Leonardo da Vinci Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leonardo da Vinci - Research Paper Example Besides, Leonardo provided ample importance to his career as an artist, but provided less importance to his personal life. Thesis statement: Leonardo da Vinci’s professional life, major accomplishments, and major influences prove that Leonardo is symbolic of the influence of Renaissance spirit on humanity in general. Earlier Life: Some important facts on Leonardo’s birth, early life, parents, childhood days, and education are examinable. First of all, he was born in the year 1452. In addition, his birthplace was in Vinci. Joanne Mattern stated that, â€Å"Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in a town called Vinci, Italy† (8). His father was Ser Piero, and his mother was Caterina. His father was born in a wealthy family, but his mother was a peasant. He spent his early childhood with his mother. Later, Leonardo became under the control of his father. But Leonardo’s father did not try to be a role model to his son because he ignored Leonardoâ€℠¢s mother. For instance, Leonardo’s father married Albiera and Francesca Lanfredini. In short, Leonardo was raised in Florence, under the direct control of his father, and this deeply influenced his later life. But this did not affect his education because he received education in the Latin language, geometry, and math. Besides, hardships in early life helped Leonardo to turn his attention towards nature and to observe human relationship with nature. At the same time, Leonardo considered that art can help him to acquire mastery in different fields. Besides, he did not hesitate to learn new things in his life. So, one can see that all these factors molded Leonardo’s character. Personal life From a different angle of view, Leonardo considered that one’s personal life should not be shared with others. To be specific, his lifelong bachelorship, career centrism, and workaholic attitude hindered him from creating intimate relationships with women. Besides, his earlier life with his father may have instilled the feeling of hatred towards married life. But one must not misunderstand that Leonardo was not able to create and maintain cordial friendship with womenfolk. For instance, Leonardo maintained lifelong relationship with two women, named Beatrice and Isabella. Leonardo’s relationship with these women was so intimate because he painted Isabella’s portrait and carried the same with him. This proves that some women were allowed to enter Leonardo’s private domain without any restriction. From a different angle of view, Leonardo provided ample importance to his career and it reduced the scope of marriage in his life. In addition, Leonardo was a strict vegetarian. As an individual who is deeply interested in nature, vegetarianism and consideration towards living things deeply influenced his life philosophy. At the same time, Leonardo maintained a number of male friends in his private life. This helped him to be in touch with ot her fields of knowledge like mathematics, architecture, and military science. But Leonardo never disclosed his sexuality and never allowed strangers to enter his private circle. He passed away in the 16th century (say, in the year 1519). Professional life: Leonardo started his professional life with Verrocchio. John Malam stated that, â€Å"When Leonardo was in his teens, his father took him to the city of Florence to meet Andrea del Verrocchio, who was a well known artist†

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 71

Reflection - Essay Example complish God’s will.† This is the actual meaning of life; that is, to attain God’s will by making the best use of your competencies that He has blessed you with. Secondly, as Johnson (1990, p.17) asserts, I would also like the world to believe that that we find the true happiness in worldly possessions, positions, wealth, and status, if only we are able to relate the acquiring of these to God’s will. For me, true happiness, which is the essence of life, comes not from worldly possessions but from obedience of God. Thirdly, my last lesson is that one should limit one’s lust for the world. One should start living according to ethical boundaries set by God, because only then will God intrude in one’s matters to shower His blessings. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, contradicts this viewpoint with his idea of nihilism, in which he argues that human existence does not have any meaning. According to him (as cited in Keiji, 1990, p.29), t he idea of afterlife is so strong that the worldly life becomes meaningless. This idea denies the importance or the ultimate meaning of life. Still, I believe that it is important to spend this life whole-heartedly while remaining within the ethical boundaries. Sharpe and Bryant (2005, p.130) raise the concern in their book: Does the success of science mean that we must abandon the Divine like a plaything we once loved but have now outgrown? Such and other concerns raised by the authors make us ponder upon the relationship between science and religion. This course has, thus, impacted my understanding of science and religion to a great extent because I have been able to understand how science has proven what religious scriptures mentioned many hundred years ago. I have understood that science and religion do not stand far apart; instead, they strengthen each other’s claims and findings. I have understood that Diving power can never be put in the background or can never be forgotten, because it is the Divine that