The First Renaissance Man

The term Renaissance man was coined to describe the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. He was a man of so many accomplishments in so many areas of human endeavour that his like has rarely been seen in human history. Casual patrons of the arts know him as the painter of “La Gioconda” – more commonly called the “Mona Lisa” – and of the exquisite “Last Supper”, which is painted on the wall of the dining hall in a monastery in Milan. These paintings alone would have assured him enduring fame as an artist, but they should not obscure the fact that he was also a sculptor, an architect, and a man of science who did serious investigations into the natural and physical sciences, mathematics, mechanics, and engineering. More than 300 years before flying machines were perfected, Leonardo had devised plans for prototypes of an airplane and a helicopter. His extensive studies of human anatomy were portrayed in anatomical drawings, which were among the most significant achievements of Renaissance science. His remarkable illustrations of the human body elevated drawing into a means of scientific investigation and exposition, and provided the basic principles for modern scientific illustration.