Have you ever heard of the
Renaissance Man; what about the painting called ‘Mona Lisa’; do you know of the
one who first thought of the possibility of flying that he even went ahead to execute
drawings of flying machines centuries before man ever actualised that dream?
These and many more are all attributable to one man, indeed one of the greatest
geniuses if not the greatest, that ever walked the surface of this planet
earth. I am talking of Leonardo da Vinci. Thus this is my personal perception
of the universe man whose body of works has continued to astound everybody
around the world. That is Leonardo da Vinci - the legend and enigma; a bundle
of unquantifiable creative opulence.
 |
| ‘Virgin of the Rocks’ - Painting |
Thus Leonardo da Vinci was born
on April 15, 1452,
in Vinci, republic of Florence or present day Italy; he excelled in everything he ever set out his mind to do:
He was outstanding as an artist (painter, sculptor, and draughtsman); he was
equally outstanding and accomplished as an architect, poet, anatomist, writer,
musician, mathematician, inventor, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and
engineer. The world’s most famous piece of painting today, and the most
expensive at that – Mona Lisa, is the
work of this genius, and it is at least five hundred years old now. If you
think of the popular painting called ‘The Last Supper’, it is also attributable
to this great man of the arts and sciences.
 |
| ‘The Last Supper’ - Painting by Leonardo da Vinci |
So much of Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings have given vent to the drawings of anatomy that medical
doctors make use of today. He sort of exemplifies the meaning and essence of
the entire Renaissance period in that he stood as a figure towering centrally
about this epoch. This was the period of European history at the close of the Middle Ages
and the rise of the modern world; a cultural rebirth from the 14th through
the middle of the 17th centuries.
