Subtitles section Play video
-
You're watching FreeSchool!
-
Today we're going to learn about the famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci.
-
Born in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci is most famous as a painter, but he was also a scientist,
-
mathematician, engineer, inventor, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer.
-
He is one of the most famous artists in history, and some people think he is one of the most
-
talented people ever to have lived.
-
Leonardo was born in Vinci, a small town in Italy. That is where he got his name - 'da
-
Vinci' means 'of Vinci,' so he was known as 'Leonardo from Vinci,' because he did not
-
have a last name.
-
Leonardo started painting while he was a child, and when he was fourteen he was sent to the
-
city of Florence and apprenticed to an artist named Verrocchio. In the workshop, Verrocchio
-
and his apprentices would often work on pieces together. That is why Leonardo only painted
-
part of the earliest paintings we have of his.
-
By the time he was twenty, Leonardo da Vinci was good enough that his father set him up
-
in his own workshop, and that is when he began creating artwork of his own.
-
Despite training as an artist, it seems that Leonardo did not think of himself as a painter.
-
When he moved to Milan at the age of thirty, he wrote a letter to the Duke there talking
-
about the wonderful and different things he could do in engineering, and, he said, he
-
could 'also paint.'
-
During the Renaissance, when da Vinci lived, art and science were not seen as separate
-
studies, but more like two sides of the same coin. It's true that Leonardo spent a great
-
deal of time in a close and careful study of the world
-
around him, and he was full of ideas for inventions that would not be used for hundreds of years.
-
He spent a long time studying the human body, he imagined ways that people could walk on
-
water and designed armored tanks; he invented an early parachute and a version of the helicopter,
-
a self-propelled cart and scuba diving gear. Some of his inventions were put to use, some
-
were forgotten, and others never really worked.
-
One thing Leonardo wanted all his life was to find a way for a person to fly.
-
"You may see that the beating of its wings against the air supports a heavy eagle," he
-
said. "Again you may see the air in motion over the sea, fill the swelling sails and
-
drive heavily laden ships. From these instances, and the reasons given, a man with wings large
-
enough and duly connected might learn to overcome the resistance of the air, and by conquering
-
it, succeed in subjugating it and rising above it."
-
He studied birds and tried countless ways, but as far as we know, Leonardo da Vinci never
-
achieved flight.
-
While his contributions to science, for the most part, went unrecognized for many years,
-
Leonardo's genius for painting was obvious to everyone who saw it. Two of his paintings,
-
the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, are considered the most famous paintings in the world.
-
Unlike many other artists, Leonardo da Vinci was incredibly famous and successful during
-
his lifetime. After he died, people were still interested in him and his art. For more than
-
500 years, people have studied and enjoyed his work.
-
In 1568, Giorgio Vasari wrote this about da Vinci.
-
"In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but
-
occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by
-
Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind,
-
all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than
-
from human skill. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci."
-
I hope you enjoyed learning about Leonardo da Vinci, and seeing some of his wonderful
-
work. Goodbye!
