While visiting a traveling museum about Leonardo da Vinci, I learned how diverse this man really was. I had only known about his paintings before seeing his other talents in the museum. Interestingly, my mom had only heard about da Vinci the painter, and my dad had only heard about da Vinci the inventor. We learned, however, that he was even more than just an artist and inventor and embodied the idea of the "Renaissance Man".
The idea of the "Renaissance Man" came about because certain people began investigating many different areas of interest and excelled in them. Da Vinci's areas of expertise included painting, sculpting, architecture, music, mathematics, engineering, inventing, anatomy, geology, cartography, botany, and writing. I've always admired men like da Vinci because of their ability to not only become involved in many different subjects but to contribute in various areas of science and art. His
Mona Lisa and
The Last Supper are widely recognized as pivotal paintings in art history, but he also invented an automated bobbin winder as well as a machine that tests the tensile strength of wire that contributed to industry.
It seems that these "Renaissance People" do not exist in the same number as before. To even get a job in any area, one has to dedicate himself with years of study and practice. To do so, he has to sacrifice his other interests or put them on the side as "hobbies that I would like to do when I have time" knowing that it probably won't happen. Sadly, this seems to negatively impact our lives and we may not enjoy the feeling of exploration and discovery as much as those of da Vinci's time.
