The Genius: Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

After the beginning of the 15th century, that is, from Massacio to Botticelli, Italy became the cradle of famous painters. But one of them eclipsed them all with her divine beauty, terrible intelligence, extraordinary determination to work. He said goodbye to the mortal world at the end of his life, which was always spent learning new things, giving direction to aesthetic rules according to his own opinion, solving the secrets of other worlds, and uncovering the unknown parts of the realm he was in, before he could fully reach his goal. This great genius was Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, in the village of Anchiano, in the town of Vinci, in Tuscany, as the illegitimate children of Ser Piero da Vinci and a village belle named Caterina. His father, who was actually the son of a Florentine person, was a modest notary public. Ser Piero's business was in Florence. Thus, Leonardo spent his childhood and youth in his father's house. He was moving from one branch to another at a young age, and he was interested in all kinds of things.

He embraced the science of mathematics and geometry so much that he built his masterpiece, which he gave as a gift to the world of painting, on this inaccessible geometry foundation. Meanwhile, he was also enthusiastic about music. He learned to play various instruments. With his sparkling voice, he sang the most heartfelt songs and even composed beautiful compositions. Later, the same voice will almost enchant the Sforza's palace in Milan. Leonardo, meanwhile, was also painting. In fact, it was the job he liked the most. One day, his father, Ser Piero, went to his friend Verrocchip's workshop, taking a few pictures of him without letting his son notice. Andrea del Verrocchio, Donatello's student and the most famous painting teacher of the time, was so fascinated by these scribbles that he begged Piero to send his son to him. Leonardo was then 15 years old. When Leonardo apprenticed to his famous teacher, Verrocchio was busy making the great work The Baptism of Christ. The first job Leonardo was given was to draw an angel in the upper left corner of this giant painting. The boy climbed the ladder and, struggling until evening, drew and painted the angel and went down. The enormous painting, dominated by dark, gloomy colors, seemed to melt next to the bright colors of this tiny angel. Andrea del Verrocchio embraced Leonardo and kissed him on the forehead, bowing in reverence to his extraordinary talent. According to this situation, it was as if the master and the apprentice were swapping places. Leonardo found his true vocation by himself. He stayed with his Master for four years. He was painting from morning to evening without resting, and returning home after sunset, he devoted himself to books, dealing with geometry, physics and philosophy until the sun came up.

Mona Lisa... She had just set foot in Florence when a person named Francesco del Giocondo visited him and asked him to paint a portrait of his wife, Mona Lisa. Leonardo struggled with this portrait for four years. In the end, he gave his greatest work, even one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of civilization. The expression on the face of Mona Lisa or La Gioconda can only be compared with the melancholy that Albrecht Dürer added to his works. In this painting, the mystical atmosphere of the Middle Ages, unique to the Greek goddesses, seems to be embraced. On the other hand, the human hand has not been able to put nature into art so faithfully until that time. The hair, the eyelids, the color of the skin, the upward curved mouth, in short, everything, this painting is the most perfect copy of nature. The obvious influences of his master Verocchio can be seen in the green, dull colors that dominate the painting, resembling strange cliffs in an underwater realm, seen behind the portrait. Although Leonardo was very different from his famous teacher in terms of style, the effect that remained subconscious for so long showed itself in this greatest work one day.

Leonardo wanted the young and beautiful woman to always be cheerful, in order to properly identify the « enigmatic smile » that he aimed for his portrait, and for this purpose, he invited musicians and actors to his workshop during the work. As Leonardo's greatest masterpiece, it attracts millions to Paris. During the years Leonardo was busy with the Mona Lisa, the enormous hall of the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence was remodeled for Senate meetings. A delegation of Giuliano da San Gallo, Cronaca, Mihelangelo and Bacio d'Angolo, under the supervision of the High Judge of Florence, restored it in the most magnificent way. At the request of Supreme Judge Piero Soderini, Leonardo was given the job of decorating it. Florence wanted to perpetuate this great son in this way. Da Vinci promptly accepted this offer and began decorating the meeting room with an enormous painting representing the Battle of Anghiari, which the Florentines won against the Pizzas in 1440. This painting, which shows a group of mounted warriors fighting each other for a banner, is a true masterpiece in terms of color, rhythm and artistic anatomy. No artist has ever been able to put horses in the picture in such a lively and lively manner. Biceps strength and extraordinary grace are combined most perfectly in this picture. It is said that Leonardo built an automatic scaffolding to work comfortably on the board. The scaffolding rises when pressed from the sides; It would also descend when withdrawn. On the other hand, when painting, the painting flowed as it was and was ruined because the brush did not work well, and because the paint was over-watered and rubbed heavily on the wall. Then he had to deal with the same subject all over again. But this too, like most of his works, was left unfinished.

In June 1519, St. He was buried in the Florentine Church. This church was later completely destroyed during the French Revolution. Leonardo is the first artist to bring the classical style to its peak in painting. Although he left a limited number of works in the field of painting, each of these paintings, which adorn the world museums today, is a separate masterpiece and an example of genius in its own right. Leonardo, on the other hand, became a solid bridge connecting the Middle Ages to the New Time as a naturalist and philosopher. Even trying to enter the world of science through experienced ways, he made the most intricate theories tangible and visible with terrifying lines. In short, Leonardo da Vinci is a divine power that not only the 15th century, but many centuries could not easily cultivate.