Any interesting facts about Leonardo Da Vinci?

Question

For history class I have to write an in class written essay. And, I'm stuck, I guess I know the basics of his life. But, I need INTERESTING things which would get me a better mark. PLEASE PLEASE help. I've been searching all day and cant seem to find anything.

Answer 1

Something most people don't know is that he was disliked by his employers because he took forever to finish anything. In the end, he had to leave Florence because he felt the Medicis were harassing him to paint faster, and he sent a letter to the Sforzas in Milan to petition for a job. You can easily find this letter on the web, and it's a lot of fun. Leonardo basically says he can build anything, he is a military genius, has a project for a new kind of cannon and whatnot - and can also decorate cakes.



I don't know what reputation he had, but in an era of violence and civil wars, the Sforzas hired as a cake decorator. He also built a novelty guitar for them, in the shape of a horse skull.



Also, don't forget to mention that one of the greatest minds humanity has ever seen was (more or less openly) gay. It's about time we stop bullying people for being what they are.

Answer 2

He was the embodiment of what people call a "Renaissance Man," who had considerable skills in many different areas.



Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Da Vinci --

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Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ... (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, Old Style) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".[1] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.[2]

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Not only did Da Vinci have a variety of artistic and technical achievements that were far ahead of his contemporaries, but he also had some ideas about the morals of his time regarding killing animals for food:



“I have learned from an early age to abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men”



Source: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i_have_learned_from_an_early_age_to_abjured_the/170730.html

Answer 3

There are a couple of movies that depict him, but whether or not they are accurate is another question. I'd suggest you do your research and try searching in youtube.



Also, cater to your own interests. What are they any way? Why did you choose Da Vinci, if you did? What do you love about him? Most people do best when they know what they love and hone in on those parts.



Off the top of my head, I remember that he was someone who made some designs of the first mechanical flight apparatus, something that looked a lot like a helocopter. He also used a backwards or mirror writing technique to encode his writings, keeping it relatively safe from prying eyes.



If it were my paper, I'd probably try to see if it would have been possible to diagnose him with any particular modern day mental illnesses. He seems like a genius, but they say that genius is just one touch shy of madness.

Answer 4

The rest are so old and too cliche.



Leonardo's painting actually contain a secret picture... not very secretive, by applying the mirror to half the picture of his paintings (this applies for several, such as with the Mona Lisa), you will get another depiction of what is a humanoid creature, but not human at all, this is what some people interpret as the depiction of aliens visiting Earth in the past, and that Da Vinci was recording their features.



Several paintings have hints, such as with a woman who is pointing at an apple with her finger? Apply the mirror to where she is pointing her finger, ignore the apple, and you'll see something new, in several of his paintings, woman are sometimes holding up her finger.



You can always print Leonardo's picture yourself and apply the mirror.



https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Leonardo+Da+Vinci+Mirror+Painting&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=39580677&biw=1366&bih=604&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=2je-UP_wLcfB0QW114DgAw



And several of his writing is written in reversed, by applying a mirror, again, historians are able to finally read them.