A World of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

A World of Art - Essay Example SUBJECT SUMMARY Although, Van Gogh and Da Vinci were from separate eras who led distinct lives, they had at least two things in common: their love of art and the fact that they are legendary. The drama they ensued during their lifetimes distinctly shaped them into the men and artists they became, even how they fared in the view of the public. Their differences of experiences in life were evident in their painting styles through elements and principles of design. This division of talent helped shape them into separate, popular artists that each recognized separately of one another. BODY Leonardo da Vinci lived before Van Gogh in 1452, born in Vinci, Italy on April 15 (Leonardo, 2011). Out of everything he did, da Vinci was most noted for his paintings. However, he also heavily influenced people because he beheld one of the most amazing minds of the Italian Renaissance through his work as not just a painter, but as a sculptor, engineer, architect, and scientist (Leonardo, 2011). This i s not really well-known about him, but da Vinci was an illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a village woman, Caterina (Leonardo, 2011). Not much is remembered of his mother. His father, on the other-hand, was a noticeable notary who apprenticed da Vinci to Andrea del Verrocchio in 1435 to 1488 (Leonardo, 2011). Opposite of rebellion, da Vinci conformed to tradition. He studied Verrocchio, especially his obsessive methods of perfection in regard to the human figure (Leonardo, 2011). In fact, one of da Vinci’s first paintings came from his assistant work in Verrocchio’s shop when he painted Baptism of Christ (Leonardo, 2011). Despite learning from another artist, da Vinci remained original in his work, not a copier or lesser talented person of his predecessor. Da Vinci set up his own shop after several years in 1478, and by 1481 he was asked to create an altarpiece in a major church entitled Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo, 2011). His experimentation during the Mil anese period where he dabbled in different oils for his paintings did not bode well for future view. Many paintings at that time were lost. Specifically, his infamous artwork The Last Supper had been reduced to mere spots and later reconstructed to what it is today (Leonardo, 2011). Later in life during 1500s, da Vinci focused his talents on human vitality (Leonardo, 2011). His painting Mona Lisa, arguably his most famous, is a product of da Vinci’s human portrayal. By 1506, da Vinci began to focus on science and the living organism (Leonardo, 2011). A few scientific analyses da Vinci conducted were: firearms, growth of plants, flight of birds, and geology (Leonardo, 2011). Before da Vinci died, the French king, Francis I, gave him a country estate in Cloux, France, which is where da Vinci passed away on May 2, 1519 at 67. Vincent Van Gogh entered the world on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert in Holland from a Protestant minister, Theodorus, and his mother, Cornelia (Vincent, 2011). He received his name after he was born a year after the death of his younger brother, a stillborn (Vincent, 2011). Like da Vinci, little is understood or known of Van Gogh’s childhood, but there is speculation that Van Gogh’s mother encouraged him to draw and paint (Vincent, 2011). Before his artistry, Van Gogh was hired on at his Uncle’s company. The firm was called Goupil and Company, a company with art dealers, that Van Gogh worked for starting at age 16 and remained at for