Today, I am thankful for those who taught us to think differently.
Steve Jobs and the Apple Corporation promoted his technology using a simple slogan: Think Different. When I ponder on this phrase, I think back the Renaissance era and none other than Leonardo da Vinci.
Recently, I had the chance to read a phenomenal biography about this masterful ‘Renaissance Man’ who created The Mona Lisa. The wonderful historian and storyteller, Walter Isaacson, has penned a riveting, in-depth examination about the Italian polymath in his thought-provoking bestseller, Leonardo da Vinci. Born out of wedlock on this day (Apr 15) in 1452 in the Tuscan town of Vinci (hence, his name), Leonardo never received a formal education granted to most wealthy Florentine merchant family members. His affluent father chose not to afford him the same amenities bestowed to his other, legitimate heirs. Instead, as a curious, artistically-talented teenager, Leonardo apprenticed with a reputable, local artist, Verrocchio, who mentored him in the fine arts of painting, drawing, sculpting, as well as the technical skills of plaster casting, metallurgy, and carpentry. Soon, Leonardo was impressing, if not surpassing, his elder adviser with his beautiful, real-life portrayals on canvas, his meticulous attention to detail, and his relentless pursuit of perfection.
Ironically, in his lifetime, Leonardo was not prolific when it came to painting pictures; in fact, he is credited with creating less than 20 pieces of painted art, and many of these remained unfinished – at least in the artist’s eyes. In fact, Leonardo continued to ‘tweak’ many of his paintings until his death. Nevertheless, among his finished works, several – such as the Mona Lisa – are credited as the most famous art pieces in the history of the world. Even his depiction of The Last Supper, the classic portrayal of Jesus’ final repast with his 12 disciples, is regarded as a classic masterpiece of ‘art in motion’. His methodology in the use of shadows & depth perception was revolutionary for his time.
To put it bluntly, the impatient, left-handed Leonardo was never satisfied. He worked incessantly from day to night, creating beautiful works of art, studying science, and drafting sketches. His copious journals of miniature drawings, sketches, and tracings give us a tiny glimpse into his vast, racing mind. When not painting or drawing, he studied anatomy, geology, botany, and geography in excruciating detail. Like many before him, he even tried to ‘square the circle’, eventually resorting instead to creating his image of the perfect man within a circle (The Vitruvian Man). He performed meticulous autopsies on cadavers – studying how the various organs in the human body work. In fact, his study of the physics of flowing rivers and his love of anatomy led him to hypothesize how the heart pumps blood and how this fluid eddies to close the valves within each chamber of the heart after each successive beat. He conceptualized flying machines analogous to helicopters and military weapons similar to modern-day tanks.
Basically, Leonardo did it all. We owe him a debt of gratitude. In his lifetime, he created masterpieces that have helped revolutionize our study of fine arts, architecture, and science.
Basically, Leonardo did what Apple proselytizes: Think differently. I can only imagine what we could have done if he owned an iPad.
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