Leonardo Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man and Master Painter

Running head: HUMANITIES
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Leonardo Da Vinci complete name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci and he was an
Italian Polymath and he have been a writer, musician, botanist, architect, sculptor, painter,
anatomist, inventor, engineer, mathematician (Hutchings, 2016). He was born in the year April
1452 and dies in the year May 2 1519. It is important to mention that the Leonardo is described
as a Renaissance man and he is the only man whose high curiosity has actually equalled the
number of the invention (West, 2017). Leonardo is considered as the most diversified man that
have ever lived on the face of the earth and is also one of the greatest painters of all time. It is
important to mention that the Leonardo da Vinci is not just famous for the Italian Renaissance
but also is famous for the contribution in the art world today. Leonardo was one of the leading
artists that have made a name for himself during the times of renaissance (Azzolini, 2016).
Leonardo is not only known for some of the pieces of art that came out during his time but he is
also widely known for his art works over the period of history (Ackerman, 2018). It is a well-
known fact that The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are one of the most famous pieces of
history but Leonardo has also worked on other pieces of art during the entire course of his career.
His works have gained a wide array of acclamation and are still considered as the masterpieces to
this day (KLIGERMAN, 2014).
Leonardo's Mona Lisa and The Last Supper- The Last Supper was painted during the
time when Leonardo was staying in Milan from the year 1495 to 1498. The Last Supper was oil
mural and a tempera on plaster. The Last Supper was created for the city monastery which is
located in the Santa Maria delle Grazzie. This piece of art is also known as The cenacle and it
measures about 15 by 29 feet. While it is important to mention that this piece of art is the only
surviving fresco of Leonardo (Harris, 2014). This art depicts the Passover dinner and during this
time Jesus Christ addressed the Apostles. One of the remarkable features of the painting is the

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body language and the emotive expression of the Apostles. Considering the composition of the
art, the Jesus is in the centre positon but still he is isolated from the apostles (Da Vinci, 2015).
When Milan was attacked by France in th eyear 1499. The Sforza family fled and along with it
Leonardo also escaped the same. he probably fled to Venice and then to Florence. Thus, when
Leonardo stayed in Florence he painted a series of portraits called the la Gioconda. This piece of
art is 21 by 31- inch work and the in today's world it is best known as the "Mona Lisa" (Hales,
2014). The art was painted around the year 1503 to 1506 (Ahmad, 2014). The woman depicted in
the art is especially showed a mysterious slight smile and it is important to note that the it has
been a subject to speculation for many centuries. In the past centuries it has also been thought
that she was a Mona Lisa Gherardini. However, the scholars have highlighted that she was
actually Lisa del Giocondo who is the Florentine merchant Francisco del Giocondo (Garrard,
2018).
Social environment- Leonardo thrived during the time when the European renaissance
was at the peak. there was a massive amount of cultural change and people at that time started to
question the norms that were prevailing in the Catholic Church. The people that were staying
with the new form of thought provoking ideas were commonly punished and the out casted from
the society. The heretics during those times were banished to the darkness during the middle ages
(Goodman & MacKay, 2014). The renaissance at those time shaped the political, cultural, social,
and intellectual facets of the European life and it began from the 14th to the 17th century. During
those times humanism emerged as the single most dominant form of philosophy and learning that
encouraged the revival of the studies and classical texts. The study of the five major humanities
came into being like the poetry, history, rhetoric, moral philosophy and grammar. Throughout