To What Extent Was Leonardo Da Vinci The Greatest Polymath in European History?
To What Extent Was Leonardo Da Vinci The Greatest Polymath in European History?
To What Extent Was Leonardo Da Vinci The Greatest Polymath in European History?
Amit Kumar
Block 3
various subjects) in European history by showing his knowledge of various topics, such
as art, science, math and architecture. Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, probably
outside the village of Vinci, near Florence in central Italy. The name da Vinci simply
means from Vinci(Gale 1). Da Vinci painted one of the most famous paintings of all
time, if not the most famous, the Mona Lisa. He also painted “The Last Supper.” He
showed his technique and mastery of art by working with the artist Verrocchio at a
young age. “Other famous painters apprenticed or associated with the workshop include
Vinci worked with many great artists to become the greatest artist in European history,
as well as the greatest polymath. Even though he had a tendency to not complete all of
the work that he started, Leonardo da Vinci was the greatest polymath in European
history because of his artwork, his variety of knowledge in multiple areas, and his
Even though Leonardo is regarded as one of the greatest geniuses of all time,
everyone has flaws and makes mistakes. For example, many of his war machines had
many engineering flaws. He spent over a year working as a military engineer, and he
had plans for a tank, defense walls, etc. Also, many times he would take commision
from people to do work and never finish the work. He did not believe in sleep, he
followed the polyphasic cycle, in which short naps are taken in a twenty four hour
period. In conclusion, even though Leonardo da Vinci is arguably the greatest polymath
in European history, he has flaws and made many mistakes in his lifetime.
Leonardo da Vinci was arguably the greatest artist in European history, while also
having a range of knowledge in multiple subjects. His greatest achievement was the
Mona Lisa, which is a painting in the Louvre Museum, in Paris, France. The light softens
the painting's underlying geometry of spheres and circles, which includes the arc of her
famous smile, and gives the texture of living surfaces to the geometric shapes(Gale 5).
His knowledge and skill in art also applies to math because it is needed to make a
was one of the greatest artists at the time. Being an apprentice taught a lot to da Vinci
and influenced him a lot. “Like other artists, Leonardo was interested in the proportions
of the human body. He drew a famous study of human proportions based on the
statement of the Roman architect Vitruvius that the "well-shaped man" fits into the
perfect shapes of the square and circle.(Gale 4)” Leonardo was not just an artist to
make money, he was interested in a lot of subjects including the human body. At one
point in his life, he would go to the graveyard and dig up corpses to study the anatomy
of the human body. He made a famous drawing, The Vetruvian Man, which is a very
detailed drawing of the human body with correct proportions. As one can see, Leonardo
and architecture. He had a notebook full of thoughts and ideas which were past his
time, such as a flying machine(helicopter), a bicycle, and he also had ideas for an
armored car. Leonardo, as he is almost always called, was trained to be a painter. But
his interests and achievements spread into an astonishing variety of fields that are now
Even though he had much interest in pretty much every topic, he found very little
interest in literature and history. He thought these topics to be boring, so he did not
produced designs for a variety of war machines, among them tanks, machine guns, and
movable bridges(Gale 3). Leonardo da Vinci had knowledge in a lot of subjects and had
Leonardo had a great impact on the world today from art techniques to modern
technology. Leonardo had one of the greatest scientific minds of the Italian
Renaissance. He wanted to know the workings of what he saw in nature. Many of his
inventions and scientific ideas were centuries ahead of his time(Gale 6). Some of his
ideas included a helicopter, a car, basic architectural foundation, art techniques, military
techniques, and much more that left a huge impact on the world today. The world would
not be the same without da Vinci and his additions to the modern world. he drew plans
for aircraft, including a helicopter, and for a parachute. Like many Renaissance artists,
bridges(Gale 6). Leonardo da Vinci was clearly way beyond his time with artwork and
technology and has had a major impact on our world from technology to artwork.
Even though he had a tendency to not complete all of the work that he started,
Leonardo da Vinci was the greatest polymath in European history because of his
artwork, his variety of knowledge in multiple areas, and his impact on the modern world.
Leonardo was definitely the greatest polymath in European history because of his
accomplishments and his impact on the modern day world. He had knowledge in a
“Improve Research and Writing Skills.” Questia Schools - Trusted Online Research,
www.questiaschool.com/.
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www.leonardoda-vinci.org/.
“World Book Online Reference Center | Online Reference Book| Online Encyclopedia.” World
Book, www.worldbookonline.com/.
Vinci, Leonardo Da. The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci. Orion Press, 1961.