Leonardo Da Vinci (picture above) is quite probably the most famous artist from the renaissance, and for good reason. Born in Florence he was not a legitimate child of his father, being born to a lower classed servant. In spite of this his father remained a patron of him and remained a father figure, since bastards were not looked down upon. He was very quickly apprenticed to an artist and scientist named Verrocchio, who was considered the best of his time (just before Leonardo, obviously) and it was during this apprenticeship that Leonardo learned the basic art skills, and he was taught geometry and mechanics, among other skills that would come in handy during his life.
He was skilled enough that during his apprenticeship, at the age of 20, he became a master of a guild devoted to art and medicine. Indeed, he became very skilled at the medicine of his day, as well as several other fields, most notably engineering. Evidence of this is the famous designs he drew, some of which included flying machines, submarines, and even tanks (like the above image), not to mention the styles of guns he made. His inventions were primarily militarily focused because the governments of the time funded him for military advantages over the other armies, much like today, though it’s believed he disdained warfare, preferring art and peace. These designs were amazing, though, and several of them, like his machine gun, robot, and parachute, would have actually worked, had he devoted time to them. Others, like his screw helicopter, wouldn’t have worked, but by changing it a little and using different materials they could possibly work today.
Apart from these designs he also drew several impressive paintings, his most famous being the Mona Lisa (picture above), and others included “The Last Supper”, “Lady with an Ermine”, “Portrait of a Musician”, and he had several sketches that have also became famous, such as the “Vitruvian Man” or “Saint Jerome in the Wilderness”. In the end Leonardo Da Vinci left a sizable impact on history, and truly represented the Renaissance in the best way possible.
School Essays 