Lately, I have found myself fascinated by Leonardo Da Vinci! Leonardo Da Vinci was more than just another genius in history. He excelled in so many areas of study. He kept extensive record of his thought process behind every question he was curious about. Leonardo's mind set him apart from other great people in human history.
He had an attention to detail that set him apart from other artist but, in contradiction to his perfectionist trait, he often left paintings unfinished.
I recently studied Leonardo's personal journals, watch documentaries and read scholarly sources (12 to be exact) for a class project. Here are some cool quick facts!
- Leonardo covered a wide range of subjects: how light is transmitted through the human eye, how does the human eye process colors. Da Vinci would then turn his questions into answers which he would apply to the topic of art. Leonardo was able to apply concepts such as mathematics to more abstract ideas like art.
- He wrote in a way that is called Mirror writing. Basically, he wrote backward and upside down to make it harder for people to steal his ideas, he was trying to hide ideas from the Roman Catholic Church and he wanted to prevent smudging of the ink with his sleeve.
- Leonardo might have had the ability to see more hues of color than the average person or it wouldn't be too far-fetched to believe he had a genetic gift that allowed him to visualize flying birds as a stagnant image in his mind which, he was then able to recreate on canvas.
- He had a scientific mind. It invented so many interesting gadgets; one being the flying machine.
In the next 6 months, I plan on traveling all around Europe to see amazing artwork by my favorite artists. One on my list, pieces by Leonardo.
P.S. Here is my favorite painting by Leonardo! The white ferret in this piece is thought to be in the likeness of the women's controlling husband. If you look closely, you can see its' strong mussels and sharp claws.
