This is the essay for the 18th week of the 7th Grade Ron Paul Curriculum. It’s about Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Leonardo and Michelangelo are the two best artists of the Renaissance, but Leonardo Da Vinci is the most famous.I’m going to talk about both artists, but let’s begin with Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo Da Vinci

 

Leonardo Da Vinci was born in Florence in 1452. Leonardo became the apprentice of a painter called Verrocchio at his workshop at the age of 15. Even as an apprentice, Da Vinci was very skilled at painting and several other things. Some of Verrocchio’s later paintings were influenced by Leonardo.  In the “Baptism of Christ” Da Vinci painted an angel. Leonardo was so good that Verrocchio said that he would never paint again.

In 1477 Leonardo left Verrocchio’s workshop and started his own. Leonardo’s first art piece is a pen and ink drawing of the Arno Valley. Leonardo worked for several people during his career, his first one was the Duke of Milan, where he lived for 17 years.

Da Vinci wasn’t always painting, however, he had interests in many things like sculpting and building weird contraptions.Leonardo was almost never able to finish any of his projects because he kept moving to a new subject.

Leonardo’s most famous painting is the Mona Lisa, which he painted in 1504. A big reason why the Mona Lisa is so famous is that it was stolen and then found back. It was just a regular painting and it this is explained by it took the security guards a whole day to notice the painting was missing. Leonardo Da Vinci died in 1519 of a stroke, but he is remembered as the greatest Renaissance artists.

 

Michelangelo

Michelangelo was another great artist of the Renaissance. He is considered the second-best behind Leonardo Da Vinci. Michelangelo was also born in Caprese, Tuscany, but only in 1475. His family sent him to a stonecutters family, because of their failing health. Michelangelo had a talent for art, but his father wanted him to become a businessman and sent him to a linguist school. At the age of 13, he dropped out of his linguist school and followed art by becoming an apprentice at another workshop owned by Domenico. After only one year at the workshop, he quit and continued on his own.

Michelangelo’s two most famous works are the statue of David and the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The statue of David was an unfinished piece that he finished 40 years later. He even designed the St Peter’s Basilica for Pope Leo X. Although he didn’t see the completion of the church because he died in 1564.

Both painters made great paintings and sculptures, but they didn’t pass down their knowledge to the next generation. Even great people have tried, no other painter or artist got close to Leonardo’s and Michelangelo’s skill by a long shot.