Leo of Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci. Renaissance man. One of those impressive figures in history who excelled in the arts, sciences, and other various disciplines had inspired me growing up to maintain a wide-range of interests and to keep that sense of wonder for the world around us.

I may never be polymath like him in this lifetime, but I would like to think that I am — like him — not strictly confined to just one area of expertise, but someone constantly learning new things and acquiring new kills in different fields. A Jane-of-all-trades, you say? Hmm… perhaps. I guess you could say I am an aspiring polymath (in the humanistic sense of the word) — after all, one is allowed to fantasize these things.

Here is a drawing I did after a study by da Vinci for his allegedly ‘lost painting’ “The Battle of Anghiari,” which is believed to still exist. The lines on the man’s face is such a beautiful detail to explore, especially by someone who is as interested in human anatomy as he is. The expression of either anguish or anger in the man’s face is very well-executed, while the tonal values and shading demonstrated by da Vinci in his sketch is just an example of his mastery in drawing and his staggering powers of observation!