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| | Da Vinci’s Interesting facts:
• Leonardo most likely did not leave any self-portrait which could unambiguously be attributed to him. Scientists have doubted that the famous red chalk self-portrait of Leonardo (traditionally dated to 1512 – 1515) depicting him in his old age, can be considered as such. Many believe that it may have been only a sketch of the head of the apostle for "The Last Supper". Doubts about the self-portrait of the artist which arose in the 19th century, were recently expressed by one of the experts on Leonardo da Vinci, Professor Pietro Marani.
• Leonardo masterly played the lyre. When Leonardo’s case was brought up in the court of Milam, he was addressed as a musician but not as an artist or inventor.
• Leonardo was the first to explain the blue color of the sky. In his book “A Treatise on Painting” he wrote: “The blue sky is due to the thickness of the illuminated particles of air, which is located between the Earth and located above the blackness".
• Leonardo was ambidextrous – he could use his left and right hands equally well. Some people say that he could write different texts with different hands simultaneously. However, most of his works were written with his left hand from right-to-left.
• It is believed that Leonardo was a vegetarian (Andrea Corsali in his letter to Giuliano di Lorenzo de ' Medici compares Leonardo to an Indian man, who did not eat meat). The phrase often attributed to him: “If man wants freedom why keep birds and animals in cages? Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! I have since an early age abjured the use of meat” was taken from the English version of the novel by Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky “The Resurrection of the Gods: Leonardo da Vinci”.
• Leonardo used “"mirror writing” a technique in his famous diaries starting at the right side of the page and moving to the left. Many think that by doing so he was trying to keep his research secret. This may very well have been the truth. According to another story, mirror writing was his individual peculiarity (there is information that it was easier for him to write from right to left rather than vice versa); there is even a term “Leonardo’s handwriting”.
• Leonardo was also interested in cooking and the art of table appointments. During the 13 years of his life in Milan he was also worked as an organizer of the most important court feasts. He invented several cooking devices, to facilitate the work of the cooks. The original dish “from Leonardo” – thinly sliced braised meat, with vegetables served on the top – was very popular at court feasts
• Italian scientists have revealed a sensational discovery. They claim they had found and early self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. The sketch has been discovered by Italian scientific journalist Piero Angela.
• In the books by Terry Pratchetthere there is a personage called Leonard, whose prototype was Leonardo da Vinci. Pratchetthere’s Leonard writes from right to left, invents different machines, studies alchemy, paints (his most famous painting is Mona Ogg).
• Leonardo – is a secondary personage in the game Assassin's Creed 2, where he is shown as young but talented painter and inventor.
• A great number of Leonardo’s manuscripts were first printed by the curator of Ambrosian Library Carlo Amoretti.
Amongst all of the films about Leonardo “The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci” (1971) directed by Renato Castellani is probably the best one as it both highly informative and entertaining. The movie starts with the scene of Leonardo’s death in the arms of the French king Francis I. Then the narrator (this technique was used by the director of the film in order to give historic comments without interfering with the general mood of the film) interrupts the storyline in order to tell the audience that this is nothing but a screen version of “Lives of the Artists” by Giorgio Vasari. Thereby, even the movie prologue raises the problem of mysterious personality, remarkably rich and versatile (“What, after all, do we know about the life of this famous person? Very little!”). Critical moments of the Castellani’s biopic are the scene of Leonardo shocking his friend Lorenzo di Credi by drawing a sketch of a man, who was hung for taking part in the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, and the episode where Leonardo operates a body in the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, in order to find out “the reason of good death” – both episodes are used as metaphors to show the painter’s unquenchable need for knowledge that doesn’t stop him from breaking moral prejudices even in the face of death. The first years of his life in Milan Leonardo is involved in Navigli project and is occupied with his treatises on anatomy. He also paints his famous “Lady with an Ermine” that he depicted so vividly. In Leonardo who was engaged in organizing sumptuous celebrations and vacuous glorifications of Il Moro, we see the fate of an artist (the hidden meaning) who always has to do the hackwork required from an obedient courtier in order to have the opportunity to do what the artist wants. |
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April 15th is Tax Day. It is also the birthday of genius Leonardo Da Vinci. The IRS is celebrating DaVinci birthday by making a 1040 form only a genius can complete.
