Leonardo da Vinci, the Ultimate Renaissance Man

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” —Leonardo da Vinci

Images of inventions and the Annunciation were taken by me in the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Rome.

Today, April 15, marks the anniversary of one of history’s greatest geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci.

A man of faith and a man of science, a musician and military inventor, a biologist and painter, a poet and aviation enthusiast, son of a wealthy man and a peasant woman, Leonardo blended in one person many of the characteristics and talents which are admired and usually seen separately. Combined in his person, they inspire something akin to awe; for Leonardo was not only blessed with extraordinary gifts but used them to the very best of his ability. Anyone can be born talented, but it takes greatness of soul to achieve what Leonardo achieved.

A brief summary from Britannica:

“Leonardo da Vinci (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died May 2, 1519, Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France) Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last Supper (1495–98) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) are among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance. His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of their time.”

Indeed, Leonardo’s inventions—sadly lacking the necessary funding and support—were such that, could Leonardo have realized more of them, the start of the Industrial Age might have occurred centuries sooner, all because of a single man.

From a helicopter to a sanitary city plan, from a “self-propelled cart” (car) to an armored tank, from a humanoid robot to a mechanical loom, from a diving suit to an automated printing press, Leonardo’s inventions, plans and experiments were well ahead of his time. And then, of course, he was also a magnificent artist in multiple mediums, and some of his anatomical sketches were as accurate as modern scientific imaging.

Leonardo once declared, “The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.” To such a man as Leonardo, who took interest in so many and varied branches of study and expertise, whose thirst for knowledge was unquenchable, whose genius and achievements were so unique, we might indeed apply this quote. Leonardo da Vinci did in fact have a whole universe in his mind and hands.