Leonardo da Vinci (Italian. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci; April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy – May 2, 1519, Amboise, France) was an Italian painter, architect, sculptor, scientist and inventor whose productive period of creativity was during the High Renaissance. He is an acknowledged genius who is considered one of the greatest artists of all time. Leonardo da Vinci, among others, is considered the inventor of the parachute, the helicopter and the tank. Picturesque images created by him over several centuries have become cultural icons, endlessly quoted and parodied. Suffice it to recall such pictures of Leonardo da Vinci as Leda, Savior of the World and the beautiful Mona Lisa – unique, recognizable, painted with the greatest skill. The masterpieces of the master, as beguiling and mysterious as they were centuries ago, will always be of interest to the widest audience, from art connoisseurs to historians and scholars.
Leonardo da Vinci’s work: all of his portraits are executed with stunning anatomical precision. Da Vinci was interested all his life in the structure of the human body and spent many years studying this field of science. In addition, among the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci is the pictorial technique of sfumato: by applying the thinnest layers of paint, the effect of “smoke-frequency” of the image, softening the outlines of figures and objects. There are still debates about this painting technique. There is an opinion that this stunning effect in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci confirms that he, like many other Renaissance painters, used various optical devices. Even if this is true, this assumption in no way detracts from the merits of the author, but only confirms his supreme skill, breadth of vision and the versatility of his talent.