To what extent was Leonardo da Vinci the greatest polymath in European history?

Amit Kumar

April 12, 2018

Block 3

Word Count: 1024

 Leonardo da Vinci has proved that he is the greatest polymath(mastery in

various subjects) in European history by showing his knowledge of various topics, such

as art, science, math and architecture. Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, probably

outside the village of Vinci, near Florence in central Italy. The name da Vinci simply

means from Vinci(Gale 1). Da Vinci painted one of the most famous paintings of all

time, if not the most famous, the Mona Lisa. He also painted “The Last Supper.” He

showed his technique and mastery of art by working with the artist Verrocchio at a

young age. “Other famous painters apprenticed or associated with the workshop include

Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli, and Lorenzo di Credi.”(United States 1). Leonardo da

Vinci worked with many great artists to become the greatest artist in European history,

as well as the greatest polymath. Even though he had a tendency to not complete all of

the work that he started, Leonardo da Vinci was the greatest polymath in European

history because of his artwork, his variety of knowledge in multiple areas, and his

impact on the modern world.

Even though Leonardo is regarded as one of the greatest geniuses of all time,

everyone has flaws and makes mistakes. For example, many of his war machines had

many engineering flaws. He spent over a year working as a military engineer, and he

had plans for a tank, defense walls, etc. Also, many times he would take commision

from people to do work and never finish the work. He did not believe in sleep, he
followed the polyphasic cycle, in which short naps are taken in a twenty four hour

period. In conclusion, even though Leonardo da Vinci is arguably the greatest polymath

in European history, he has flaws and made many mistakes in his lifetime.

Leonardo da Vinci was arguably the greatest artist in European history, while also

having a range of knowledge in multiple subjects. His greatest achievement was the

Mona Lisa, which is a painting in the Louvre Museum, in Paris, France. The light softens

the painting's underlying geometry of spheres and circles, which includes the arc of her

famous smile, and gives the texture of living surfaces to the geometric shapes(Gale 5).

His knowledge and skill in art also applies to math because it is needed to make a

painting. When Leonardo was younger, he became an apprentice to Verrocchio, who

was one of the greatest artists at the time. Being an apprentice taught a lot to da Vinci

and influenced him a lot. “Like other artists, Leonardo was interested in the proportions

of the human body. He drew a famous study of human proportions based on the

statement of the Roman architect Vitruvius that the "well-shaped man" fits into the

perfect shapes of the square and circle.(Gale 4)” Leonardo was not just an artist to

make money, he was interested in a lot of subjects including the human body. At one

point in his life, he would go to the graveyard and dig up corpses to study the anatomy

of the human body. He made a famous drawing, The Vetruvian Man, which is a very

detailed drawing of the human body with correct proportions. As one can see, Leonardo

da Vinci was a great polymath because he had a variety of knowledge in multiple

subjects, and art was one of them.

 Da Vinci demonstrated knowledge in multiple areas, such as art, science, math,

and architecture. He had a notebook full of thoughts and ideas which were past his

time, such as a flying machine(helicopter), a bicycle, and he also had ideas for an

armored car. Leonardo, as he is almost always called, was trained to be a painter. But

his interests and achievements spread into an astonishing variety of fields that are now

considered scientific specialties(Gale 1). Even though Da Vinci was trained to be a

painter, he showed knowledge in multiple areas which proved himself as a polymath.

Even though he had much interest in pretty much every topic, he found very little

interest in literature and history. He thought these topics to be boring, so he did not

study them much. Leonardo sometimes worked as an engineer or military architect. He

produced designs for a variety of war machines, among them tanks, machine guns, and

movable bridges(Gale 3). Leonardo da Vinci had knowledge in a lot of subjects and had

a variety of information in all of those subjects.

Leonardo had a great impact on the world today from art techniques to modern

technology. Leonardo had one of the greatest scientific minds of the Italian

Renaissance. He wanted to know the workings of what he saw in nature. Many of his

inventions and scientific ideas were centuries ahead of his time(Gale 6). Some of his

ideas included a helicopter, a car, basic architectural foundation, art techniques, military

techniques, and much more that left a huge impact on the world today. The world would

not be the same without da Vinci and his additions to the modern world. he drew plans

for aircraft, including a helicopter, and for a parachute. Like many Renaissance artists,

Leonardo sometimes worked as an engineer or military architect. He produced designs

for a variety of war machines, among them tanks, machine guns, and movable

bridges(Gale 6). Leonardo da Vinci was clearly way beyond his time with artwork and

technology and has had a major impact on our world from technology to artwork.

Even though he had a tendency to not complete all of the work that he started,

Leonardo da Vinci was the greatest polymath in European history because of his

artwork, his variety of knowledge in multiple areas, and his impact on the modern world.

Leonardo was definitely the greatest polymath in European history because of his

accomplishments and his impact on the modern day world. He had knowledge in a

variety of subjects, being a pioneer in each of the subjects.

 Works Cited

“Home.” ​Home | Leonardo Da Vinci - The Genius,​ www.mos.org/leonardo/.

“Improve Research and Writing Skills.” ​Questia Schools - Trusted Online Research,​

www.questiaschool.com/.

infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/long71076?db=GVRL.

“Leonardo Di Ser Piero Da Vinci.” ​Leonardo Da Vinci - The Complete Works​,

www.leonardoda-vinci.org/.

“World Book Online Reference Center | Online Reference Book| Online Encyclopedia.” ​World

Book​, ​www.worldbookonline.com/​.

Vinci, Leonardo Da. The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci. Orion Press, 1961.