Western painting
The richness, the variety, and even the inherent contradictions of 15th-century Florentine painting are both embodied and transformed in the art and the person of the multifaceted genius Leonardo da Vinci. Although he devoted a great deal of his career to a theoretical treatise on the art of painting, he was above all interested in the appearance of things and in the way they operated. This curiosity led him to a study of the flight of birds, the movement of water, the features of the land, the mechanical advantage obtainable in gears and gear trains, the growth of plants, the anatomy of man, and many other things. His consummate skill as a draftsman made it possible for him to record these discoveries as no man before him had done. All the knowledge that he gained was directed toward enriching his art, for Leonardo thought of himself primarily as a painter. As a youth Leonardo was apprenticed to Verrocchio, in whose shop he learned to draw, prepare and mix colours, and paint. He probably also learned how to model in wax and clay and how to cast bronze. He may even have been introduced ... (200 of 71,656 words)Leonardo da Vinci