STUDYING DA VINCI.

 Otaru Testimony Afigie

Admittedly, it would a bit odd if an engineer were to be the painter of the world's most famous painting. Things would even get weirder if this engineer also practiced as an anatomist, a chemist, a mathematician, an architect, and a sculptor. But with Leornado da Vinci, this was very normal. In fact da Vinci was much more than these. 

Leonardo da Vinci was a multi-talented man and has been described by man as being 'strikingly handsome'. He was known for his trademark beards which were said to reach his shoulders. Even though he suffered from stroke and latter became paralyzed in his right hand, he conjured so many wonders with his left hand in both writings, drawings and paintings some of which are yet to be fully understood. Yes, he was left-handed, and this together with a lot of other numerous instances have made people to conclude that southpaws are special. (But we know that there are lots of right-handed people who are special too, you for instance)

Born on the 15th of April 1452 as Leornado Di Ser Piero to a legal practisioner Ser Piero Fruosino Di Antonio and a peasant girl Caterina Di Meo Lippi (who were unmarried at that time) in Vinci Italy, the suffix da Vinci meaning (from Vinci) was added to his name to indicate the place of his birth. This was a very common practice in his days. For instance if someone named Osadolor was born in Benin, then the individual would be named Osadolor da Benin. That being said, da Vinci's full name is actually Leornado Di Ser Piero da Vinci which is quite a mouthful.  

Da Vinci received very little formal education instead he was well trained in painting, drawing and sculpting obviously because his parents discovered his talent for art early enough. So by the time he was 17 he was already a studio boy to Andrea del Verrocchio, one  of the greatest painters at that time. Verrocchio also trained his apprentices in metallurgy and other technical skills in addition to their normal training for painting and sculpting. Verrocchio also demanded that his apprentices studied anatomy so they could paint better and this was when da Vinci fell in love with Anatomy. 

He trained under Verrocchio for seven long but fulfilling years. His first painting was a collaboration with Verrocchio himself. The painting is titled 'The Baptism of Christ'. According to Vasari, a contemporary of da Vinci, da Vinci's portion of the painting oppressed Verrocchio that he, Verrocchio, put his brush down and refused to paint again. However many consider this to be untrue. 

When da Vinci turned 20, he became a Master in a Guild of Artists and Doctors of Medicine. And from 1478, he began receiving commissions to paint for several patrons. He went ahead to paint a lot of works including several unfinished paintings, tons of lost works (paintings which have not been found) and about 25 major paintings including 'Mona Lisa' which is apparently his masterpiece and 'The Last Supper'. One of his paintings 'Salvator Mundi' was auctioned for 450.3 million dollars in 2017.

Rough times are a necessary part of life and being a polymath does not exempt one from them. Da Vinci had his own share of rough times and he seemed to express his state of mind through his paintings one of which is the unfinished painting of 'Saint Jerome in the Wilderness'. The sheer melancholy of the painting clearly portrayed the turbulence he underwent then. Describing those times, da Vinci wrote in his journals: 'I thought I was learning to live; I was only learning to die'. It is however unclear what exactly da Vinci passed through, but whatever it was, it was definitely unpleasant. 

Da Vinci made numerous contributions to the field of anatomy and dissected over 30 corpses, both male and female, over the course of 30 years, in Florence, Milan and Rome writing several notes and making several diagrams of the skeleton, muscles, sinews, heart, vascular system, the human appendix, the lungs, the urinary tract and the genitals. He also drew one of the first diagrams of a foetus in the uterus. 

According to him, in order to obtain 'true and perfect knowledge', he dissected more than 10 corpses twice, studying each body part and organ with the highest degree of precision and is said to have made drawings of unparalleled beauty and lucidity. A book containing his writings and drawings was published in 1680 and in 2005 a UK surgeon repaired a damaged heart using a procedure based on da Vinci's work. 

However, some of his drawings of internal organs were later found to be incorrect and this could be due to the fact that most of the corpses he dissected deteriorated before he could complete his studies due to the lack of proper preservation techniques present during his time. 

Da Vinci's knowledge of anatomy helped him in the study of engineering and drew plans for several machines. He is quoted to have said: 'The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work a art.' Sadly enough most of these plans were not executed, mainly because some of them were impractical or too expensive to carry out and also because his ideas were far too ahead of his time. On a happier note,  some machines have being built using his designs and some actually worked. And in 2000 a man named Adrian Nicholas flew a parachute built based on drawings by da Vinci. In addition, a drone has been constructed using da Vinci's designs, and yes it actually works.

Not as if this is important but it is almost inevitable to write about da Vinci without answering the big question; 'Was da Vinci gay?'  A lot of facts point to the fact that he could have been a non-practising gay. One of which is the fact that he did not get married. However this alone is not enough to prove that he was gay, but it was reported that he had 'intimate' relationships so to speak with two of students. And in 1476, a 24 year old da Vinci along side three other young men were charged to court for sodomy, however the case was dismissed. 

Now for those who believe in fetish stuff, it is almost impossible to tap from da Vinci's greatness by touching his grave or something, because his actual remains can not be confirmed to be found. Even though he was initially buried in the church of Saint Florentin at Château d'Amboise in France, after his death on the second of May 1519, the church was partly destroyed during the French revolution and was eventually demolished in 1802. During this time, several graves were destroyed and bones from these graves were evidently scattered about. However some bones presumed be his currently lie in the Château d'Amboise. But these bones may not be as magical as the real bones of da Vinci himself. 

Evidently, emulating da Vinci's life is a tall order, but the thing is, it is actually possibly for one to be a maestro in several things at once. And with dedication and consistency this can easily be done. Do this and I may just be writing about you next.