Leonardo Da Vinci's Accomplishments

Artist, inventor, scientist, this was Leonardo da Vinci. World renowned even to this day, Leonardo has influenced much of the world of science and art together. Leonardo da Vinci was the very man that painted the Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous painting in the world. Leonardo grew up in Anchiano, Tuscany (now Italy) in the mid 15th Century. He grew up in a time at which the world was being expanded from the new lands by great explorers like Christopher Columbus. In Leonardo’s day, views on religion, politics, art and science were constantly being questioned. Ideas of the great thinkers from Greece were also being rediscovered. According to Peter Lafferty, “This period became known as the ‘Renaissance’, or the ‘rebirth’.” Leonardo da vinci

is widely known for his knowledge in science, development in many inventions, and his talent in art.
As a scientist, Leonardo was upon the first to recognize that principles must be based on experiments, not on untested ideas (Peter Lafferty, page 6). This is so important because Leonardo was setting the example that science must be learned through careful observation and math is also also an essential to a scientist. Leonardo was especially interested in life science. According to the New World Encyclopedia, Leonardo wanted to understand so much: the forces of life that animated the body and the relation of the human body and the larger world. He tried to understand the body as a mechanism. One of his greatest drawings of anatomy was the Vitruvian man. The Vitruvian man is a picture depicting how when a man firmly places his feet on the floor, and spreads his feet apart he can be enclosed in a square, but when stretched out like an eagle he could be contained within a circle. As said by leonardodavinci.net, “This image provides the perfect example of Leonardo’s keen interest in proportions. In addition, this picture represents a cornerstone of Leonardo’s attempts to relate man to nature.” However, besides life science, Leonardo also found physical science intriguing.
Leonardo found physical science rather riveting. He was mainly interested in mechanics. Mechanics is the effect of physical forces on objects and their movements. Many of his ideas and drawings for were far beyond his era. He was a military engineer starting from his stay at Milan. He would construct tanks, machine guns, and movable bridges. Seeing that Leonardo knew so much in the forces of science, he would apply his knowledge in science to construct new and improved inventions.
Inventing was something Leonardo always found amusing and interesting.

Over the course of his years, he made a number of devices, all to better man’s life. Leonardo spent a great deal of his time making guns and flying machines. Guns interested him because it enabled him to study how objects could move at a high speed, not for military purposes. Leonardo constructed many flying machines due to his ambition to emulate bird flight. Leonardo would study many things before composing his design. He would analyze the distribution of a bird’s weight and measure the span and area of their wings in relation to its height. He would even compute the quantity of muscles a person would need to flap their “wings” to fly. He also realized how important a bird’s tail is when it comes to balance and steering. Leonardo drawings of his designs show a gradual development from trial-and-error to a scientific

approach.
Leonardo also spent a great deal of time experimenting with the use of water power. Many of his drawings show plans of using the force of water to power large machines such as mills and bellows for furnaces. He drew both detailed and ambitious plans of canals to transport goods and for irrigation. He put these plans into effect around Milan. Along with the design of the canal system, Leonardo created the canal lock or the miter lock. Before Leonardo invented the miter lock was the portcullis locks. The portcullis lock was composed of a flat piece of wood that would take the full force of water. Water would often find cracks in the wood and would seep through the wood. The lock was also notoriously difficult to raise due to their weight. However, because the miter lock was composed of two “doors” angled at 45 degrees, it used the water’s power against itself. When water began to push against the doors, it caused the doors to close tighter against each other. The force applied against the miter lock only made the lock close tighter. The lock was also easier to open as it was not opposing gravity (www.leonardodavincisinvention.com). Leonardo’s invention of the miter lock is still used in the world today including the Panama Canal and the Suez Canals.
Leonardo is known in the world from his contributions to the world including science, inventing and art.

Many could say that Leonardo contributed the most to art. He opened a new pathway to the world of art. Two of his most acclaimed paintings include The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. Both paintings show intricate detail and even reflect nature. The Mona Lisa is a half portrait of a woman with a distant landscape as a backdrop. Its landscape shows that Leonardo had a complete understanding of scientific processes such as erosion. He was also one of the first to understand geological time is revealed in rock layers. (World New Book page 201) However, the woman in the picture is equally if not more intriguing. The woman’s hair and clothing created through fine shading are echoed through the mountains and river in the background. “The sense of overall harmony achieved in this painting-especially apparent in the sitter’s faint smile-reflects Leonardo’s idea of cosmic link connecting humanity and nature, making this painting and enduring record of Leonardo’s

vision”(britannica.com).
Another famous and well done painting by Leonardo da Vinci is The Last Supper. The Last Supper depicts the scene in which Jesus Christ shares Passover with the 12 apostles. He calmly tells his disciples that one of them will betray him (referring to the Judas Iscariot). “The power of the painting’s effect comes from the striking contrast in the attitudes of the 12 disciples as counterposed to Christ. All the apostles are agitated, whereas Christ alone, conscious of his divine mission, sits in lonely, transfigured serenity (britannica.com”. In this painting, Leonardo refused to use the fresco technique (commonly used for wall paintings). However, if Leonardo were to use the fresco technique, he would have to had worked rather quickly. But, Leonardo wanted to paint slowly, revise his work and to use shadow. If he were to do all these things, the fresco technique would have been impossible. So, Leonardo created developed a new technique that involved coating the wall with a compound he created. (World New Books page 201). However, the compound did not last; soon after Leonardo finished the painting, the paint began to flake. Even though the painting is not in its prime condition, the painting still survives in the museum at Santa Maria Delle Grazia in Milan. Leonardo’s paintings are an example of how Leonardo’s existence has shaped our world.
Leonardo has left everlasting effect on our world. Paintings show how he has influenced the world of art. Other artists such as Raphael study Leonardo’s work and then create their own touch. Leonardo is the Bach when it comes to foundations. He had set the rules. Leonardo’s canal lock has also influenced the world of invention and the Vitruvian man had shaped the
science world. Leonardo da Vinci had one of the most scientific, artistic and creative mind the world has ever seen.