Why Is Leonardo Da Vinci Important

Many are familiar with Leonardo Da Vinci, and the greatness and mystery the name holds. Whether their knowledge comes from the famous painting of the Mona Lisa that hangs in La Louvre in France, or something far more simple as a the ninja turtle, the name is internationally renowned. With his skill and natural thirst for knowledge, Da Vinci was quite possibly the absolute finest mind to ever come out of the renaissance, greater than Michelangelo even, or dare the author say it, Van Eyck. What makes him great however, are not just his detailed paintings and unique style. Da Vinci was gifted enough to not only have a flourishing artistic mind, but a scientific mind as well that he used his art to communicate. His journals contain beautiful, intricate, sketches of contraptions that people at the time had probably never considered in their lives. Hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, physics, anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, and even geometry; the sketches …show more content…
At age thirty, Da Vinci held the title Painter and Engineer of the Duke. Such a title required Da Vinci to take on several projects all at once. Many he actually left unfinished, a curse many artists find themselves under. In this position, he was consulted on a variety of topics including hydraulics, fortifications, and even military matters. Regarding military advisement, Da Vinci created several more sketches that were most definitely weapons. Dated in 1490, shortly before Da Vinci’s departure from Milan a sketch in the artist’s study of ballistics portrayed heavy artillery weapon supported by a wooden base. The device itself was constructed of thirty-three sturdy iron canons that would then fire several rounds all at once on the battle field; a weapon of mass destruction at the time. Designed in 1480, the drawing was actually labeled, Multi-Barreled Machine Gun, and a history article