of drawings of original and ingenious machines and mechanisms. Therefore, the possibility of moving to the capital of engineering was very inspiring for him. The artist wrote a letter of recommendation to the Duke of Sforza, in which he dared to offer himself not only as a sculptor, artist and architect, but also as an engineer, claiming that he could build ships, armored vehicles, catapults, cannons and other military equipment. The duke was impressed by Leonardo's self-confident letter, but only partially satisfied him: he was a sculptor for the artist. The first task of the new court sculptor was to make a bronze horse statue, intended to decorate the Sforza family crypt. The funny thing is that due to various circumstances, during the seventeen years that Leonardo spent at the Milanese court, the horse was never cast. But the interest of the young talent in military affairs, mechanics and technology in the weapons workshops only grew. Almost all of Leonardo's inventions date from this period.

During his life, the genius da Vinci created numerous drawings of weaving, printing and rolling machines, metallurgical furnaces and a woodworking machine. He was the first to come up with the idea of ​​a helicopter propeller, ball bearings, a slewing crane, a pile driving mechanism, a hydraulic turbine, a wind speed meter, a telescopic fire ladder, an adjustable wrench, a gearbox. Leonardo developed models of all kinds of military vehicles - a tank, a catapult, a submarine. In his sketches, there are prototypes of a diving bell searchlight, an excavator, a bicycle, and fins. And also, his most famous designs, based on a painstaking study of bird flight techniques and the structure of a bird's wing - an aircraft very much like a hang glider and a parachute.

Unfortunately, Leonardo did not have a chance to see the embodiment of the overwhelming part of his ideas during his lifetime. The time had not yet come for them, there was no necessary raw materials and materials, the creation of which was also foreseen by the genius of the 15th century. All his life, Leonardo da Vinci had to put up with the fact that his grandiose plans are too far ahead of the era. Only at the end of the 19th century, many of them will receive their realization. And, of course, the master did not suspect that in the 20th and 21st centuries, millions of tourists would admire these inventions in special museums dedicated to his work.

In 1499 Leonardo left Milan. The reason was the capture of the city by French troops led by Louis XII, the Duke of Sforza, who had lost power, fled abroad. Not the best period in his life began for the artist. For four years, he constantly moved from place to place, not staying anywhere for a long time. Until, in 1503, he, fifty, again had to return to Florence - the city where he once worked as a simple apprentice, and now, being at the peak of skill and fame, he worked on the creation of his brilliant "Mona Lisa".

True, da Vinci still returned to Milan, after several years of work in Florence. Now, he was there as the court painter of Louis XII, who controlled the entire Italian north at that time. From time to time, the artist returned to Florence, fulfilling this or that order. Leonardo's ordeal ended in 1513, when he moved to Rome to the new patron Giuliano Medici, brother of Pope Leo X. For the next three years, da Vinci was mainly engaged in science, orders for engineering development and technical experiments.

Already at a very old age, Leonardo da Vinci moved again, this time to France, at the invitation of Francis I, who succeeded Louis XII on the throne. The rest of the life of the brilliant master passed in the royal residence, the castle of Lmboise, surrounded by the highest honor from the monarch. The artist himself, in spite of the numbness of his right hand and the constantly deteriorating state of health, continued to draw sketches and engage in students who replaced his family, never created by the master during his lifetime.

Gift of the Observer and Scholar

From early childhood, Leonardo possessed the rare talent of an observer. From early childhood to the end of his life, the artist, fascinated by the phenomena of nature, could peer into the flame of a candle for hours, follow the behavior of living creatures, study the movement of water, the cycles of plant growth and the flight of birds. A keen interest in the world around him gave the master a lot of invaluable knowledge and keys to many secrets of nature. “Nature has arranged everything so perfectly that everywhere you find something that can give you new knowledge,” said the master.

During his life, Leonardo made transitions through the highest alpine passes in order to explore the nature of atmospheric phenomena, traveled along mountain lakes and rivers to study the properties of water. Throughout his life, Leonardo carried a notebook with him, in which he entered everything that attracted his attention. He attached particular importance to optics, believing that the painter's eye is a direct instrument of scientific knowledge.

Refusing to follow the path beaten by his contemporaries, Leonardo was looking for his own answers to the questions of harmony and proportionality of all things (the world around and the person himself) that worried him. The artist realized that if he wants to capture the person himself and the world around him in his works, without distorting their essence, he must study the nature of both as deeply as possible. Starting with the observation of visible phenomena and forms, he gradually delved into the processes and mechanisms that govern them.

Mathematical knowledge helped the painter understand that any object or object is a whole, which inevitably consists of many parts, the proportionality and correct arrangement of which gives rise to what is called harmony. An incredible discovery of the painter was that the concepts of "nature", "beauty" and "harmony" are inextricably linked with a specific law, following which absolutely all forms are formed in nature, from the most distant stars in the sky to flower petals. Leonardo realized that this law can be expressed in the language of numbers, and, using it, create beautiful and harmonious works in painting, sculpture, architecture and any other field.

In fact, Leonardo managed to discover the principle by which the Creator of Being himself created this world. The artist called his discovery "Golden, or Divine Proportion". This law was already known to philosophers and creators of the ancient world, in Greece and Egypt, where it was widely used in a wide variety of art forms. The painter followed the path of practice, and preferred to acquire all his knowledge through his own experience of interaction with nature and the world.

Leonardo was generous in sharing his discoveries and achievements with the world. During his lifetime, he worked with the mathematician Luca Pocholi on the creation of the book "Divine Proportion", and after the death of the master saw the light of the treatise "Golden Section", completely based on his discoveries. Both books are written about art in the language of mathematics, geometry and physics. In addition to these sciences, the artist at various times was seriously interested in the study of chemistry, astronomy, botany, geology, geodesy, optics and anatomy. And all in order, in the end, to solve the tasks that he set himself in art. It was through painting, which Leonardo considered the most intellectual type of creativity, that he strove to express the harmony and beauty of the surrounding space.

Life on canvas

Looking at the creative legacy of the great painter, one can clearly see how the depth of Leonardo's penetration into the foundations of the foundations of scientific knowledge about the world filled his paintings with life, making them more and more truthful. One gets the impression that you can easily start a conversation with the people depicted by the master, turn the objects drawn by him in your hands, and enter the landscape and get lost. In the images of Leonardo, mysterious and surprisingly realistic at the same time, depth and spirituality are obvious.

To understand what Leonardo considered a real, living creation, one can draw an analogy with photography. A photograph, in fact, is just a mirror copy, a documentary evidence of life, a reflection of the created world, unable to achieve its perfection. From this point of view, the photographer is the modern embodiment of what Leonardo said: "A painter who draws meaninglessly, guided only by practice and the judgment of the eye, is like an ordinary mirror, which imitates all objects opposed to him, without knowing anything about them." A real artist, according to the master, studying nature and recreating it on canvas, must surpass it, "himself inventing countless forms of grasses and animals, trees and landscapes."

The next stage of skill and a unique gift of man, according to Leonardo, is fantasy. "Where nature has already finished producing its species, man himself begins to create from natural things with the help of this same nature, countless types of new things." The development of imagination is the first and most basic thing that an artist should do, according to da Vinci, this is what he writes about on the pages of his manuscripts. In the mouth of Leonardo, it sounds like the Truth with a capital letter, because he himself has repeatedly proved this with his entire life and creative heritage, which includes so many ingenious guesses and inventions.

The irrepressible striving for knowledge of Leonardo touched almost all areas of human activity. During his life, the master was able to prove himself as a musician, poet and writer, engineer and mechanic, sculptor, architect and urbanist, biologist, physicist and chemist, connoisseur of anatomy and medicine, geologist and cartographer. Da Vinci's genius has even found its way into cooking recipes, designing clothes, composing games for palace entertainment and designing gardens.

Leonardo boasted not only an unusually versatile knowledge and a wide range of skills, but also an almost perfect appearance. According to his contemporaries, he was a tall, handsome man, well-built and endowed with great physical strength. Leonardo sang perfectly, was a brilliant and witty storyteller, danced and played the lyre, possessed exquisite manners, was courteous and simply charmed people with his mere presence.

Perhaps it was precisely this uncommonness of his in almost all spheres of life that caused such a wary attitude towards him by the conservative majority, who was apprehensive about innovative ideas. For his genius and out-of-the-box thinking, he was more than once branded as a heretic and even accused of serving the devil. Apparently this is the lot of all geniuses who come to our world to break the foundations and lead humanity forward.

In word and deed, denying the experience of past generations, the great painter said that "a painting from a painter will not be perfect if he takes the pictures of others as an inspiration." This also applied to all other areas of knowledge. Leonardo paid great attention to experience as the main source of ideas about man and the world. “Wisdom is the daughter of experience,” the artist said, it cannot be acquired by just studying books, because those who write them are just mediators between people and nature.

Each person is a child of nature and the crown of creation. Countless possibilities of knowing the world are open to him, which is inextricably linked with every cell of his body. Through the study of the world, Leonardo knew himself. The question that torments many art historians is what was more interested in da Vinci - painting or knowledge? Was he an artist, a scientist or a philosopher in the end? The answer is, in fact, simple, as a true creator, Leonardo da Vinci harmoniously combined all these concepts in one. After all, you can learn to draw, be able to use a brush and paints, but this will not make you an artist, because real creativity is a special state of feelings and attitude to the world. Our world will reciprocate, become a muse, reveal its secrets and allow only those who really love it to penetrate into the very essence of things and phenomena. From the way Leonardo lived, from everything he did, it is obvious that he was a man passionately in love.

Images of Madonna

The work "Annunciation" (1472-1475, Louvre, Paris) was written by a young painter at the very beginning of his career. The painting depicting the Annunciation was intended for one of the monasteries not far from Florence. She gave rise to a lot of controversy among the researchers of the work of the great Leonardo. Doubts refer in particular to the fact that the work is a completely independent work of the artist. It must be said that such disputes over authorship are not uncommon for many of Leonardo's works.

Made on a wooden panel of impressive dimensions - 98 x 217 cm, the work shows the moment when the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven, informs Mary that she will give birth to a son whom Jesus will call. Traditionally, it is believed that Mary at this time is just reading the very passage of Isaiah's prophecies, which mentions the future fulfillment. It is no coincidence that the scene is depicted against the background of a spring garden - flowers are in the hand of the archangel and under his feet and symbolize the purity of the Virgin Mary. And the garden itself, surrounded by a low wall, traditionally refers us to the sinless image of the Mother of God, fenced off by her purity from the outside world.

An interesting fact is related to the wings of Gabriel. In the picture, it is clearly discernible that they were completed later - an unknown artist lengthened them in a very rough pictorial manner. The original wings, which Leonardo depicted, remained distinguishable - they are much shorter and, probably, were copied by the artist from the wings of a real bird.

In this work, if you look closely, you can find several mistakes made by the still inexperienced Leonardo in building perspective. The most obvious of which is Mary's right hand, which is visually closer to the viewer than her entire figure. There is no softness in the draperies of clothes yet, they look too heavy and stiff, as if made of stone. Here we must take into account that this is exactly how Leonardo was taught by his mentor Verrocchio. This angularity and harshness is characteristic of almost all the works of artists of that time. But in the future, on the way to gaining his own pictorial realism, Leonardo will develop himself and lead all other artists.

In the painting "Madonna Litta" (circa 1480, Hermitage, St. Petersburg) Leonardo managed to create an incredibly expressive female image with the help of almost a single gesture. On the canvas, we see a full of thoughtfulness, a gentle and peaceful mother, admiring her child, concentrating in this look all the fullness of her feelings. Without such a special tilt of the head, so characteristic of many works of the master, whom he studied for hours creating dozens of preparatory drawings, much of the impression of boundless maternal love would be lost. Only the shadows in the corners of Mary's lips seem to hint at the possibility of a smile, but how much tenderness it gives to the whole face. The work is very small in size, only 42 x 33 cm, most likely that it was intended for home worship. Indeed, in Italy in the 15th century, picturesque images of the Madonna and Child were quite popular, they were often ordered by artists from wealthy townspeople. Presumably, Madonna Litta was originally written by a master for the rulers of Milan. Then, after changing several owners, she moved to a private family collection. The modern name of the work comes from the name of Count Litta, who owned the family art gallery in Milan. In 1865, it was he who sold it to the Hermitage together with several other paintings.

In the right hand of the baby Jesus is almost hidden a chick, imperceptible at first glance, serving in the Christian tradition as a symbol of the Son of God and His childhood. There are controversies around the canvas, caused by too clear contours of the drawing and some unnatural posture of the child, which leads many researchers to assume that one of Leonardo's students took an active part in creating the picture.

The first painting, which shows the revealed talent of the master, was the painting "Madonna in the grotto" (circa 1483, Louvre, Paris). The composition was commissioned for the altar of the chapel in the Milan church of St. Francis and was supposed to be the central part of the triptych. The order was divided among three craftsmen. One of them created side panels depicting angels for the altarpiece, the other - a carved frame of the finished piece of wood.

The churchmen entered into a very detailed contract with Leonardo. In it, the smallest details of the painting were specified, up to the style and technique of execution of all elements and even the color of clothes, from which the artist should not deviate a single step. So, a work was born that tells about the meeting of the baby Jesus and John the Baptist. The action takes place in the depths of the grotto, in which the mother and son take refuge from the persecutors sent by King Herod, who saw in the Son of God a direct threat to his power. The Baptist rushes to Jesus, folding his palms in prayer, who, in turn, blesses him with a gesture of his hand. The silent witness of the sacrament is the angel Uriel, looking towards the viewer. From now on, he will be called to protect John. All four figures are so skillfully arranged in the painting that they seem to form a single whole. I would like to call the whole composition "musical" so much tenderness, harmony and smoothness in its characters, united by gestures and looks.

This work was not easy for the artist. The time frames were strictly stipulated in the contract, but, as often happened with the painter, he failed to meet them, which entailed litigation. After much litigation, Leonardo had to write another version of this composition, which is now kept in the National Gallery in London, we know it as "Madonna of the Rocks".

The famous fresco of the Milanese monastery

Within the walls of the Milan monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie, more precisely in its refectory, one of the greatest masterpieces of painting and the main national treasure of Italy is kept. The legendary fresco "The Last Supper" (1495-1498) occupies a space of 4.6 x 8.8 m, and describes the dramatic moment when, surrounded by his disciples, Christ utters the sad prophecy "One of you will betray me."

The painter, who has always been attracted by the study of human passions, wanted to capture ordinary people in the images of the apostles, and not historical characters. Each of them responds in its own way to the ongoing event. Leonardo made it his task to convey the psychological atmosphere of the evening with maximum realism, to convey to us the various characters of its participants, revealing their spiritual world and conflicting experiences with the accuracy of a psychologist. In the variety of faces of the heroes of the picture and their gestures there is a place for almost all emotions from surprise to furious anger, from confusion to sadness, from simple disbelief to deep shock. The future traitor Judas, whom traditionally all artists had previously separated from the general group, in this work sits along with the others, clearly standing out with a gloomy expression on his face and a shadow that seemed to envelop his entire figure. Taking into account the principle of the golden ratio discovered by him, Leonardo verified the location of each of the students with mathematical precision. All twelve apostles are divided into four almost symmetrical groups, highlighting the figure of Christ in the center. Other details of the picture are intended not to distract attention from the characters. So, the table is deliberately made too small, and the room itself, in which the meal takes place, is strict and simple.

While working on The Last Supper, Leonardo conducted an experiment with paints. But, unfortunately, the composition of soil and paint he invented, for which he combined oil and tempera, turned out to be completely unstable. The consequence of this was that after only twenty years after writing, the work began to rapidly and irreversibly deteriorate. The stable that Napoleon's army set up in the room where the fresco was located exacerbated an already existing problem. As a result, almost from the beginning of its history to the present day, restoration work has been carried out on this monumental canvas, only thanks to which it is still possible to preserve it.

Zu Xu his long life, Leonardo da Vinci created no more than twenty paintings, some of which remained unfinished. Such an amazing for that time, not fertility, alarmed the customers, but that not haste with which the master used to work on his paintings became the talk of the town. There are memories of the monk of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, who watched the work of the painter on the famous fresco "The Last Supper". This is how he described Leonardo's working day: the artist climbed up the scaffolding around the painting early in the morning and could not part with his brush until late at night, completely forgetting about food and rest. But another time, he spent hours, days on end, intently examining his creation, without applying a single stroke. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts of the master, due to an unsuccessful experiment and materials, the fresco from the Milan monastery became one of the artist's greatest disappointments.

One of my favorite books so far is "The Da Vinci Code"... The genre of the work - mystical detective - masterly creates an aura of mystery around the already mysterious the Leonardo phenomenon... I cannot call him only an artist or a sculptor, since this person was The creator(and only with a capital letter) of the Renaissance, versatile and talented. So who was Leonardo da Vinci?

How it all started

What a pity that photography and cinematography did not appear until several centuries after Leonardo. I'd like to see how this man looked, what clothes he wore, smiled or, conversely, frowned his shaggy eyebrows. However, the strict image of the master can still be seen in Piazza della Scala in Milan. Monument depicting Leonardo and his students, it's hard not to notice, but it's very easy to spend an hour staring at His face.

Da Vinci was originally identified by his father in painters and sculptors and began to study in Florence. An inquisitive mind and thirst to learn did not limit the young man only to the sphere of art. Were soon mastered Humanities sciences, chemistry, modeling and drafting.

After Florence, da Vinci finds himself in Milan, where he becomes engineer at the court of the Duke of Sforza. We can say that it was the duke who contributed to the development of new directions in Leonardo's "career": architecture and mechanics.

If we imagine that the Skolkovo Foundation already existed in the Renaissance, then the drawings and projects of the newly-minted engineer would be considered innovative and would immediately allocate a grand. Leonardo's sphere of scientific interest had the widest range: from military devices up to peaceful inventions.

Who was Leonardo da Vinci

Throughout his fairly long life (he died at the age of 67), the creator was able to achieve amazing success in many areas. science and arts... For example.

Vinci - a small town in the northern part of the Italian province of Tuscany, might not have become a tourist attraction if a child, who later became known as Leonardo da Vinci, was not born in its vicinity on April 15, 1452.

Leonardo left his hometown at the age of about 14 and never returned to it. However, this city, more than other cities in Italy, is imbued with the spirit of Leonardo's genius.

The town of Vinci is very tiny.

On the streets there are very picturesque and cozy corners with the remains of medieval attributes.

The old houses are buried in greenery.

In some places there are more modern streets (residents of megacities will smile).

In the small Piazza della Libertà (Piazza della Libertà), you can see a sculpture of a horse, created according to sketches by Leonardo da Vinci for the unfinished project of an equestrian statue of condottiere Francesco Sforza.

On weekends, the central street of Vinci turns into a market that sells anything.

In the center of the town of Vinci, in a small ancient castle of the Counts of Guidi (Castello dei Conti Guidi), a magnificent museum is open, where models of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions, created according to sketches of a genius, are exhibited, and videos illustrating them in work are shown.

Taking photographs in the museum is not allowed, we did not violate the ban, although there were not many such "correct" visitors.

I took this photo at the entrance to the museum. One of the layouts is installed here too. The castle also houses the Leonardo Library, which contains more than 7000 different editions associated with the name of Leonardo da Vinci.

The castle itself looks like a typical medieval fortress. In it you can climb the tower.

According to local beliefs, those who climb the tower of the Guidi castle will be able to learn the secret of life. We got up, we are waiting for knowledge ...

The views from the castle tower are, of course, magnificent - olive groves, vineyards, cypresses. Tuscany is beautiful!

Next to the Guidi Castle is the Church of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), built in the 13th century.

The church is three-nave, there are 2 chapels in it - in honor of the Holy Communion and St. Andrew. An old baptismal font has been preserved in the basilica, possibly the same one in which Leonardo da Vinci was baptized here.

A wooden sculpture by Mario Ceroli depicting the Vitruvian Man Leonardo (Uomo Vitruviano) is exhibited near the castle.

Someone is constantly being photographed near the sculpture, sometimes climbing inside and imitating a wooden man.

Later, leaving Vinci, they discovered that private houses were located in the wall surrounding the castle. An interesting observation - on none of the houses in Vinci we saw an announcement that the property is for sale ...

In 3 kilometers from the town there is a house (more precisely, its reconstruction), where Leonardo da Vinci was born. An alley of olive trees leads to the house.

In general, the exact place of birth of Leonardo is unknown. But, most likely, it was a similar country house. In the house you can see the very record of the birth of the grandson, left by the notary Antonio da Vinci: “My grandson was born from my son Pierrot, on April 15, 1452, on Saturday, at three o'clock in the morning. It was named Leonardo ... ”The night time was then counted from sunset, that is, Leonardo was born at about 22.30.

The baby was born illegitimate, the fruit of the love of a young notary, Piero da Vinci, and a beautiful peasant woman, Catarina. This connection was not destined to develop into marriage, soon the notary married a rich girl, and a peasant woman married a local potter. However, the child born of this love, the da Vinci family recognized that the full name of the genius sounds like Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.

I don't like such "fictional" objects. But it is this house that is interesting because it makes it possible to see and feel the surrounding nature, the energy of these places.

The house is located on a hill with beautiful views of Tuscany and the town of Vinci.

The future genius was born in wonderful places ...

🙂 Greetings to history and art lovers! The article "Leonardo da Vinci: biography, creativity, facts and video" - about the life of the Italian artist. This "universal man" was a painter, sculptor, architect, naturalist, inventor, writer, and musician.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

In our time, historians and writers pay great attention to the personality of Leonardo da Vinci. Mysticism and rationalism are equally included in the assessment of this extraordinary person, and even the many records of a genius that have safely reached the 21st century cannot change this ratio.

He is recognized as a great scientist, although his projects, with a few exceptions, have not been implemented. Recognized as a great painter and sculptor, although he painted few paintings and created only a few sculptures. It is not the number of works created that makes him a genius, but the change in working methods in these branches of knowledge and art.

Italy, Florence

There are almost no documents or memories of Leonardo's childhood and adolescence. His father, Piero da Vinci, was a renowned notary in Florence. Mother Katerina was a peasant. When she gave birth to a son (April 15, 1452), she was immediately married to the wealthy landowner Piero del Vaccia. The boy grew up in the house of Albiera's father and stepmother.

His uncle Francesco had a great influence on the formation of his personality. Leonardo was illegitimate and, according to the laws of the Middle Ages, could not inherit his father's profession. Piero was intimately acquainted with Verrocchio and, when he met, showed him the drawings of his son. At the age of 14, Leonardo entered the studio of the renowned painter as an apprentice.

In Verrocchio's workshop

The young man thoroughly studied the basics of architecture, painting and sculpture in Verrocchio's workshop. He got acquainted with other branches of knowledge, made friends with students, in particular, with and Perugino. He met Toscanelli (mathematician, physician) and Leon Alberti.

Da Vinci was admitted to the workshop of artists in 1472. The biggest orders of Verrocchio at this time were the statue of "David" for the Medici family (presumably Da Vinci served as a model), and the painting of the dome of the cathedral.

Eight years later, Leonardo opened his own workshop. His first independent work is considered to be the image of an angel on the canvas "The Baptism of Christ". Vasari wrote that this work was created by Verrocchio.

But the spectral analysis, which was carried out by the workers of the Uffizi gallery, proves that 3-4 artists worked on this painting. Most of the composition is the work of Botticelli. Leonardo painted the angel and the landscape behind him.

The artist did not always sign his works, which makes it difficult to study them. In the early 1470s, he created two Annunciation, possibly paintings for the altar. One of them is in the Uffizi Gallery, as one of the earliest works. It shows some similarities with the work of Lorenzo di Credi, also a pupil of Verrocchio.

Pencil drawing, which depicts a river valley and picturesque rocks visible in the distance, can also be attributed to early works.

Drawings of military machines and machines for the developing textile industry date back to the same time. It is possible that these projects were commissioned by Lorenzo Medici.

Leonardo da Vinci: paintings

The first large order received from Piero Pollaiolo is the altarpiece for the chapel of St. Bernard. Leonardo received an advance, but did not finish the work and left for Milan.

The Adoration of the Magi, 1481. Uffizi, Florence, Italy

Another order is the altarpiece "Adoration of the Magi". But even this work, having received an advance payment, the artist did not complete. It is this work that art critics consider the foundation for European painting. Sketches for this work are in the Uffizi, Louvre and the Museum of Britain. This composition was finished by Filippino Lippi.

"Saint Jerome". 1480-82, Vatican Pinakothek, Vatican

The painting "Saint Jerome" is also unfinished. The figure of the saint is depicted with excellent knowledge of anatomy. The lion in the foreground is indicated only by the contour line.

The works of 1478 - 1480 include: "Portrait of Ginevra" and "Madonna with a Flower" (are on display in the Hermitage). Ginevra's serious appearance gives reason to consider this work the first psychological portrait in art.

"Portrait of Ginevra de Benchi", c. 1474-6, National Gallery of Art, Washington (USA)

The Benoit Madonna may have been based on sketches now in the London Museum. The work is executed in a new technique and is distinguished by the transparency of light and shade and the luxury of shades with the restraint of the general color.

"Madonna Benois" or "Madonna with a flower", 1478-80, Hermitage, St. Petersburg (Russia)

The image of airspace blurs the border of objects and thus connects the whole composition. Many art critics suggest that Madonna of the Carnation was created earlier than Madonna Benoit.

"Madonna of the Carnation", 1478, Alte Pinakothek, Munich (Germany)

As is known from historical sources, in his youth Leonardo blinded clay "heads of laughing girls", and then they made casts from them. He also painted a monster on a shield made of wood. “It was disgusting. It seemed that his breath poisons and inflames everything around. "

Milan

In 1482 he came to Milan and brought back two unfinished paintings. One of them is "Madonna Litta". He completed it in 1490. In Milan, his activities were diverse. He worked as an engineer and is mentioned along with D. Bramante.

"Madonna Litta", 1490-1, Hermitage, St. Petersburg (Russia)

The drawings of this period are proof of the genius giftedness of this great man. He actively participated in the construction of the canal and significantly improved the system of locks.

Da Vinci worked hard on the project of the ideal city. In his mind, it was a three-tiered city. In 1487, he submitted a design for the dome of a cathedral in Milan for a competition. The commission could not make a final decision and postponed the competition until the summer of 1490. But the master refused to participate.

Da Vinci designed wedding celebrations for rulers, was a musician and a brilliant conversationalist. He wrote fables and riddles. In Milan, he became friends with F. Cardano (doctor and mathematician). J. Marliani often visited.

Da Vinci carefully studied and observed nature, but never sought to copy it. He wanted to create something new. This is how he wrote The Head of Medusa. It was not finished, but adorned the collection of the Duke Cosimo de 'Medici.

The Atlantic Codex, the master's notes in various fields of knowledge, contains a draft of a letter to Lodovico Sforza. He offers his services as an engineer and sculptor. He writes that he wants to create a large monument to Francesco Sforza.

His circle of acquaintances included the mathematician Giorgi Ballu and the theologian Pietro Monti. In 1496 Leonardo attended lectures by the famous mathematician Luca Pacioli.

He was an unusually gifted person. Leonardo da Vinci left this world on May 2, 1519. He left behind many ideas, magnificent paintings and even more unsolvable mysteries.

Video

Further information "Leonardo da Vinci: biography"

Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous artist in the world. Which is amazing in itself. There are only 19 surviving paintings by the master. How is this possible? Does two dozen works make an artist the greatest?

It's all about Leonardo himself. He is one of the most unusual people ever born. Inventor of various mechanisms. Discoverer of many phenomena. A virtuoso musician. And also a cartographer, botanist and anatomist.

In his notes, we find descriptions of a bicycle, a submarine, a helicopter, and a tanker. Not to mention scissors, life jacket and contact lenses.

His innovations in painting were also incredible. He was one of the first to use oil paints. Sfumato effect and cut-off modulation. He was the first to fit the figures into the landscape. His models in portraits became living people, not painted mannequins.

Here are just 5 masterpieces of the master. Which demonstrate all the genius of this person.

1. Madonna of the rocks. 1483-1486

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the rocks. 1483-1486 Louvre, Paris. Wikimedia.commons.org

Young Virgin Mary. Pretty Angel in a red cloak. And two well-fed children. The Holy Family with the baby Jesus returned from Egypt. On the way, he met little John the Baptist.

This is the first painting in the history of painting when people are depicted not in front of a landscape, but inside it. The heroes are sitting by the water. Behind the cliff. So old that they look more like stalactites.

The Madonna of the Rocks was commissioned by the monks of the brotherhood of St. Francis for one of the Milan churches. But the customers were not happy. Leonardo delayed the deadline. They also did not like the absence of halos. Confused them and the gesture of an angel. Why is his index finger pointing at John the Baptist? After all, the baby Jesus is more important.

Leonardo sold the painting on the side. The monks got angry and sued. The artist was ordered to paint a new painting for the monks. Only with halos and no angel pointing gesture.

According to the official version, this is how the second Madonna of the Rocks appeared. Almost identical to the first. But there is something strange about her.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the rocks. 1508 National Gallery of London.

Leonardo studied plants carefully. He even made a number of discoveries in the field of botany. It was he who realized that tree sap plays the same role as blood in human veins. I also figured out how to determine the age of trees by the rings.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the vegetation in the Louvre painting is realistic. It is these plants that grow in a humid, dark place. But in the second picture, the flora is invented.

How did Leonardo, so truthful in his portrayal of nature, suddenly decide to fantasize? In a single picture? It's unthinkable.

I think Leonardo was not interested in painting the second picture. And he instructed his student to make a copy. Who clearly did not understand botany.

2. Lady with an ermine. 1489-1490

Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with an ermine. 1489-1490 Chertoryski Museum, Krakow. Wikimedia.commons.org

Before us is the young Cecilia Gallerani. She was the mistress of the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. At whose court Leonardo also served.

Smiling, good-natured and intelligent girl. She was an interesting conversationalist. Often and for a long time he and Leonardo talked.

The portrait is very unusual. Leonardo's contemporaries painted people in profile. Here Cecilia is three-quarters. Turning your head in the opposite direction. As if she looked back at someone's words. This turn makes the shoulder line and neck especially beautiful.

Alas, we see the portrait in a modified form. Some of the owners of the portrait darkened the background. Leonardo had it lighter. With a window behind the girl's left shoulder. The lower two fingers of her hand are also rewritten. Therefore, they are curved unnaturally.

It is worth talking about the ermine. Such an animal seems to us a curiosity. A modern person would be more accustomed to seeing a fluffy cat in the hands of a girl.

But for the 15th century, it was the ermine that was a common animal. They were kept for catching mice. And the cats were just exotic.

3. The Last Supper. 1495-1598

Leonardo da Vinci. The Last Supper. 1495-1498 Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazia, Milan

The fresco "The Last Supper" was commissioned by the same Ludovico Sforza at the request of his wife Beatrice d'Este. Alas, she died quite young in childbirth. Never seeing the painting completed.

The Duke was beside himself with grief. Realizing how dear to him was a cheerful and beautiful wife. The more he was grateful to Leonardo for the work done.

He paid generously to the artist. Having handed him 2,000 ducats (for our money, this is about 800 thousand dollars), as well as transferring him to possession of a large plot of land.

When the inhabitants of Milan were able to see the fresco, there was no limit to amazement. The apostles differed not only in appearance, but also in their emotions and gestures. Each of them reacted differently to Christ's words, "One of you will betray me." Never before has the individuality of the characters been as pronounced as that of Leonardo.

The painting has one more amazing detail. The restorers found that Leonardo painted the shadows not in gray or black, but in blue! This was unthinkable until the middle of the 19th century. When they began to paint with colored shadows.

Leonardo da Vinci. Fragment of The Last Supper. 1495-1498 Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazia, Milan

On reproduction it is not so clearly visible, but the composition of the paint speaks for itself (blue crystals of copper acetate).

Read about other unusual details of the painting in the article.

4. Mona Lisa. 1503-1519 g.

Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa. 1503-1519 ... Wikimedia.commons.org

In the portrait we see Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant. This version is official, but questionable.

An interesting description of this portrait has come down to us. It was left by a student of Leonardo, Francesco Melzi. And the Louvre lady does not fit this description at all. I wrote about this in detail in the article .

Now we are considering another version of the personality of a woman. It could be a portrait of Giuliano Medici's mistress from Florence. She bore him a son. And soon after giving birth she died.

Giuliano commissioned a portrait of Leonardo especially for the boy. In the image of the ideal mother Madonna. Leonardo painted the portrait from the words of the customer. Adding to them the features of his pupil Salai.

This is why the Florentine lady is so similar to “John the Baptist” (see next picture). For which the same Salai posed.

In this portrait, the sfumato method is maximized. Subtle haze, creating the effect of shaded lines, makes Mona Lisa almost alive. It seems that her lips are now parting. She will sigh. The chest will rise.

The portrait was never given to the client. Since in 1516 Giuliano died. Leonardo took him to France, where he was invited by King Francis I. He continued to work on it until his last day. Why is it taking so long?

Leonardo perceived time in a completely different way. He was the first to argue that the Earth is much older than is commonly thought. He did not believe that the biblical flood brought the seashells to the mountains. Realizing that there was once a sea in the place of the mountains.

Therefore, it was common for him to paint a picture for decades. What is 15-20 years compared to the age of the Earth!

5. John the Baptist. 1514-1516

Leonardo da Vinci. Saint John the Baptist. 1513-1516 Louvre, Paris. wga.hu

"John the Baptist" puzzled Leonardo's contemporaries. Deaf dark background. Whereas even Leonardo himself liked to place figures against the background of nature.

The figure of a saint emerges from the darkness. And it is difficult to call him a saint. Everyone is used to the elderly John. And here the handsome young man bowed his head in a meaningful way. A gentle touch of the hand to the chest. Well-groomed curls of hair.

The last thing you think about is holiness when you look at this effeminate man in the skin of a leopard.

Don't you think that this picture does not seem to belong at all? It is rather the 17th century. The mannerism of the hero. Theatrical gestures. Contrast of light and shadow. All this comes from the Baroque Era.

Did Leonardo look into the future? Predicting the style and manner of painting of the next century.

Who was Leonardo? Most know him as an artist. But his genius is not limited to this vocation.

After all, he was the first to explain why the sky is blue. I believed in the unity of all living things in the world. Anticipating quantum physics theorists with their butterfly effect. He recognized the phenomenon of turbulence. 400 years before its official opening.

It is a pity that humanity could not take full advantage of his genius.

Interestingly, Leonardo is an exception, equal to which will no longer appear on Earth? Or is it a superman of the future who was accidentally born prematurely?

Another masterpiece of Leonardo, which is stored in, read the article

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