Leonardo da Vinci: The Greatest Mind

Many historians, artists, scientists, writers, inventors and citizens alike have scrutinized Leonardo da Vinci. His accomplishments have left no doubt that he held the greatest mind the human race has ever brought forth. “The greatest mind” can be defined as the mind that held the most potential, the mind that escaped the bounds of era, time, prejudice, and outdated ideas. Da Vinci exemplifies this description with his works in anatomy and inventing. His psychology also must be understood in order to fully see the man that Leonardo da Vinci really was. These aspects in particular lent themselves to Da Vinci’s success as an intellectual.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in a village called Anchiano in Italy on April 15, 1452. His parents were a peasant woman, Caterina, and a successful notary, Ser Piero . Even as a boy, da Vinci was known for his artwork. He was commissioned to paint a dragon onto a shield when he was young, and in order to create his masterpiece, studied crickets, lizards, bats, butterflies, and snakes, assembling parts from each in his painting. The end result was a legendary beautifully frightening dragon . Da Vinci is greatly known for his other paintings such as the Mona Lisa, and the Last Supper, which are two of the most recognized paintings worldwide. These paintings may not have be created had he not studied art, but thanks to his apprenticeship with Verrocchio, which started circa 1468, da Vinci is a grand master . Da Vinci was not a starving artist by any means, as he was on very good terms with the French, who paid about 2000 écus d’or for two years pension and 560 scudi a year to Leonardo. To the French, as King Louis stated, the Renaissance Man was their “dear and good friend Leonardo da Vinci, our painte...

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...ng supported, being carried, and being struck. These motions also assisted in his art as well, defining the muscles used for different tasks.

Da Vinci made many seemingly random observations about anatomy. He noticed while studying the legs that a man has twice the amount of strength in his legs than necessary to support his weight. He also determined that a man will step with his right foot and swing his left arm forward when he walks, as a four-legged animal will put both his left hind leg and right foreleg forward. Da Vinci was also fascinated with eyes, discovering that every object we see during midnight will appear larger than during midday, because at midday the pupil is at its smallest. Da Vinci was fascinated with the human body.

Leonardo da Vinci worked diligently on anatomy, exhuming human corpses in order to fully comprehend how the human body works.