The purpose of this research is to examine Leonardo de Vinci through a study of his history, style, influences and scientific and individualistic approaches, stressing two of his famous art works, the "Mona Lisa" and the "Virgin of the Rocks." Included in this will be a look at the myths and ambiguities surrounding the man and his legacy.
Born near Vinci, Italy, on April 15, 1452, Leonardo lived through the height of the Renaissance period. Trained in Florence in the shop of artist Andrea Verrocchio, he went on to develop an awe-inspiring range of skills, which, based on his notebooks left behind, have only served to confirm that he was truly a "universal genius" (Brizio and Brugnoli 13). Covering the fields of nature, the natural sciences, painting, inventions, architecture, machinery and weaponry and fortification designs, Leonardo had a taste for the fantastic as well as the modern. Although a rational man, he was always attracted to the irrational. Some of his designs and concepts were too advanced for his contemporaries and it would take two hundred years for them to be appreciated (Brizio and Brugnoli 13).
Leonardo's first drawing was dated August 5, 1478. From there he was commissioned to do several paintings before moving on to Milan where he offered his services to the ruler of the city, Ludovico il Moro, as an engineer, architect, sculptor and painter. Upon finishing one of his greatest works, "The Last Supper," in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, he moved back to Florence where he continued to paint and was appointed military engineer by Cesare Borgia, in charge of inspecting his fortresses in Romagna.
In 1503 he returned to Florence and was commissioned to divert the Arno River in order to force the city of Pisa to surrender. He also vas commissioned to paint a fresco of the "Battle of Anghiari," but the work was interrupted because of his rivalry with the artist, Mich...