 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Facts About Leonardo da Vinci - Leonardo Da Vinci's biography and moreWhat are the facts about Leonardo Da Vinci? Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was motivated through his observation of reality "to transcend the real," to find something deeper than materiality. His work was an expression of his experience of this inner reality and everything he made, either in art or science, expressed something more. This creates an interesting juxtaposition between Leonardo da Vinci and science and Leonardo da Vinci the artist. On the one hand, here was an individual who saw a spiritual and religious depth behind the material world, where there were possible associations between Leonardo da Vinci and spiritual orders, the man who often used backward writing in his journals; and on the other hand were many things that Leonardo da Vinci invented, his engineering works and his detailed drawings of anatomy. Here was a man who could bridge both the artistic and the scientific worlds. It is difficult to separate the myths from the facts about Leonardo da Vinci, as he was an intensely private individual. What is known is that he was an illegitimate child of a local peasant woman and a Florence notary and that he showed tremendous artistic talent at an early age and started an apprenticeship at the age of 14. He was a very sensitive person, known to buy birds just to release them from captivity and was a vegetarian for at least part of his life. Leonardo da Vinci's great works of art speak for themselves, the most prominent being The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. The early part of his career he spent in Florence, then moving to Milan, and the later portion of his profession life he spent between France and Italy. During these times Leonardo Da Vinci created numerous works of arts, plans for flying machines, and incredibly detailed drawings of anatomy. HUM 201: LEONARDO, THE TURNING POINT Leonardo da Vinci was always motivated through his observation of reality "to transcend the real," to provide for humans something beyond the materialistic. Everything he did was the expression of some inner reality and everything he made, either in art or science, expressed something deeper. Thus his whole life and work is one of the first modern examples of the spiritual scientist - the individual who can reunite religion, art and science in a modern, transformed way. Leonardo was not frustrated by the paradoxical unity of the spiritual and the mundane. In fact, he thrived on it; it was the basis of his work, the essence of his being and his great legacy to us. The student will become familiar with the art of Leonardo da Vinci with special emphasis on The Last Supper and Da Vinci's astrological depictions of the 12 Disciples. The focus of this course will be to discover the wisdom that underlies this great work of art. 
In light of the popularity of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, it might be interesting to take a special look at the figure of John, the Beloved Disciple. From the mural's recent restoration it is very clear that John is depicted in a very feminine way (as is Christ). This certainly does not mean that this figure represents Mary Magdalene. But it does indicate very much the feminine quality of Sophia (Wisdom), which in Christianity is related to the Holy Spirit and to the Mother of Jesus. Divine wisdom is the quality that both John and the Mother of Jesus possessed. It was also a quality that Mary Magdalene had. It is not hard to understand, therefore, that Leonardo would paint both Christ and John with distinctive female attributes. Questions and thoughts follow the course guide which requires written response. This course requires no prior learning but does require the ability to think clearly and in an unprejudiced manner. |
|
|
Required Reading:
Some other Works by Leonardo Da Vinci: The Baptism of Christ by Leonardo Da Vinci |
Leonardo Da Vinci's childhood biography, click here. For facts about Leonardo Da Vinci, The Holy Grail, and The Last Supper, click here. |
