Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci grew up in his father’s home in Vinci. He had access to scholarly texts owned by family and friends, and was exposed to Vinci’s longstanding tradition of painting. When he was fifteen he was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, and showed extreme talent. He painted an angel in his master’s “baptism of christ”, and it was so much better than his master’s that Verrocchio decided to never paint again. Leonardo stayed in his master’s workshop until 1477, when he set up his own. Searching for money and new challenges, he entered the service of the duke of milan in 1482 and abandoned his first commissioned work, “the adoration of the magi”. The duke had leonardo working on painting and sculpting, as well as designing weapons, buildings, and machinery. From 1485 to 1490, leonardo produced studies on nature, flying machines, geometry, mechanics, municipal construction, canals, architecture and more. He created designs for a tank and other war vehicles, weapons and combat devices, a submarine, etc. Unfortunately, because leonardo’s interests were so varied, he hardly ever finished his works. During the total of 17 years he spent in milan, he only completed six paintings and spent most of his time studying science. Between 1490 and 1495, he developed a habit of recording his studies in carefully illustrated notebooks. His work was focused on four main themes; painting, architecture, the elements of mechanics, and human anatomy. After the invasion of the french and the duke’s fall from power in 1499, leonardo left milan to search for a new employer. He traveled Italy for 16 years, working for a number of men including cesare borgia. He traveled with borgia’s army for a year as a military engineer. In about 1503, Leonardo began work on the “Mona Lisa”. In 1504, he received news that his father had died. Because of his half siblings, however, he was left without any inheritance. An uncle’s death soon after also caused a fight over inheritance, but Leonardo gained his uncle’s land and money. From 1513 to 1516, he worked in rome, and undertook a variety of projects for the pope. He continued his studies of human anatomy and physiology, but unfortunately for him, the pope refused to let him dissect cadavers. After the death of Leonardo’s employer, Giuliano de Medici, in 1516, he was offered the title of Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King by Francis I of france, an offer which he accepted. Leonardo suffered from paralysis of the right hand, but was still able to draw and teach. He produced studies of cats, dogs, dragons, St. George, anatomy, the nature of water, drawings of the deluge, and various machines. Leonardo da Vinci died May 2, 1519, `in cloux france.
Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. His family had worked as bankers in florence for several generations, and his father held government positions at times. When Michelangelo was born, his father was working as a government agent in Caprese and his mother was in bad health. His care was entrusted to the wife of a stonecutter who lived in settignano. His mother died when he was six years old. Michelangelo was drawn to the arts from a young age, but his father believed that it was below their social status and discouraged him. Michelangelo’s father sent him to the school of the master linguist, Francesco Galeota, to prepare his son for a business career. However, Michelangelo was uninterested in his studies. In 1488, when he was 13, Michelangelo pursued his interest in art and became an apprentice at Domenico Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo left his Domenico after one year and accepted an invitation to be apprentice to Lorenzo de Medici, retired sculptor and ruler of Florence. He studied sculpture and anatomy at the school in the medici gardens, and learned about important scientists and poets. Although Michelangelo often disagreed with their ideas due to his religious beliefs, he was intrigued by these great men. Lorenzo de Medici died in 1492, and the medici family lost their power. Because of this, Michelangelo made the decision to return to florence for a short while before moving to rome. It was there that Michelangelo carved his Pieta. In 1501, Michelangelo returned to florence, and was commissioned to carve a sculpture of the biblical hero “David” for the Florence Cathedral. Seven years later, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the sistine chapel. Michelangelo was great in poetry, sculpture, painting, and architecture, and died on February 18, 1564.
Eclectic Chaos 