Draft proposal for personal investigation essay – Leonardo Da Vinci

In this essay I intend to write about the varied works of Da Vinci, a

supremely talented artist of the Italian Renaissance period, and quite
possibly the greatest of all time. He has been referred to as the
archetype of the Renaissance, with a ‘feverishly imaginative
imagination’ and ‘unquenchable curiosity’.

I want to discuss the variety of his works – both in

subjects and mediums – and how they were
influenced.

He had many talents, from geology to music to botany, also being a

pioneering mathematician, scientist, architect, engineer and inventor; this
background influenced many of his artistic creations, such as his futuristic
flying machines: Arial Screw (the first ever helicopter), Glider (his scientific
‘magnum opus’ conveying his motivation to fly) and the parachute.

Other inventions, showing a real sense of innovative invention, imagination

and scientific ingenuity (exploring the mechanical forces behind the principles of
transport and weaponry), aiming to improve the technology of his society and
give us an insight into Da Vinci’s thought processes:

I would also like to analyse his anatomical sketches, which have helped us
in the present day to understand principles of correct proportion, facial and
bone structure, muscle groups, postures and internal organs and venous
systems, informed by his observations in dissection and human physiology (The Golden
Ratio).
The Vitruvian Man – perfect proportions
of the human body displaying the
Golden ratio in an anatomical context.

Da Vinci died at the age of 67.

He ended his unofficial study of
anatomy (documented in his notebooks)
with this closing statement:

‘The 120 chapters composed by me will

give judgement in which I have been
impeded neither by avarice nor by
negligence but only by time. Farewell’.

In addition to this, Leonardo also wrote:

‘Tell me have I done anything of worth?
Tell me if anything was ever done.’

Leonardo’s work was, and still is,

regarded as the work of a genius, with
his anatomical studies of dissections and
the human form still being referred to
today in science and art.

I will also analyse his famous oil paintings, the Mona Lisa which took 4 years to
complete and was one of Da Vinci’s most cherished pieces (I have seen this painting
myself) and The Last Supper – his most religious work.