Da Vinci Art

Submitted By bsmosley89
Words: 634
Pages: 3

The Life and Art of Leonardo da Vinci
Brandon Mosley
Mississippi College

Art Appreciation
MWF 10am
Fall 2014

Leonardo da Vinci is personally one of my favorite artists, and something really cool about him is that was not only just an amazing artist, but also a scientist and an inventor. He is internationally known as the artist of many famous works such as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and also Virgin on the Rocks. In my opinion this man is perhaps the greatest artist to ever live. Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the town of Vinci, Italy. He was an illegitimate son conceived by a wealthy man and a peasant girl. Leonardo had no real last name in the modern sense, "da Vinci" simply meaning "of Vinci.” His full birth name was "Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci", meaning "Leonardo, son of Messer Piero from Vinci.” Leonardo’s father took custody of him shortly after his birth, while his mother married someone else and moved to a neighboring town. Growing up in his father's Vinci home, Leonardo had access to scholarly texts owned by family and friends. He was also exposed to his family’s long painting tradition. When Leonardo was in his early teens, his father apprenticed him to the prestigious workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. Although he was just a young man, Leonardo became quite popular for the level of skill he possessed for such an amateur. His first big appearance was for one of the angels he painted in Verrocchio’s “Baptism of Christ.” Some say that the angel that he did in his mentors painting was better than anything Verrocchio had ever done. Eventually Leonardo moves out and sets up his own work shop around 1477. Eventually Leonardo begins to work for the Duke of Milan in order to occupy himself with whatever projects the Duke wanted done. During this time is when he reached the climax of his artistic and scientific career. The Duke kept Leonardo busy painting and sculpting but he also put Leonardo to work designing things that are extremely intriguing to me, such as weapons and war machines. He truly had a mind before his time, designing war machines such as tanks and submarines (Boston Museum of Science, 2014). During this time is when he created my favorite da Vinci painting, The Mona Lisa. This painting is easily recognizable although not many people know that much about it. Personally what appeals to me the most about this