Leonardo da Vinci was much more than an artist. He was an astronomer, inventor, engineer, mathematician, architect, sculptor, geologist, animal behaviorist, botanist, and even a musician. He was all of these things and more. As the world faces a new millennium, Leonardo da Vinci remains one of the most fascinating people history has ever known. He once said that ‘things of the mind left untested by the senses are useless’. LeonardoMona-Lisa-Leonardo-da-Vinci left little untested, yet few people know the amazing story behind the man often described as the embodiment of the Renaissance.
Da Vinci is credited for inventing the scissors and it is also claimed that it took him ten whopping years to paint the lips of arguably the most popular painting this world has ever been graced with – the Mona Lisa. One can never explain the existence of genius, one can but enjoy. The number of years is contested though, but one thing that remains clear is that Da Vinci didn’t spend this entire time doing the painting. It was an on-off project that he abandoned for lengthy spells but it did take him a several years to complete. Assuming that he even finished it in the first place, given that he was never known to finish off his projects. Can you imagine this being half-baked work for a mortal? We can’t even begin thinking along those lines since they are simply unfathomable.
Da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa around 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy. He is said to have carried on the work after relocating to France and finally finishing it before he died in 1519. This puts the length of time at between 12-15 years, but since it was an intermittent project, the duration is also said to be around 4-7 years. But we will never know for sure. We can only marvel at what da Vinci gifted mankind – a painting that’s a product of painstaking thinking illustrating utter completeness which in itself only serves to add to the mystery. The Mona Lisa.
Da Vinci is credited for inventing the scissors and it is also claimed that it took him ten whopping years to paint the lips of arguably the most popular painting this world has ever been graced with – the Mona Lisa. One can never explain the existence of genius, one can but enjoy. The number of years is contested though, but one thing that remains clear is that Da Vinci didn’t spend this entire time doing the painting. It was an on-off project that he abandoned for lengthy spells but it did take him a several years to complete. Assuming that he even finished it in the first place, given that he was never known to finish off his projects. Can you imagine this being half-baked work for a mortal? We can’t even begin thinking along those lines since they are simply unfathomable.
Da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa around 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy. He is said to have carried on the work after relocating to France and finally finishing it before he died in 1519. This puts the length of time at between 12-15 years, but since it was an intermittent project, the duration is also said to be around 4-7 years. But we will never know for sure. We can only marvel at what da Vinci gifted mankind – a painting that’s a product of painstaking thinking illustrating utter completeness which in itself only serves to add to the mystery. The Mona Lisa.
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