Leonardo da Vinci, the genius of the Italian Renaissance was born in the town of Vinci; his birth is not known with accuracy but it is assumed he was born in 1452.
Leonardo's achievements in so many different areas made him an outstanding human being: scientist, painter, philosopher, draughtsman, writer, botanist, inventor; there is hardly a branch of human learning to which he did not at one time or another give his eager attention. He was also interested in architecture, art-sculpture, mathematics, engineering and music; he was in fact a many-sided genius.
Considered one of the greatest painters of all time and definitely the most talented person ever to have lived; in this article we will be mainly focus on two of his greatest masterpieces: "The Last Supper" and the "Mona Lisa".
The Last Supper: Between 1496 and 1498 Leonardo painted this masterpiece, however it was originally executed in tempera on a badly prepared stucco ground and began to deteriorate a few years after its completion; it was restored on several occasions but it was not until 1908 that Professor Cavenaghi has, in opinion of experts, preserved it from further injury.
The Painting represents the last meal that Jesus had with the Apostles before he was betrayed, captured and killed. Leonardo successfully captured the betray effect in the painting and the gestures of the disciples reveal their temperaments, passions and shock by the realisation that there is a traitor in the group.
The Mona Lisa: Once back in Florence, Leonardo started working on the Portrait of Mona Lisa or La Joconde by which the portrait is officially known in the Louvre Museum. It is assumed that he started working on the portrait in 1501 and it was finally completed in 1504; even when the completion of the most famous painting in the world took around four years, Leonardo did not paint it for Francesco and Lisa del Giocondo (They commissioned the painting); he painted it for the posterity; the enigmatic Mona Lisa looks like if she is alive and observing us from any angle you look at the painting.
An extract of Vasari's eulogy of this portrait clearly reflects the admiration of this work: "...The nose, with its beautiful and delicately roseate nostrils, might be easily believed to be alive; the mouth, admirable in its outline, the rose-tints of their colour with those of the face, in the utmost perfection, and the carnation of the cheek does not appear to be painted, but truly flesh and blood..."
A peck of pigment near the left elbow was damaged in 1956 when a young Bolivian named Ugo Unganza Villegas threw a rock at it.
On the 22 May 1519, Leonardo da Vinci died, leaving us with an astonishing legacy of art and invention; he will leave forever as the Universal genius of all time.
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