(15th April 1452 – 2nd May 1519)
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest geniuses in history. In his famous notebooks, he recorded his thoughts, sketches of paintings, descriptions of experiments, anatomical, architectural, and technical drawings.
Contemporary authors, studying Leonardo da Vinci’s notes and methodology, have identified seven life principles that are contained in his way of working and living:
I Curiosità – curiosity, thirst for learning
II Dimostrazione – experience, verification of knowledge through experience
III Sensazione – continual refinement of the senses
IV Sfumato – readiness to embrace uncertainty
V Arte/Scienza – balance between art and science
VI Corporalità – harmony of body and mind
VII Connessione – recognition of the interconnectedness of everything
The seven principles of Da Vinci, due to their universality and applicability, open the way to our own creativity, the acquisition of new skills, and a new perspective on the world around us.
Curiosità – an insatiable has thirst for knowledge, for learning
Leonardo possessed a childlike insatiable curiosity that he managed to maintain throughout his life. In his diary, he writes: I spent whole days wandering through fields, seeking solutions and answers to my questions, trying to understand things that I did not understand: how seashells came to the top of a mountain along with coral fossils, algae; how circles form in the water when a stone is thrown into it; why and how birds fly, why humans can’t fly… These questions and many other phenomena occupy my thoughts throughout my life…
Leonardo connects knowledge with love: Love for the subject is the daughter of his understanding of it. Love is needed to learn something, and when we get to know something, deepen our knowledge of something, then we love it even more. He believed that it is never too late to learn. He learned Latin when he was 42 years old, even though he considered himself not gifted for languages. In order to master Latin, he wrote notebooks and notebooks of Latin words.
Additionally, he
Nature calls for exploration and learning. For Leonardo, nature is a living, spiritual, and purposeful whole. Man cannot invent or create anything as beautiful and simple as nature can. There is nothing lacking in her creations.
He finds models for his inventions in nature. The shells he studied, with their spiral curves, served as a model for designing the spiral staircase of the castle of French King Francis I. The anatomy of the human throat served as inspiration for creating the lyre. Studying how leaves fall, he came up with the idea of a parachute, as well as a flying machine similar to today’s helicopter. He showed a deep interest in people and studied human psychology, using that knowledge in his painting. He said that a good painter has two goals: to paint the person and the intentions of their soul.
Dimostrazione – the verification of knowledge through experience and the willingness to learn from mistakes.
Leonardo calls himself a student of experience. It is necessary to confirm knowledge through experience. Experience. Knowledge is the daughter of time, but wisdom is the daughter of experience.
Experience never fails, only our judgments fail when we promise ourselves results that we haven’t verified through experience.
He didn’t only learn from nature, he also learned from other people. His first great teacher was the painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, and in his workshop, he gained his first and priceless experiences. There, he learned how to prepare colors and canvases, familiarized himself with optical details of perspective, and learned the secrets of sculpting, working with gold, and casting bronze.
He associated with great minds of his time, such as Bramante, Machiavelli, and Pacioli. He was familiar with the teachings of many great philosophers of antiquity, such as Heraclitus, Democritus, Anaxagoras, and Plato. He respected tradition and took it as his teacher.
Leonardo said that he was “illiterate” compared to those who satisfied themselves with endless speeches and quoting other people’s thoughts, but gave up on the practical aspects. He considered it useful to choose certain personalities, heroes as models, and think about them. With their qualities which we want to awaken and develop within ourselves.
A person’s fulfillment is in their actions, not in words. His favorite saying is: Iron rusts if not used, stagnant water loses its purity, and laziness undermines the strength of the spirit.
Nature begins with a cause and ends with experience. Good judgment is born out of good understanding, good understanding comes from a good mind, and it is the result of good experience.
Sensazione – refining the senses as it enriches our experience
An average person looks but still doesn’t see, listens but still doesn’t hear, touches but still doesn’t feel, eats without tasting, moves but still doesn’t feel their body, breathes in but still doesn’t smell neither the stench nor the sweet smell, and claims not to think at all.
Every day we gather experiences through our five senses.
The sense of sight – Leonardo had exceptional powers of observation. He practiced it from childhood while observing the Tuscan landscape, then he refined that vision thanks to his teachings. to Verrocchio. In The Code of Bird Flight, he recorded details about the movements of feathers and wings that could only be observed in the 20th century with the help of cameras and cinematography.
Leonardo writes about the power of sight: Don’t you see that the eye encompasses the beauty of the world?… Who could believe that such a small space could contain images of the entire universe!
The sense of hearing – Leonardo had extraordinary hearing. He played the flute and lyre, composed songs. Music was spiritual nourishment for him, and he often had musical accompaniment while painting.
The sense of touch – He wore clothing made of the best materials he could afford, and he enjoyed the sensation of silk and velvet. He personally tailored his clothes and dressed somewhat extravagantly. He developed a special way of perceiving people and loved to converse with them regardless of their background. He was polite and an excellent speaker who easily captured the attention of his listeners.
The sense of taste – He knew how to artistically decorate food and often did so at Ludovico Sforza’s court. Orze organized feasts. He had a refined taste and the ability to recognize and seek out what is beautiful.
Sense of smell – His clothing, as well as his painting studio, were filled with the scents of flowers and perfumes. He even made his own perfume, which was a blend of lavender and rosewater. He also had a keen sense of smell, showing his sharpness in discovering everything that was hidden.
Sfumato – the ability to maintain a balance of the soul in the face of the unknown
Sfumato means “hazy” and art critics use this term to describe the misty, mysterious quality of Leonardo’s paintings. It is believed that he achieved this effect by applying numerous thin layers of paint, especially in the corners of the mouth and eyes where this effect was most prominent. In addition to this technique, Leonardo excelled in painting subtle gradations of light and darkness, known as chiaroscuro.
The principle of sfumato involves the balance of the soul, stability in encountering the unknown, represented by darkness or shadow in his paintings. bed to enable us to move in a certain way. Leonardo understood that the harmony between science and art is essential for the creation of true beauty. Similarly, in our own lives, we can achieve balance by integrating both the rationality of science and the creativity of art. By learning from both fields, we can develop a deeper understanding of the world around us and find more meaningful solutions to the challenges we face. They say. He tried to portray his characters naturally, rather than rigidly, emphasizing the inner life expressed through gaze, head position, smile, and gesture.
A scientist also needs to possess artistic sensitivity. He expressed his studies of rocks, plants, and bird flight through beautiful, artistic drawings, rather than dry ones. On the other hand, the plans for his paintings and sculptures are detailed and mathematically precise.
Those who fall in love with art, without first delving into the diligent study of its scientific part, can be compared to sailors setting out to sea without a rudder or compass, therefore they cannot be certain that they will reach their desired port. (Treatise on Painting)
Leonardo connected art and science for a holistic understanding.
Corporalità – the harmonious connection of mind and body
This principle speaks to the need for mastery of the body, taking care of one’s health and fitness.
Among the citizens of Florence, Leonardo was renowned for his. Leonardo da Vinci was known for his intelligence, gracefulness, physical agility, and strength. It is also known that he was equally proficient with both hands in his work. Walking, horseback riding, swimming, and fencing were part of his regular exercise routine. He believed that individuals should take responsibility for their own health. Leonardo’s tips for maintaining health:
– Avoid anger and sadness.
– Be of cheerful spirit.
– Engage in moderate exercise.
– Eat simple food and chew it well.
– Have a light dinner.
His understanding of the body’s illnesses was gained through the study of anatomy, and his anatomical drawings, even today, are unmatched in their beauty and precision. He described them as a “cosmography of the small world” – a microcosm. This renews the ancient idea that man is a universe in miniature. Just as man has bones as support and framework for his flesh, the Earth also has rocks as support for the soil… man carries a lake of blood within himself, just as the Earth has oceans and seas.
Connessione – the interconnectedness of everything in nature
Pre According to Leonard’s notes, this principle expresses the ability to understand the interconnectedness and interdependence of things and phenomena, as well as the application of this knowledge in life.
Everything is interconnected. Everything arises from everything and everything is made of everything and everything returns to everything.
Everything is an invisible spiritual root because of which there are infinitely many causes in nature that cannot be touched by experience, but are revealed in traces. The All, the divine, is present in the miraculous beauty of light, and in the intricate arrangement of muscles, in the human soul… The more he studied nature and delved deeper into its secrets, the more he became aware of how everything is connected. The force that connects everything is love. It provides the impetus to embark on the adventure of discovering life, its secrets, and beauties. Those who love, understand.
For Leonardo, life is like a river that inexorably flows towards its destination. Sometimes it flows peacefully, sometimes it encounters obstacles, sometimes it falls in waterfalls, sometimes it freezes, but it continues relentlessly towards its destination, invisible spiritual root.