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Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most talented and mysterious people of the Renaissance. The Creator left behind a lot of inventions, paintings and secrets, many of which remain undiscovered to this day. Da Vinci is called a polymath, or "universal man." After all, he reached heights in almost all areas of science and art. In this article, you will learn the most interesting things from the life of this man.

Biography

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the settlement of Anchiano in the Utuscan town of Vinci. The parents of the future genius were the lawyer Piero, 25 years old, and the peasant orphan Katerina, 15 years old. However, Leonardo, like his father, did not have a last name: da Vinci means "from Vinci."

Until the age of 3, the boy lived with his mother. The father soon married a noble but barren lady. As a result, 3-year-old Leonardo was taken to be raised in a new family, forever separated from his mother.

Pierre da Vinci gave his son a comprehensive education and more than once tried to introduce him to the notarial business, but the boy did not show any interest in the profession. It is worth noting that during the Renaissance, illegitimate births were considered equal to legitimate ones. Therefore, even after the death of his father, Leonardo was helped by many noble people of Florence and the town of Vinci itself.

Workshop of Verrocchio

At the age of 14, Leonardo became an apprentice in the studio of the painter Andrea del Verrocchio. There, the teenager drew, sculpted, learned the basics of the humanities and technical sciences. 6 years later, Leonardo qualified as a master and was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke, where he continued to study the basics of drawing and other significant disciplines.

The case of Leonardo's victory over a teacher has gone down in history. While working on the canvas "The Baptism of Christ", Verrocchio asked Leonardo to draw an angel. The student created an image that was many times more beautiful than the whole picture. As a result, the amazed Verrochio left painting for the whole.

1472–1516

1472–1513 years are considered the most fruitful in the life of the artist. After all, it was then that polymath created his most famous creations.

In 1476–1481 Leonardo da Vinci had a private workshop in Florence. In 1480, the artist became famous and began to receive fabulously expensive orders.

1482–1499 da Vinci spent years in Milan. The genius arrived in the city as a messenger of peace. The head of Milan - the Duke of Moreau - often ordered da Vinci various inventions for wars and for the fun of the court. In addition, in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci began to keep a diary. Thanks to personal notes, the world learned about many discoveries and inventions of the creator, about his passion for music.

Due to the French invasion of Milan, in 1499 year the artist returned to Florence. In the city, the scientist served the Duke of Cesare Borgia. On his instructions, da Vinci often visited Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria. There, the master was engaged in reconnaissance and prepared the battlefields. After all, Cesare Borgia wanted to capture the Papal States. The whole Christian world considered the duke a fiend, and da Vinci respected him for his perseverance and talent.

In 1506 Leonardo da Vinci returned to Milan, where he studied anatomy and the study of the structure of organs with the support of the Medici family. In 1512, the scientist moved to Rome, where he worked under the patronage of Pope Leo X until the latter's death.

In 1516 Leonardo da Vinci became a court adviser to the King of France, Francis I. The ruler allocated Clos Luce Castle to the artist and gave him complete freedom of action. In addition to an annual fee of 1000 ECUs, the scientist received an estate with vineyards. Da Vinci noted that French years gave him a comfortable old age and were the most calm and happy in life.

Death and grave

Leonardo da Vinci's life ended on May 2, 1519, presumably from a stroke. However, the signs of the disease appeared long before that. The artist could not move his right hand due to partial paralysis since 1517, and shortly before his death, he completely lost the ability to walk. The maestro bequeathed all his property to his students.

Da Vinci's first tomb was destroyed during the Huguenot wars. Remains various people mixed and buried in the garden. Later, the archaeologist Arsene Usse identified the artist's skeleton from the description and transferred it to a restored grave on the territory of the Amboise castle.

In 2010, a group of scientists intended to exhume the body and conduct a DNA examination. For comparison, it was planned to take the material of the buried relatives of the artist. However, the owners of the castle Watermelon did not allow the exhumation of da Vinci.

Secrets of personal life

Personal life Leonardo da Vinci kept them in the strictest confidence. The artist described all love events in his diary using a special cipher. Scientists put forward 3 opposite versions regarding the personal life of a genius:

Secrets in the life of da Vinci

In 1950, the list of Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion, a Jerusalem order of monks founded in the 11th century, was made public. According to the list, Leonardo da Vinci was a member of a secret organization.

A number of researchers believe that the artist was its leader at all. The main task of the group was to restore the Merovingian dynasty, the direct descendants of Christ, on the throne of France. Another of the group's missions was to keep the marriage of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene a secret.

Historians dispute the existence of the Priory and consider Leonardo's participation in it a hoax. Scientists emphasize that the Priory of Sion was created in 1950 with the participation of Pierre Plantard. According to them, the documents were forged at the same time.

However, few surviving facts can only speak of the caution of the monks of the order and their desire to hide their activities. Da Vinci's style of writing also speaks in favor of the theory. The author wrote from left to right, as if imitating Hebrew writing.

The secret of the Priory formed the basis of Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code. Based on the work in 2006, a film of the same name was shot. The plot talks about the cryptex allegedly invented by da Vinci - a device for encryption. When you try to hack the device, everything written is dissolved by vinegar.

Leonardo da Vinci's predictions

Some historians consider Leonardo da Vinci a seer, others consider him a time traveler who fell into the Middle Ages from the future. So, scientists are wondering how the inventor could create a gas mixture for scuba without knowledge of biochemistry. However, questions are raised not only by da Vinci's inventions, but also by his predictions. Many prophecies have already come true.

So, Leonardo da Vinci described Hitler and Stalin in detail, and also predicted the appearance of:

• missiles;
• phone;
• skype;
• players;
• electronic money;
• loans;
• paid medicine;
• globalization, etc.

In addition, da Vinci painted the end of the world by depicting an atomic one. Among the future cataclysms, scientists describe the failures of the earth's surface, the activation of volcanoes, the flood and the coming of the Antichrist.

inventions

Leonardo da Vinci left the world a mass useful inventions, which became prototypes:

• parachute;
• airplane, hang-glider and helicopter;
• bicycle and car;
• robot;
• eyeglasses;
• telescope;
• spotlights;
• scuba gear and spacesuit;
• life buoy;
• military devices: a tank, a catapult, a machine gun, mobile bridges and a wheel lock.

Among the great inventions of da Vinci, his "Perfect City". After the plague pandemic, the scientist developed a Milan project with a competent layout and sewerage. It was supposed to divide the city into levels for the upper classes and trade, to ensure constant access of water to the houses.

In addition, the master rejected the narrow streets that were a breeding ground for infections, and emphasized the importance of wide squares and roads. However, the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, did not accept the bold scheme. Centuries later, according to an ingenious project, a new city was built up - London.

Leonardo da Vinci also left a mark on anatomy. The scientist was the first to describe the heart as a muscle and tried to create a prosthetic aortic valve. In addition, da Vinci accurately described and depicted the spine, thyroid gland, tooth structure, muscle structure, and the location of internal organs. Thus, the principles of anatomical drawing were created.

The genius also contributed to the development of art by developing blurry drawing technique and chiaroscuro.

Great paintings and their mysteries

Leonardo da Vinci left behind many paintings, frescoes and drawings. However, 6 works were lost, the authorship of another 5 is disputed. The world's most famous 7 creations of Leonardo da Vinci:

1. Da Vinci's first work. The drawing is realistic, accurate and made with light pencil strokes. When looking at the landscape, it seems that you are looking at it from a high point.

2. "Turin self-portrait". The painter created a masterpiece 7 years before his death. The painting is valuable in that it gives the world an idea of ​​what Leonardo da Vinci looked like. However, some art historians believe that this is just a sketch for the Mona Lisa, made from another person.

3. . The drawing was created as an illustration for the book. Da Vinci captured a naked man in 2 positions superimposed on each other. The work is considered both an achievement of art and science. After all, the artist embodied the canonical proportions of the body and the golden ratio. Thus, the drawing emphasizes the natural ideality and mathematical proportionality of a person.

4. . The picture has a religious plot: it is dedicated to the Mother of God (Madonna) and the Christ Child. Despite its small size, the picture is striking in its purity, depth and beauty. But "Madonna Litta" is also shrouded in mystery and raises a lot of questions. Why does a baby have a chick in her arms? Why is the Mother of God's dress ripped open in the chest area? Why is the painting done in dark colors?

5. . The painting was commissioned by the monks, but due to moving to Milan, the artist never completed the work. The canvas depicts Mary with the newborn Jesus and the Magi. According to one version, the 29-year-old Leonardo himself is depicted among the men.

6th masterpiece –

« The Last Supper"- a fresco depicting the last supper of Christ. The work is no less mysterious and mysterious than the Mona Lisa.
The history of the creation of the canvas is shrouded in mysticism. The artist quickly painted portraits of all the characters in the picture.

However, it was impossible to find prototypes for Jesus Christ and Judas. Once da Vinci noticed a bright and spiritual young man in a church choir. The young man became the prototype of Christ. The search for a model for the drawing of Judas dragged on for years.

Later, da Vinci found the most heinous person in his opinion. The prototype of Judas was a drunkard found in a gutter. Having already completed the picture, Da Vinci learned that Judas and Christ were painted by him from the same person.

Among the mysteries of the Last Supper is Mary Magdalene. Da Vinci depicted her at the right hand of Christ, as a lawful wife. The marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is also indicated by the fact that the contours of their bodies form the letter M - "Matrimonio" (marriage).

7th masterpiece - "Mona Lisa", or "La Gioconda"

"Mona Lisa", or "La Gioconda" is the most famous and mysterious painting by Leonardo da Vinci. To this day, art critics argue who is depicted on the canvas. Among the popular versions: Lisa del Giocondo, Constanza d'Avalos, Pacifica Brandano, Isabella of Aragon, an ordinary Italian, da Vinci himself and even his student Salai in a woman's dress.

In 2005, it was proved that the painting depicts Lisa Gerandini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. This was indicated by the notes of da Vinci's friend Agostino Vespucci. So, both names become understandable: Mona - an abbreviation for the Italian Madonna, my mistress and Gioconda - after the name of Lisa Gerandini's husband.

Among the secrets of the picture is the demonic and at the same time divine smile of the Mona Lisa, which can enchant anyone. When focusing on the lips, it seems that they begin to smile more. It is said that people who look at this detail for a long time go crazy.

Computer research has shown that Mona Lisa's smile simultaneously expresses happiness, anger, fear and disgust. Some scientists are convinced that the effect is caused by the absence of front teeth, eyebrows, or the heroine's pregnancy. Others say that the smile seems to slip away because it is in the low-frequency light range.

The Smith-Kettlewell researcher claims that the smile-changing effect is due to random noises in the human visual system.

The view of the Mona Lisa is also written in a special way. From whatever angle you look at the girl, it seems that she is looking at you.

The technique of writing "Gioconda" is also impressive. The portrait, including the eyes and smile, is a series of golden sections. The face and hands form an isosceles triangle, and some details fit perfectly into the golden rectangle.

Secrets of Da Vinci Paintings: Hidden Messages and Meanings

The paintings of Leonardo da Vinci are shrouded in mysteries, over which hundreds of scientists from all over the world are struggling. In particular, Hugo Conti decided to apply the mirror method. This idea was inspired by da Vinci's prose. The fact is that the author wrote from left to right, and his manuscripts can only be read with the help of a mirror. Conti applied the same approach to reading pictures.

It turned out that the characters in da Vinci's paintings point with their eyes and fingers to the places where a mirror should be placed.

A simple trick opens hidden images and shapes:

1. In the painting "The Virgin and Child, Saint Anna and John the Baptist" discovered whole line demons. According to one version, this is the Devil, according to another, the Old Testament god Yahweh in the papal tiara. It was believed that this god "protects the soul from the vices of the body."

Click to enlarge

2. In the painting "John the Baptist"- "tree of life" with an Indian deity. A number of researchers believe that in this way the artist hid the mysterious painting "Adam and Eve in Paradise." The canvas was often mentioned by da Vinci's contemporaries. For a long time it was believed that "Adam and Eve" is a separate picture.

3. On the "Mona Lisa" and "John the Baptist"- the head of a demon, the Devil or the god Yahweh in a helmet, somewhat similar to the hidden image on the canvas "Our Lady". With this, Conti explains the mystery of the looks in the paintings.

4. On the "Madonna in the Rocks"(“Madonna in the Grotto”) depicts the Virgin Mary, Jesus, John the Baptist and an Angel. But if you bring a mirror to the picture, you can see God and a number of biblical characters.

5. In the painting "The Last Supper" a hidden vessel is revealed in the hands of Jesus Christ. Researchers believe that this is the Holy Grail. In addition, thanks to the mirror, the two apostles become knights.

6. In the painting "Annunciation" angelic, and according to some versions, alien, images are hidden.

Hugo Conti believes that you can find a hidden mystical drawing in every picture. The main thing is to use a mirror for this.

In addition to mirror codes, Mona Lisa also stores secret messages under layers of paint. Graphic designers have noticed that when the canvas is turned on its side, images of a buffalo, a lion, a monkey and a bird become visible. Da Vinci, thus, told the world about the four Essences of man.

Here are some interesting facts about da Vinci:

1. The genius was left-handed. Many scholars explain the master's special style of writing by this. Da Vinci always wrote in a mirror image - from left to right, although he knew how to write with his right hand.
2. The creator was not constant: he quit one job and jumped to another, never returning to the previous one. Moreover, da Vinci moved to completely unrelated areas. For example, from art to anatomy, from literature to engineering.
3. Da Vinci was talented musician and played the lyre beautifully.
4. The artist was a zealous vegetarian. He not only did not eat animal food, but also did not wear leather and silk things. Da Vinci called people who eat meat "walking graveyards". But this did not prevent the scientist from being the manager at court feasts and creating a new profession - the "assistant" of the cook.
5. Da Vinci's passion for drawing knew no bounds. So, the master spent hours sketching in detail the bodies of the hanged.
6. According to one version, the scientist developed colorless and odorless poisons, as well as glass listening devices for Cesare Borgia.

They say that geniuses are born only when the world is ready to accept them. However, Leonardo da Vinci was way ahead of his time. The bulk of his discoveries and creations were appreciated only centuries later. Da Vinci own example proved that human mind knows no boundaries.

Books were written about the titan of the Renaissance, films were made, monuments were erected in his honor. Minerals, craters on the Moon and asteroids were named after the great scientist. And in 1994 they found for real beautiful way perpetuate the memory of a genius.

Breeders have bred a new variety of historical rose, called Rosa Leonardo da Vinci. The plant blooms continuously, does not burn out and does not freeze in the cold, like the memory of the "universal man".

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Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small village of Anchiano LU, located near the town of Vinci (Vinci FI). He was the illegitimate son of a wealthy notary, Piero da Vinci, and a beautiful villager, Katarina. Shortly after this event, the notary married a girl of noble birth. They had no children, and Piero and his wife took a three-year-old child to their place.

Birth of an artist

The short period of childhood in the village is over. The notary Piero moved to Florence, where he apprenticed his son to Andrea del Veroccio, a famous Tuscan master. There, in addition to painting and sculpture, the future artist had the opportunity to learn the basics of mathematics and mechanics, anatomy, work with metals and plaster, and methods of leather dressing. The young man eagerly absorbed knowledge and later widely used it in his activities.

An interesting creative biography of the maestro belongs to the pen of his contemporary Giorgio Vasari. In Vasari's book "The Life of Leonardo" there is a brief story about how (Andrea del Verrocchio) attracted a student to fulfill the order "Baptism of Christ" (Battesimo di Cristo).

The angel, painted by Leonardo, so clearly demonstrated his superiority over the teacher that the latter threw away the brush in annoyance and never painted again.

The qualification of the master was awarded to him by the guild of St. Luke. Leonardo da Vinci spent the next year of his life in Florence. His first mature painting was The Adoration of the Magi (Adorazione dei Magi), commissioned for the monastery of San Donato.

Milan period (1482 - 1499)

Leonardo came to Milan as an envoy of peace from Lorenzo de Medici to Lodovico Sforza, nicknamed Moro. Here his work took a new direction. He was enrolled in the court staff, first as an engineer and only later as an artist.

The Duke of Milan, a cruel and narrow-minded man, was little interested in the creative component of Leonardo's personality. The ducal indifference worried the master even less. Interests converged in one. Moreau needed engineering devices for warfare and mechanical structures for the amusement of the court. Leonardo understood this like no one else. His mind did not doze, the master was sure that the possibilities of a person are endless. His ideas were close to the humanists of modern times, but largely incomprehensible to contemporaries.

Two important works belong to the same period - (Il Cenacolo) for the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie (Chiesa e Convento Domenicano di Santa Maria delle Grazie) and the painting "Lady with an Ermine" (Dama con l'ermellino).

The second is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of Duke Sforza. The biography of this woman is unusual. One of the most beautiful and learned ladies of the Renaissance, she was simple and kind, able to get along with people. An affair with a duke saved one of her brothers from prison. She was connected with Leonardo by the most tender relationship, but, according to contemporaries and the opinion of most researchers, their brief relationship remained Platonic.

A more common (and also not confirmed) version of intimate relationships masters with students Francesco Melzi and Salai. The artist preferred to keep the details of his personal life a deep secret.

Moro commissioned the equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza from the master. The necessary sketches were made and a clay model of the future monument was made. Further work was hampered by the French invasion of Milan. The artist left for Florence. Here he will return, but to another master - the French king Louis XII (Louis XII).

Again in Florence (1499 - 1506)

The return to Florence was marked by the entry into the service of the Duke of Cesare Borgia (Cesare Borgia) and the creation of the most famous canvas - "La Gioconda" (Gioconda). New job assumed frequent trips, the master traveled around Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria with various assignments. His main mission was reconnaissance and preparation of the area for hostilities by Cesare, who planned to subjugate the Papal States. Cesare Borgia was considered the greatest villain of the Christian world, but Leonardo admired his tenacity and remarkable talent as a commander. He argued that the Duke's vices were balanced by "equally great virtues". The ambitious plans of the great adventurer did not come true. Master in 1506 returned to Milan.

Later years (1506 - 1519)

The second Milan period lasted until 1512. The Maestro studied the structure of the human eye, worked on the monument to Giacomo Trivulzio (Gian Giacomo Trivulzio) and his own self-portrait. In 1512 the artist moved to Rome. Giovanni di Medici, son, was elected pope under the name of Leo X (Leo X). Pope's brother, Duke Giuliano Medici(Giuliano di Medici), highly appreciated the work of his compatriot. After his death, the master accepted the invitation of King Francis I (François I) and left for France in 1516.

Francis proved to be the most generous and grateful patron. The maestro settled in the picturesque castle of Clos Lucé (Le Clos Lucé) in Touraine, where he had every opportunity to do what he was interested in. By royal commission, he designed a lion, from whose chest a bouquet of lilies opened. The French period was the happiest in his life. The king gave his engineer an annual annuity of 1,000 ecu and donated land with vineyards, providing him with a peaceful old age. The life of the maestro ended in 1519. He bequeathed his notes, instruments and estates to his students.

Paintings

Inventions and works

Most of the master's inventions were not created during his lifetime, remaining only in notes and drawings. An airplane, a bicycle, a parachute, a tank… He had a dream of flying, the scientist believed that a person can and should fly. Studied bird behavior and sketched wings different forms. His design for a two-lens telescope is surprisingly accurate, and his diaries include a brief note about the possibility of "seeing the Moon big."

As a military engineer, he was always in demand, the light bridges he invented and the wheel lock for the pistol were used everywhere. He dealt with the problems of urban planning and land reclamation, in 1509 he built the St. Christopher, as well as the Martezana irrigation canal. Duke Moreau rejected his "ideal city" project. A few centuries later, London was built on this project. In Norway there is a bridge built according to his drawing. In France, already being an old man, he designed a canal between the Loire and Saone.

Leonardo's diaries are written in easy, lively language and are interesting to read. His fables, parables and aphorisms speak of the versatility of a great mind.

The secret of genius

There were plenty of secrets in the life of the titan of the Renaissance. The main one opened relatively recently. But did it open? In 1950, a list of the Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion (Prieuré de Sion), a secret organization created in 1090 in Jerusalem, was published. According to the list, Leonardo da Vinci was the ninth of the Grand Masters of the Priory. His predecessor in this amazing post was (Sandro Botticelli), and his successor was the constable Charles de Bourbon (Charles III de Bourbon). The main goal of the organization was to restore the Merovingian dynasty to the throne of France. The Priory considered the offspring of this kind to be the descendants of Jesus Christ.

The very existence of such an organization raises doubts among most historians. But such doubts could have been sown by members of the Priory who wished to continue their activities in secret.

If we accept this version as the truth, the master's habit of complete independence and the strange attraction to France for a Florentine become clear. Even Leonardo's writing style - left hand and right to left - can be interpreted as an imitation of Hebrew writing. This seems unlikely, but the scale of his personality allows us to make the most daring assumptions.

Stories about the Priory arouse the distrust of scientists, but enrich artistic creativity. The most striking example is the book by Dan Brown (Dan Brown) "The Da Vinci Code" (Da Vinci Code) and the film of the same name.

• At the age of 24, together with three Florentine youths was accused of sodomy. The company was acquitted for lack of evidence.
• Maestro was a vegetarian. People who consume animal food, he called "walking cemeteries."
• He shocked his contemporaries by the habit of carefully examining and drawing in detail the hanged. He considered the study of the structure of the human body to be the most important of his studies.
• It is believed that the maestro developed for Cesare Borgia tasteless and odorless poisons and wiretapping devices made of glass tubes.
• Television mini-series "The Life of Leonardo da Vinci"(La vita di Leonardo da Vinci) shot by Renato Castellani, received the Golden Globe Award.
• named after Leonardo da Vinci and is decorated with a huge statue depicting a master with a model helicopter in his hands.

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(Leonardo da Vinci) (1452-1519) - the greatest figure, the multifaceted genius of the Renaissance, the founder High Renaissance. Known as an artist, scientist, engineer, inventor.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the town of Anchiano near the town of Vinci, located near Florence. His father was Piero da Vinci, a notary who came from famous family the city of Vinci. According to one version, the mother was a peasant woman, according to another - the owner of the tavern, known as Katerina. At about the age of 4.5 years, Leonardo was taken to his father's house, and in the documents of that time he is called the illegitimate son of Piero. In 1469 he entered the workshop famous artist, sculptor and jeweler Andrea del Verrocchio ( 1435/36–1488). Here Leonardo went the whole way of apprenticeship: from rubbing paints to working as an apprentice. According to contemporaries, he painted the left figure of an angel in a painting by Verrocchio Baptism(c. 1476, Uffizi Gallery, Florence), which immediately attracted attention. The naturalness of movement, the smoothness of lines, the softness of chiaroscuro - distinguishes the figure of an angel from the more rigid writing of Verrocchio. Leonardo lived in the house of the master and after in 1472 he was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke, the guild of painters.

One of the few dated drawings by Leonardo was created in August 1473. View of the Arno Valley from a height was made with a pen with quick strokes, transmitting vibrations of light, air, which indicates that the drawing was made from nature (Uffizi Gallery, Florence).

The first painting attributed to Leonardo, although its authorship is disputed by many experts, is Annunciation(c. 1472, Uffizi Gallery, Florence). Unfortunately, the unknown author made later corrections, which significantly worsened the quality of the work.

Portrait of Ginevra de Benci (1473–1474, National Gallery, Washington) is permeated with a melancholy mood. Part of the picture below is cut off: probably, the hands of the model were depicted there. The contours of the figure are softened with the help of the sfumato effect, created before Leonardo, but it was he who became the genius of this technique. Sfumato (it. sfumato - foggy, smoky) - a technique developed in the Renaissance in painting and graphics, which allows you to convey the softness of modeling, the elusiveness of object outlines, the feeling of the air environment.

Madonna with a flower (Madonna Benois) (Madonna with child) 1478 - 1480 Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

Between 1476 and 1478 Leonardo opens his workshop. To this period belongs Madonna with a flower, so-called Madonna Benois(c. 1478, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg). The smiling Madonna addresses the baby Jesus sitting on her lap, the movements of the figures are natural and plastic. In this picture, there is a characteristic interest in the art of Leonardo to show the inner world.

An unfinished painting also belongs to the early works. Adoration of the Magi(1481-1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence). The central place is occupied by a group of the Madonna and Child and the Magi placed in the foreground.

In 1482, Leonardo left for Milan, the richest city of that time, under the patronage of Lodovico Sforza (1452–1508), who supported the army, spent huge amounts of money on lavish festivities and the purchase of works of art. Introducing himself to his future patron, Leonardo speaks of himself as a musician, military expert, inventor of weapons, war chariots, machines, and only then speaks of himself as an artist. Leonardo lived in Milan until 1498, and this period of his life was the most fruitful.

The first commission received by Leonardo was the creation of an equestrian statue in honor of Francesco Sforza (1401–1466), father of Lodovico Sforza. Working on it for 16 years, Leonardo created many drawings, as well as an eight-meter clay model. In an effort to surpass all existing equestrian statues, Leonardo wanted to make a grandiose sculpture in size, to show a rearing horse. But faced with technical difficulties, Leonardo changed the idea and decided to depict a walking horse. In November 1493 model Horse without a rider was put on public display, and it was this event that made Leonardo da Vinci famous. It took about 90 tons of bronze to cast the sculpture. The metal collection that had begun was interrupted, and equestrian statue never got cast. In 1499, Milan was captured by the French, who used the sculpture as a target. After a while, it collapsed. Horse- a grandiose, but never completed project - one of the significant works of monumental plastic art of the 16th century. and, in the words of Vasari, "those who have seen the huge clay model ... claim that they have never seen a work more beautiful and majestic," called the monument "the great colossus."

At the court of Sforza, Leonardo also worked as a decorator for many festivities, creating hitherto unseen scenery and mechanisms, and made costumes for allegorical figures.

unfinished canvas Saint Jerome(1481, Vatican Museum, Rome) shows the saint at the moment of repentance in a complex turn with a lion at his feet. The picture was painted in black and white paints. But after coating it with varnish in the 19th century. the colors turned to olive and golden.

Madonna in the rocks(1483–1484, Louvre, Paris) - famous painting Leonardo, painted by him in Milan. The image of the Madonna, baby Jesus, little John the Baptist and an angel in a landscape is a new motif in Italian painting that time. In the opening of the rock, a landscape is visible, which is given sublimely ideal features, and which shows achievements in linear and aerial perspective. Although the cave is dimly lit, the picture is not dark, faces and figures gently emerge from the shadows. The thinnest chiaroscuro (sfumato) creates the impression of a dim diffused light, models faces and hands. Leonardo connects the figures not only with a common mood, but also with the unity of space.

LADY WITH ERMIN. 1485–1490. Czartoryski Museum

lady with ermine(1484, Czartoryski Museum, Krakow) - one of the first works of Leonardo as a court portrait painter. The painting depicts the mistress of Lodovik Cecilia Gallerani with the emblem of the Sforza family, an ermine. The complex turn of the head and the exquisite bend of the lady's hand, the curved pose of the animal - everything speaks of the authorship of Leonardo. The background was repainted by another artist.

Portrait of a musician(1484, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan). Only the face of the young man is completed, the rest of the picture is not spelled out. The type of face is close to the faces of Leonardo's angels, only executed more courageously.

Another unique work was created by Leonardo in one of the halls of the Sforza Palace, which is called the Donkey. On the vaults and walls of this hall, he painted willow crowns, whose branches are intricately intertwined, tied with decorative ropes. Subsequently, part of the paint layer crumbled, but a significant part was preserved and restored.

In 1495 Leonardo began work on last supper(area 4.5 × 8.6 m). The fresco is located on the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, at a height of 3 m from the floor and occupies the entire end wall of the room. Leonardo oriented the perspective of the fresco to the viewer, thus it organically entered the interior of the refectory: the perspective reduction of the side walls depicted in the fresco continues the real space of the refectory. Thirteen people are seated at a table parallel to the wall. In the center is Jesus Christ, to the left and to the right of him are his disciples. The dramatic moment of exposure and condemnation of betrayal is shown, the moment when Christ just uttered the words: “One of you will betray Me”, and various emotional reaction apostles to these words. The composition is built on a strictly verified mathematical calculation: in the center is Christ, depicted against the background of the middle, largest opening of the back wall, the vanishing point of the perspective coincides with his head. The twelve apostles are divided into four groups of three figures each. Each is given a vivid characteristic by expressive gestures and movements. The main task was to show Judas, to separate him from the rest of the apostles. By placing him on the same line of the table as all the apostles, Leonardo psychologically separated him by loneliness. Creation last supper became a notable event in artistic life Italy of that time. As a true innovator and experimenter, Leonardo abandoned the fresco technique. He covered the wall with a special composition of resin and mastic, and painted in tempera. These experiments led to greatest tragedy: the refectory, which was hastily repaired by order of Sforza, the picturesque innovations of Leonardo, the lowland in which the refectory was located - all this served a sad service to safety last supper. The paint began to peel off, as already mentioned by Vasari in 1556. Secret supper it was repeatedly restored in the 17th and 18th centuries, but the restorations were unqualified (the paint layers were simply reapplied). By the middle of the 20th century, when The Last Supper came into a deplorable state, began a scientific restoration: first, the entire paint layer was fixed, then later layers were removed, and Leonardo's tempera painting was opened. And although the work was badly damaged, these restoration works made it possible to say that this Renaissance masterpiece was saved. Working on the fresco for three years, Leonardo created the greatest creation of the Renaissance.

After the fall of Sforza's power in 1499, Leonardo went to Florence, stopping by Mantua and Venice on the way. In Mantua he creates cardboard with Portrait of Isabella d "Este(1500, Louvre, Paris), executed in black crayon, charcoal and pastel.

In the spring of 1500, Leonardo arrived in Florence, where he soon received an order to paint an altar painting in the monastery of the Annunciation. The order was never completed, but one of the options is the so-called. Burlington House Cardboard(1499, National Gallery, London).

One of the significant commissions received by Leonardo in 1502 for the decoration of the wall of the Council Hall of the Signoria in Florence was Battle of Anghiari(not saved). Another wall for decoration was given to Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who painted a painting there. Battle of Kashin. Sketches by Leonardo, now lost, showed the panorama of the battle, in the center of which the battle for the banner took place. Cardboards by Leonardo and Michelangelo, exhibited in 1505, were a huge success. As in the case with last supper, Leonardo experimented with paints, as a result of which the paint layer gradually crumbled. But survived preparatory drawings, copies that partly give an idea of ​​the scale of this work. In particular, a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) has been preserved, which shows the central scene of the composition (c. 1615, Louvre, Paris).
For the first time in the history of battle painting, Leonardo showed the drama and fury of the battle.

MONA LISA. Louvre, Paris Mona Lisa- most famous work Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506, Louvre, Paris). Mona Lisa (short for Madonna Lisa) was the third wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo. Now the picture is slightly changed: columns were originally drawn on the left and right, now cut off. Small in size, the picture makes a monumental impression: Mona Lisa is shown against the backdrop of a landscape, where the depth of space, the air haze are conveyed with the greatest perfection. Leonardo's famous sfumato technique is brought here to unprecedented heights: the thinnest, as if melting, haze of chiaroscuro, enveloping the figure, softens the contours and shadows. There is something elusive, bewitching and attractive in a slight smile, in the liveliness of facial expression, in the stately calmness of the pose, in the stillness of the smooth lines of the hands.

In 1506 Leonardo received an invitation to Milan from Louis XII of France (1462-1515). Having given Leonardo complete freedom of action, regularly paying him, the new patrons did not demand certain jobs from him. Leonardo is fond of scientific research, sometimes turning to painting. Then the second version was written Madonnas in the rocks(1506-1508, British National Gallery, London).

MADONNA WITH CHILD AND ST. ANNO. OK. 1510. Louvre, Paris

St. Anne with Mary and the Christ Child(1500-1510, Louvre, Paris) - one of the themes of Leonardo's work, to which he repeatedly addressed. The last development of this theme remained unfinished.

In 1513, Leonardo went to Rome, to the Vatican, to the court of Pope Leo X (1513–1521), but soon lost the pope's favor. He studies plants botanical garden, draws up plans for draining the Pontine Marshes, writes notes to a treatise on the structure of the human voice. At this time, he created the only self-portrait(1514, Reale Library, Turin), executed in sanguine, showing a gray-haired old man with a long beard and a fixed gaze.

Leonardo's last painting was also painted in Rome - Saint John the Baptist(1515, Louvre, Paris). St. John is shown pampered with a seductive smile and feminine gestures.

Once again, Leonardo receives an offer from the French king, this time from Francis I (1494-1547), the successor of Louis XII: to move to France, to an estate near the royal castle of Amboise. In 1516 or 1517, Leonardo arrives in France, where he is assigned apartments in the Cloux estate. Surrounded by the respectful admiration of the king, he receives the title of "The first artist, engineer and architect of the king." Leonardo, despite his age and illness, is engaged in drawing canals in the Loire Valley, takes part in the preparation of court festivities.

Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519, bequeathing his drawings and papers to Francesco Melzi, a student who kept them all his life. But after his death, all countless papers were distributed around the world, some were lost, some were stored in different cities, in museums around the world.

A scientist by vocation, Leonardo even now impresses with the breadth and diversity of his scientific interests. His research in the field of aircraft design is unique. He studied the flight, planning of birds, the structure of their wings, and created the so-called. ornithopter, an aircraft with flapping wings, and never realized. He created a pyramidal parachute, a model of a spiral propeller (a variant of the modern propeller). Observing nature, he became an expert in the field of botany: he was the first to describe the laws of phyllotaxy (the laws governing the arrangement of leaves on a stem), heliotropism and geotropism (the laws of the influence of the sun and gravity on plants), discovered a way to determine the age of trees by annual rings. He was an expert in the field of anatomy: he was the first to describe the valve of the right ventricle of the heart, demonstrated anatomy, etc. He created a system of drawings that still help students understand the structure of the human body: he showed an object in four views to examine it from all sides, created an image system organs and bodies in cross section. His research in the field of geology is interesting: he gave descriptions of sedimentary rocks, explanations of marine deposits in the mountains of Italy. As an optical scientist, he knew that visual images on the cornea of ​​the eye are projected upside down. He was probably the first to use a camera obscura for sketching landscapes (from Latin camera - room, obscurus - dark) - a closed box with a small hole in one of the walls; rays of light are reflected on the frosted glass on the other side of the box and create an inverted color image, used by landscape painters of the 18th century. for accurate reproduction of views). In the drawings of Leonardo there is a project for an instrument for measuring the intensity of light, a photometer, brought to life only three centuries later. He designed canals, locks, dams. Among his ideas can be seen: light shoes for walking on water, a life buoy, webbed gloves for swimming, an underwater movement device similar to a modern spacesuit, machines for the production of rope, grinders and much more. Talking to mathematician Luca Pacioli, who wrote the textbook On Divine Proportion, Leonardo became interested in this science and created illustrations for this textbook.

Leonardo also acted as an architect, but none of his projects was ever brought to life. He participated in the competition for the design of the central dome of the Milan Cathedral, designed the mausoleum for members of the royal family in the Egyptian style, a project he proposed to the Turkish Sultan to build a huge bridge across the Bosphorus, under which ships could pass.

Left a large number of Leonardo's drawings made with sanguine, colored crayons, pastels (it is Leonardo who is credited with the invention of pastels), silver pencil, chalk.

In Milan, Leonardo begins to write Treatise on painting, work on which continued throughout his life, but was never completed. In this multi-volume guide, Leonardo wrote about how to recreate on canvas the world, about linear and aerial perspective, proportions, anatomy, geometry, mechanics, optics, about the interaction of colors, reflexes.

John the Baptist. 1513-16

Madonna Litta 1478-1482 Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

Leda with a swan 1508 - 1515 Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

The life and work of Leonardo da Vinci left a colossal mark not only in art, but also in science and technology. Painter, sculptor, architect - he was a naturalist, mechanic, engineer, mathematician, made many discoveries for subsequent generations. It was the greatest personality of the Renaissance.

"Vitruvian Man"- the common name for a graphic drawing by da Vinci, made in 1492. as an illustration to the entries in one of the diaries. The figure depicts a naked male figure. Strictly speaking, these are even two images of the same figure superimposed on each other, but in different poses. A circle and a square are described around the figure. The manuscript containing this drawing is sometimes also referred to as The Canon of Proportions or simply The Proportions of Man. Now this work is kept in one of the museums in Venice, but it is exhibited extremely rarely, since this exhibit is really unique and valuable both as a work of art and as a subject of research.

Leonardo created his "Vitruvian Man" as an illustration of the geometric studies he carried out on the basis of a treatise by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius (hence the name of da Vinci's work). In the treatise of the philosopher and researcher, the proportions of the human body were taken as the basis of all architectural proportions. Da Vinci, on the other hand, applied the studies of the ancient Roman architect to painting, which once again clearly illustrates the principle of the unity of art and science, put forward by Leonardo. Besides, this work also reflects the master's attempt to correlate man with nature. It is known that da Vinci considered the human body as a reflection of the universe, i.e. was convinced that it functions according to the same laws. The author himself considered the Vitruvian Man as "the cosmography of the microcosm". This drawing also has a deep symbolic meaning. The square and circle in which the body is inscribed do not simply reflect physical, proportional characteristics. The square can be interpreted as material existence a person, and the circle represents its spiritual basis, and the points of contact of geometric figures between themselves and with the body inserted into them can be considered as a connection between these two foundations of human existence. For many centuries this drawing was considered as a symbol of the ideal symmetry of the human body and the universe as a whole.

The brilliant artist of Italy - Leonardo da Vinci created a whole series of masterpieces in his life. Thus, he perceived reality, knowing it through his sketches and paintings.

The works of art that he created during his life still attract connoisseurs today. Thanks to his work, the art of painting moved to a new stage.

In the list of works by Leonardo da Vinci there are especially significant works that have touched the souls of many people. For example, the painting "Madonna Litta", completed in 1491. A young mother breastfeeding her child. The artist himself seems to identify the process of feeding with the comprehension of the human soul. In the hands of the child, we see a small bird - a red goldfinch. The image of a bird is shed blood, sacrifice and suffering, life for the glory of the Faith. The picture sings of motherhood, as well as the modesty of the mother. Currently, this work of art is in the Hermitage.

The painting "Madonna with a Carnation" is surrounded by many mysteries. It dates from around 1478 and depicts a spiritualized mother with a smile on her face and a carnation in her hands and active child who is trying to reach the flower. Already in this picture, the author's handwriting of Leonardo is visible.

The depicted poetess with a sad expression is the “Portrait of Ginevra de Benci”.

The artist often painted female portraits, fully conveying the psychologism of experiences.

Let's talk about selected works great Italian painter. His most famous works are: The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, The Lady with an Ermine, The Vitruvian Man, The Baptism of Christ.

The Last Supper reveals deep human experiences in religious themes. Jesus and his 12 disciples were painted in detail by Leonardo. The masterpiece began to collapse immediately, and restorers have been struggling for several centuries to "freeze" the work.

The painting “The Baptism of Christ” was created by Leonardo da Vinci together with Andrea del Verrocchio. It is believed that the student wrote an angel in this picture, and did it so accurately that Andrea stopped turning to the brush. Angel really differs in writing technique.

"Lady with an Ermine" is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world. The beautiful face of a lady dressed in fashion, with well-drawn hands. She gracefully holds the animal, not restricting its movements at all. It is believed that Cecilia Gallerani, one of the mistresses of the Duke of Sforza, is depicted on the canvas, but there is no documentary evidence.

"Vitruvian Man" was created as an illustration for an educational publication, which was dedicated to the works of Vitruvius. Figure that shows the ideal human forms, dividing the figure of a man into two equal parts. This work is both a masterpiece of art and a scientific work. The golden ratio, which we use now, was invented by Leonardo da Vinci. There is a version that the author depicted himself, and in order to understand the picture itself, you need to carefully read the description for it.

And, finally, the most mysterious and mystical painting by Leonardo is “Mona Lisa” (La Gioconda). It is still unknown who is depicted in this picture, although there are many guesses. This painting now hangs in the Louvre. Her enigmatic smile captivates, causing numerous controversies.

They say that in the works of art Leonardo da Vinci is hidden secret signs and encrypted esoteric codes that have not been solved for several centuries. But all over the world in museums we can find his paintings and admire the way the Italian master painted them!

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - great italian artist and a scientist
bright representative of the type of "universal man"

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor, architect, scientist and engineer. The founder of the artistic culture of the High Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci developed as a master, studying with Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. The methods of work in the workshop of Verrocchio, where artistic practice was combined with technical experiments, as well as friendship with the astronomer P. Toscanelli, contributed to the emergence of the scientific interests of the young da Vinci. In his early works (the head of an angel in Verrocchio's Baptism, after 1470, the Annunciation, circa 1474, both in the Uffizi; the so-called Benois Madonna, circa 1478, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), the artist, developing the traditions of art Early Renaissance, emphasized the smooth volume of forms with soft chiaroscuro, sometimes enlivened faces with a barely perceptible smile, achieving with its help the transfer of subtle states of mind.

Recording the results of countless observations in sketches, sketches and field studies performed in various techniques (Italian and silver pencils, sanguine, pen, etc.), Leonardo da Vinci achieved, sometimes resorting to an almost caricatured grotesque, sharpness in the transfer of facial expressions, and physical features and movement of the human body of young men and women brought into perfect harmony with the spiritual atmosphere of the composition.

In 1481 or 1482, Leonardo da Vinci entered the service of the ruler of Milan, Lodovico Moro, acting as a military engineer, hydraulic engineer, and organizer of court holidays. For over 10 years he worked on the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza, the father of Lodovico Moro (a life-size clay model of the monument was destroyed when Milan was taken by the French in 1500).

In the Milan period, Leonardo da Vinci created the “Madonna in the Rocks” (1483-1494, Louvre, Paris; the second version - about 1497-1511, National Gallery, London), where the characters are presented surrounded by a bizarre rocky landscape, and the finest chiaroscuro plays the role of spiritual start emphasizing warmth human relations. In the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, he completed the wall painting “The Last Supper” (1495-1497; due to the peculiarities of the technique used during the work of Leonardo da Vinci on the fresco - oil with tempera - was preserved in a badly damaged form; restored in the 20th century ), which marks one of the peaks European painting; its high ethical and spiritual content is expressed in the mathematical regularity of the composition, logically continuing the real architectural space, in a clear, strictly developed system of gestures and facial expressions of the characters, in the harmonious balance of forms.

Being engaged in architecture, Leonardo da Vinci developed various versions of the “ideal” city and projects of the central-domed temple, which had a great influence on the contemporary architecture of Italy. After the fall of Milan, the life of Leonardo da Vinci passed in incessant moving (1500-1502, 1503-1506, 1507 - Florence; 1500 - Mantua and Venice; 1506, 1507-1513 - Milan; 1513-1516 - Rome; 1517-1519 - France) . In his native Florence, he worked on the painting of the hall Grand Council in Palazzo Vecchio“Battle of Anghiari” (1503-1506, not completed, known from copies from cardboard), which stands at the origins of the European battle genre of modern times. In the portrait of "Mona Lisa" or "La Gioconda" (circa 1503-1505, Louvre, Paris), he embodied the lofty ideal of eternal femininity and human charm; important element the composition became a cosmically vast landscape, melting in a cold blue haze.

The late works of Leonardo da Vinci include projects for a monument to Marshal Trivulzio (1508-1512), altarpiece“Saint Anna and Mary with the Christ Child” (circa 1507-1510, Louvre, Paris), completing the search for a master in the field of light-air perspective and harmonic pyramidal construction of the composition, and “John the Baptist” (circa 1513-1517, Louvre),

where the somewhat sugary ambiguity of the image testifies to the growing moments of crisis in the artist's work. In a series of drawings depicting a universal catastrophe (the so-called cycle with the “Flood”, Italian pencil, pen, circa 1514-1516, Royal Library, Windsor), reflections on the insignificance of man in front of the power of the elements are combined with rationalistic ideas about the cyclic nature of natural processes.

The most important source for studying the views of Leonardo da Vinci are his notebooks and manuscripts (about 7 thousand sheets), excerpts from which were included in the “Treatise on Painting”, compiled after the death of the master by his student F. Melzi and which had a huge impact on European theoretical thought and artistic practice. In the dispute between the arts, Leonardo da Vinci gave the first place to painting, understanding it as a universal language capable of embodying all the diverse manifestations of the rational principle in nature. The appearance of Leonardo da Vinci would be perceived by us one-sidedly, without taking into account the fact that his artistic activity was inextricably linked with scientific activity. In essence, Leonardo da Vinci represents in its way the only example of a great artist for whom art was not the main business of life.

If in his youth he paid primary attention to painting, then over time this ratio changed in favor of science. It is difficult to find such areas of knowledge and technology that would not have been enriched by his major discoveries and bold ideas. Nothing gives such a vivid idea of ​​the extraordinary versatility of Leonardo da Vinci's genius as many thousands of pages of his manuscripts. The notes contained in them, combined with countless drawings that give Leonardo da Vinci's thoughts a plastic materialization, cover all being, all areas of knowledge, being, as it were, the clearest evidence of the discovery of the world that the Renaissance brought with it. In these results of his tireless spiritual work, the diversity of life itself is clearly felt, in the knowledge of which the artistic and rational principles appear in Leonardo da Vinci in an indissoluble unity.

As a scientist and engineer, he enriched almost all areas of science of that time. A bright representative of the new natural science based on the experiment of Leonardo da Vinci Special attention devoted to mechanics, seeing in it the main key to the secrets of the universe; his brilliant constructive guesses were far ahead of his contemporary era (projects of rolling mills, machines, submarines, aircraft). The observations he collected on the influence of transparent and translucent media on the coloring of objects led to the establishment of scientifically based principles of aerial perspective in the art of the High Renaissance. Studying the device of the eye, Leonardo da Vinci made the right guesses about the nature of binocular vision. In anatomical drawings, he laid the foundations of modern scientific illustration, and also studied botany and biology.

And as a contrast to this full of higher tension creative activity- the life fate of Leonardo, his endless wanderings associated with the inability to find favorable conditions for work in Italy at that time. Therefore, when the French king Francis I offered him a position as a court painter, Leonardo da Vinci accepted the invitation and arrived in France in 1517. In France, during this period, which was especially actively involved in the culture of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci was surrounded at court with universal reverence, which, however, was more of an external character. The artist's strength was running out, and two years later, on May 2, 1519, he died in the castle of Cloux (near Amboise, Touraine) in France.