Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) - was a famous Italian Renaissance architect, musician, inventor, engineer, sculptor and painter of genius. He has been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man" and a universal genius. Leonardo is widely known for its unique paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He is also famous for his numerous inventions. In addition, he helped in the development of anatomy, astronomy, and urban development.

Life

His whole life was described in Giorgio Vasari's biography Vite. Leonardo da Vinci was born in Anchiano near Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate child: his father Sir Piero da Vinci was a young lawyer, and his mother Katherine was an ordinary peasant. Some suggest that Katherine was a slave from the Middle East, owned by Piero, but for approval too little evidence.

At that time there were no modern names in Europe, so his full name sounded - "Leonardo di Sir Piero da Vinci", which means "Leonardo - the son of Piero da Vinci." Leonardo signed his paintings are very simple, such as "Leonardo" or "Io, -Leonardo" ("I - Leonardo"). Perhaps he did not use his father's name because of illegal status. Leonardo grew up with his father in Florence; throughout his life, he ate only vegetarian food. Around 1466 he became a pupil of Andrea del Verrocchio artist, he later became an independent artist in Florence. In 1476 he was convicted of a homosexual relationship with a seventeen year old model - Jacopo Saltarelli. He was charged with three other young men. However, he was acquitted due to lack of evidence. For some time the accused were under the strict supervision of law enforcement at the time. It is known that Leonardo was a homosexual. His longest relationship was with Gian Giacomo da Kaprotti Oreno, whom he called Salai (Little Devil). Leonardo maintained relations with Sala for 25 years, and in his will he left him half of the vineyard.

From 1478 to 1499 years. Leonardo worked for Ludovico Sforza - the Duke of Milan. There he had his own studio, where he worked with his students. Seventy tons of bronze, which was assigned to the equestrian statue of Leonardo's "Gran Cavallo" were given by injection to arms in an attempt to save Milan from the French under Charles VIII in 1495. When the French returned under Louis XII in 1498, Milan fell without a fight. Sforza dethrone. Leonardo stayed in Milan before until one morning he found the French archers using his clay model of the statue "Gran Cavallo" in full size for target practice. He left with his servant and assistant Salai (also known as Gian Giacomo Kaprotti) and his friend (the inventor of double-entry bookkeeping) Luca Pacioli de la Mantyua. After two months of wandering around Venice, at the end of April 1500 they went back to Florence.

In Florence he entered the service of Cesare Borgia (also called "Duca Valentino" and son of Pope Alexander VI) as a military architect and engineer. In 1506, after the French were expelled, he returned to Milan and was in the hands of Maximilian Sforza. In 1507, Leonardo met a 15-year-old aristocrat unearthly beauty - Count Francesco Melzi. Melzi became his disciple, life companion and heir.

From 1513 to 1516 years. he lived in Rome, where artists such as Raphael and Mikeladzhello were at the peak of popularity, but be that as it may, he is not in contact with them. In 1515 Francis I again won the Milan and Leonardo was instructed to hold peace talks in Bologna between the French king and Pope Leo X. In 1516 he entered the service of Francis, who gave him to stay estate Clos Lucé near the king's residence at the Royal castle in Amboise and received a generous pension. King became his close friend.

He died at Clos in 1519 in France. According to his wish, 60 beggars followed his casket. He was buried in the chapel of Saint-Hubert in the castle of Amboise.

Leonardo was a large number of friends, among whom were:

Fazio Cardano - mathematician, lawyer
Giovanni Francesco Melzi - painter, pupil
Girolamo Melzi - police captain in Milan
Giovanni Francesco Rustici
Cesare Borgia - Warrior
Nicolo Machiavelli - writer
Andrea de Ferrara
Frankinus Gaffurus - music theorist and composer
Francesco Nani - Brother in the Franciscan Order in Brescia
Giacomo Andrea - architect and author
Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli - Franciscan father
Galeazzo Sanseverino yes - commanded by the Duke of Milan army, singer
Ginevra Benci De
Atalanta Miloretti - singer, artist, actor
Tomasso Masini da Peretola, known as Zoroaster - the student of alchemy, occultist
Benedetto Dei - writer

Art

Leonardo is known for his masterful paintings, such as The Last Supper, painted in 1495-1497, respectively, and the Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda, which is now in the Louvre in Paris), written in 1503-1510 gg. However, there are many reasons, whether it was the work of da Vinci and his disciples. Total retained 17 of his paintings and did not survive a single statue. Of these pictures only Ginevra de Benci picture is in the Western Hemisphere.

A lot of paintings were left unfinished. In 1481 he received a commission for an altarpiece "The Adoration of the Magi." After a huge and ambitious plans and many sketches, da Vinci painting left unfinished and went to Milan. He lived there for many years, making plans and models for a monumental seven-meter bronze statue of a horse ("Gran Cavallo"), which was to be installed in Milan. Because of the war with France, the project was not completed. The Museum of Hunting in Limerick is a small bronze statue of a horse that is believed to have been the work of a pupil of Leonardo's original design.

Returning to Florence, he was charged with painting a large mural "The Battle of Anghiari" with his rival Michelangelo, who had to draw on the opposite wall. After much work and research, he left the city, and the mural unfinished due to technical reasons.

List of paintings

The Annunciation (1475-1480) - Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Ginevra de Benci (~ 1475) - National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.
Madonna Benois (1478-1480) - The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Virgo with Flowers (1478-1481) - Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
Adoration of the Magi (1481) - Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Cecilia Gallerani with an Ermine (1488-90) - Czartoryski Museum, Krakow, Poland
Musician (~ 1490) - Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy
Madonna Litta, (1490-91) - The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
La Belle Ferronier, (1495-1498) - Louvre, Paris, France
The Last Supper (1498) - Convent Station Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy
Madonna of the Rocks (1483-86) - Louvre, Paris, France
Madonna of the Rocks, or Virgo Grote (1508) - National Gallery, London, England
Leda and the Swan (1508) - Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Mona Lisa or La Gioconda - Louvre, Paris, France
Madonna and Child with St. Anne (~ 1510) - Louvre, Paris, France
John the Baptist (~ 1514) - Louvre, Paris, France
Bacchus (1515) - Louvre, Paris, France.