How Did Leonardo Da Vinci Contribute To The Renaissance
The renaissance period was the most influential time period of all time. The renaissance took place in the late 13 and early 14 century. Renaissance means rebirth or revival (Renaissance). The reason it’s called a rebirth or revival is because this time period led to advancements in art, science, architect, and machinery. Although there were a lot of people who contributed to these advancements, two very important people that helped are Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 in the village of Vinci on April 15 (Kallen). Leonardo is the most famous renaissance men of them all. Leonardo like most young artists started off as a student to Verrocchio and this is where he would he learned all his skills. Around the year 1503 Leonardo had begun to paint his most famous painting the Mona Lisa. A question asked by many people is why is the Mona Lisa the most famous it’s just a portrait? It’s not just her smile that gets peoples attention it’s the way he used the paint, the way he uses the darkness and the light and brings it all together. “Leonardo was fascinated by the
…show more content…
way light falls on curved surfaces. The gauzy veil, Mona Lisa's hair, the luminescence of her skin – all are created with layers of transparent color, each only a few molecules thick, making the lady's face appear to glow, and giving the painting an ethereal, almost magical quality.” (PBS). Although most people look at the whole picture, the details are the more important part of the picture. He also invented new styles of art
“Other new techniques include using a different canvas cotton wood paneling, her pose, people used to only do full portraits but Leonardo decided to change it up, Leonardo also used a technique called sfumato, which meant that he blurred the edges and the background to form a more realistic painting. This technique is also used on Mona Lisa’s face. Another technique he used is called chiaroscuro.” (Kallen) And not only did this form of art inspire people during his time like one of the other great renaissance men Donatello, but also later on it inspired people like Picasso. Another one of his famous paintings is The Last Supper. The last supper depicts Jesus in the middle surrounded by twelve of his apostles. Each apostle shows a different emotion after hearing Jesus say “And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” (Matthew). This painting is so famous not only in the Christian world but in the whole world today no matter what religion. Not only did he influence the people through religion but also came up with a new style of art. “Leonardo devised his own technique for mural painting, a sort of tempera on stone. The wall was first coated with a strong base of some material which would not only absorb the tempera emulsion but also protect it against moisture.” (PBS) Another one of Leonardos contributions is his knowledge of science. Leonardo dissected animals before but only for scientific reasons but one time he decided to do an autopsy on a man who died of heart problems he then gave the first medical description of arteriosclerosis this led to many more drawings and many more autopsies. He was the first to draw out the human anatomy and his works were sent out to medical students for decades (Kallen). Leonardo didn't just see this as painting he saw an opportunity for the whole world to benefit from his art. Some might be disgusted to do as many autopsies as he did, but he knew his results were one of the greatest contributions to science. Another one of his great contributions is his drawings of machinery. One of the machines was a flying machine. He based it off the wings off bats and birds, in his later years he came up with the propeller, the helicopter rotor, and the glider. “He created accurate, workable designs for machines like the bicycle, helicopter, submarine and military tank that would not come to fruition for centuries. He was, wrote Sigmund Freud, “like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.” (history.com). Although he had these great ideas like flying they were pretty much given up on, like Freud said “He awoke too early.” Meaning his inventions could've worked if he was in the right time period with the right materials and technology. Even though he didn't get to see some of those works finished if it weren't for him we might not have thought of the basic concepts for those machines. Another great renaissance man is Michelangelo.
Born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy (Bull). Michelangelo’s works ranges from sculptures, to paintings, and to architect. He like Leonardo has had a huge influence on modern art throughout history and even to this day. One of his famous works is a sculpture by the name of The Pieta. The sculpture depicts Mary holding her dead. son Jesus. This was a great influence because it was very rare to sculpt something with two figures in it (Michelangelo’s). Some people say that The Pieta helped launch his career. He then made probably one of the most famous sculptures of all time the David. He took a biblical figure David and made a statue depicting his power, beauty, and wisdom. He liked to think that with his art he will overcome the challenges of the world, just like David overcame Goliath with just a stone
(Bull). One of his biggest accomplishments and probably what he is most famous for is the painting of the Sistine Chapel. Each picture shows another seen from the bible. The most famous picture is from Genesis and it shows God creating Adam. One of the many things that stands out is the way Michelangelo shows God. In a lot of other paintings God was drawn wearing royal clothes and a crown on his head or something similar. This show God in a white tunic and a gray beard. A big question asked is who are the people surrounding God in the painting? Although Michelangelo never said there has been speculation that one of them is Mary, the female figure in the picture, and one of them is Jesus, there are many answers but we will never know. In Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel there is a big secret he hid in some paintings. When Michelangelo was a 17 he dissected corpses and drew their anatomy. He drew pictures of it but destroyed them to keep it a secret (Fields). But it was discovered that he snuck it into his paintings. If you look at the picture of God creating Adam it shows that God is inside of a brain. People say that it’s because he was not only giving Adam life but also knowledge. In another one of Michelangelo’s paintings the Separation of Light from Darkness if you look by Gods beard and down you will see it looks like the human brain and a spinal cord (Fields). This was discovered 500 years later. Many people say that Michelangelo was showing us the clash between science and religion. Maybe he put it their as a religious statement, maybe he was just showing off his skills in anatomy we may never know. One of his many skills includes architecture. One of his works includes the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, and is one of the most important churches. Another place he designed is the Laurentian Library, due to it’s intricate design it is recognized generally by architectural historians as the finest of all Renaissance library buildings (Humanities). Everything that Michelangelo designed was so detailed it was never seen before until then. People say because of his sculpting skills he was able to come up with the architectural designs.His designs are so great that they are still used today. These people didn’t just have a great influence during their time but also after their time. We are still learning new ideas through their work to this day. We are still discovering secrets hidden in their work till this day. Without these people and many others we wouldn't have these ideas to use in our works and in life. Without people like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo who knows what art, machines, sculptures, science, and architecture would be like today. It is because of their passion and influence on the world that we have what we have today, and not just in art but in science, architecture, and others.
way light falls on curved surfaces. The gauzy veil, Mona Lisa's hair, the luminescence of her skin – all are created with layers of transparent color, each only a few molecules thick, making the lady's face appear to glow, and giving the painting an ethereal, almost magical quality.” (PBS). Although most people look at the whole picture, the details are the more important part of the picture. He also invented new styles of art
“Other new techniques include using a different canvas cotton wood paneling, her pose, people used to only do full portraits but Leonardo decided to change it up, Leonardo also used a technique called sfumato, which meant that he blurred the edges and the background to form a more realistic painting. This technique is also used on Mona Lisa’s face. Another technique he used is called chiaroscuro.” (Kallen) And not only did this form of art inspire people during his time like one of the other great renaissance men Donatello, but also later on it inspired people like Picasso. Another one of his famous paintings is The Last Supper. The last supper depicts Jesus in the middle surrounded by twelve of his apostles. Each apostle shows a different emotion after hearing Jesus say “And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” (Matthew). This painting is so famous not only in the Christian world but in the whole world today no matter what religion. Not only did he influence the people through religion but also came up with a new style of art. “Leonardo devised his own technique for mural painting, a sort of tempera on stone. The wall was first coated with a strong base of some material which would not only absorb the tempera emulsion but also protect it against moisture.” (PBS) Another one of Leonardos contributions is his knowledge of science. Leonardo dissected animals before but only for scientific reasons but one time he decided to do an autopsy on a man who died of heart problems he then gave the first medical description of arteriosclerosis this led to many more drawings and many more autopsies. He was the first to draw out the human anatomy and his works were sent out to medical students for decades (Kallen). Leonardo didn't just see this as painting he saw an opportunity for the whole world to benefit from his art. Some might be disgusted to do as many autopsies as he did, but he knew his results were one of the greatest contributions to science. Another one of his great contributions is his drawings of machinery. One of the machines was a flying machine. He based it off the wings off bats and birds, in his later years he came up with the propeller, the helicopter rotor, and the glider. “He created accurate, workable designs for machines like the bicycle, helicopter, submarine and military tank that would not come to fruition for centuries. He was, wrote Sigmund Freud, “like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.” (history.com). Although he had these great ideas like flying they were pretty much given up on, like Freud said “He awoke too early.” Meaning his inventions could've worked if he was in the right time period with the right materials and technology. Even though he didn't get to see some of those works finished if it weren't for him we might not have thought of the basic concepts for those machines. Another great renaissance man is Michelangelo.
Born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy (Bull). Michelangelo’s works ranges from sculptures, to paintings, and to architect. He like Leonardo has had a huge influence on modern art throughout history and even to this day. One of his famous works is a sculpture by the name of The Pieta. The sculpture depicts Mary holding her dead. son Jesus. This was a great influence because it was very rare to sculpt something with two figures in it (Michelangelo’s). Some people say that The Pieta helped launch his career. He then made probably one of the most famous sculptures of all time the David. He took a biblical figure David and made a statue depicting his power, beauty, and wisdom. He liked to think that with his art he will overcome the challenges of the world, just like David overcame Goliath with just a stone
(Bull). One of his biggest accomplishments and probably what he is most famous for is the painting of the Sistine Chapel. Each picture shows another seen from the bible. The most famous picture is from Genesis and it shows God creating Adam. One of the many things that stands out is the way Michelangelo shows God. In a lot of other paintings God was drawn wearing royal clothes and a crown on his head or something similar. This show God in a white tunic and a gray beard. A big question asked is who are the people surrounding God in the painting? Although Michelangelo never said there has been speculation that one of them is Mary, the female figure in the picture, and one of them is Jesus, there are many answers but we will never know. In Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel there is a big secret he hid in some paintings. When Michelangelo was a 17 he dissected corpses and drew their anatomy. He drew pictures of it but destroyed them to keep it a secret (Fields). But it was discovered that he snuck it into his paintings. If you look at the picture of God creating Adam it shows that God is inside of a brain. People say that it’s because he was not only giving Adam life but also knowledge. In another one of Michelangelo’s paintings the Separation of Light from Darkness if you look by Gods beard and down you will see it looks like the human brain and a spinal cord (Fields). This was discovered 500 years later. Many people say that Michelangelo was showing us the clash between science and religion. Maybe he put it their as a religious statement, maybe he was just showing off his skills in anatomy we may never know. One of his many skills includes architecture. One of his works includes the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, and is one of the most important churches. Another place he designed is the Laurentian Library, due to it’s intricate design it is recognized generally by architectural historians as the finest of all Renaissance library buildings (Humanities). Everything that Michelangelo designed was so detailed it was never seen before until then. People say because of his sculpting skills he was able to come up with the architectural designs.His designs are so great that they are still used today. These people didn’t just have a great influence during their time but also after their time. We are still learning new ideas through their work to this day. We are still discovering secrets hidden in their work till this day. Without these people and many others we wouldn't have these ideas to use in our works and in life. Without people like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo who knows what art, machines, sculptures, science, and architecture would be like today. It is because of their passion and influence on the world that we have what we have today, and not just in art but in science, architecture, and others.