The Renaissance was one of the most important movements in the history of the world.

Numerous
breakthroughs were made during this time. The renaissance took place during the 14th, 15th, and 16th
centuries. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) was known for his art during that time. Along with being a
painter da Vinci was a sculptor, an engineer, an architect, and a scientist. Da Vinci was born during the
Renaissance and after his death he influenced many other sculptors, and painters like Michelangelo.

Leonard was born in Vinci, Tuscany. Leonardo was a part of a very wealthy family. In the mid-1460s, his
family settled in Florence, where Leonardo was given the best education that Florence could offer. He
quickly advanced socially and intellectually. In about 1466, he was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio as
a garzone, or studio boy, where he was introduced to many activities from the painting of altarpieces to the
creation of bronze and marble sculptures. In 1472, he entered the Painters Guild of Florence, and in 1476,
he was still considered the assistant of Verrocchio. In 1478, he became his own master and many chapels
were giving him offers to draw altarpieces. Leonardo's world-famous work (Mona Lisa) is very well know
because of its unique techniques and the mysterious smile on the face of the subject. This work is an
example of two techniques, sfumato, and chiaroscuro. Leonardo was one of the first great masters of these
techniques. Sfumato is the blurring of sharp outlines that usually blends into another color, in this work
sfumato is used on the robe that the subject is wearing as well as on her smile. Chiaroscuro is the use of
light and shade in a pictorial representation. This is believed to be the cause of the puzzling smile on the
face of his model.
Another one of his famous pieces is "The Last Supper". This is the drawing of the famous scene where
Jesus Christ announced to his students that one of them is going to betray him. It is called "The Last
Supper" because that was the last supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. This work is more known to
the followers of the Christian beliefs.

None of Leonardo's known sculptures have been completed so the only way to see his approach to three-
dimensional art is from his drawings. The same things apply to his architecture. There is no known fact
why his sculptures were never built but judging from his drawings, he shows an excellent use of massive
forms, visibility of expression, and the great knowledge of ancient Roman Architecture.
Leonardo was also known for his scientific and theoretical projects. He understood better then anyone in
the next century how important observation is in science. Sadly, just like he never finished his sculptures,
his scientific projects were not completed. His theories are written down in numerous notebooks, but
because they were not easily readable, these works were not developed during the 16th century. Those
notes were written in mirror script. If those works were printed in his time, they would have revolutionized
the science of the 16th century by a lot, and an airplane might have been invented a whole lot earlier than
1903. Leonardo actually anticipated many discoveries of modern times. In anatomy, he studied the
circulation of the blood and the action of the eye. He made discoveries in meteorology and geology, learned
the effect of the moon on the tides, thought of the modern theory of the continent formation, and guessed
on the nature of fossil shells. He was one of the creators of hydraulics and probably invented the
hydrometer. He invented many machines, many of which are useful today; among them is an underwater
diving suit. His flying machine drawings, although they would not be able to fly, were the base for the
sound principles of aerodynamics.
Leonardo da Vinci was very important to the Renaissance because he influenced many sculptors and
painters of the future time period. He also made many advances in science, so without Leonardo many
things such as an airplane would not be invented even now.