The apprentice of genius, the apprentice of experience Leonardo.

 The apprentice of genius, the apprentice of experience Leonardo.

​

Leonardo lived in Vinci until the age of twelve. Although his family life was complicated, he had a pretty peaceful life at Vinci.

But in 1464 a rift broke out in this world. Pierrot brought his son to Florence.

​

Leonardo left no tales of emigration, but the allegory of the stone's tragic journey gives us a glimpse of his feelings.

The stones were surrounded by colourful flowers and numerous trees. In other words, it was a place like Vinci. He looked down at the many stones on the road down the hill and decided that he would go there too. He asked himself which stone he had.

"What am I doing among these plants?"

"I want to live with stones like me."

So he rolled the stone down to where the other stones were.

After some time passed, Leonardo wrote:

He found himself constantly tormented by stones, wheels, steel horseshoes, and the feet of passersby. He was kicked by some and trampled down by others. The stone occasionally raised his body slightly covered in mud or animal dung, but in vain he looked up at the place of solitude and quiet peace from which he had departed.

Leonardo offers a lesson here.

"This is what happens to those who choose to forsake a life of contemplation alone, move to the city, and live amongst humans who are riddled with infinite evil."

"As long as you are alone, you can be completely master of yourself."

This kind of praise for rural life can be very attractive to those who like romantic and lonely genius images. But there's too much fantasy melted into it.

Leonardo was active mainly in Florence, Milan and Rome, where he was always surrounded by his students, colleagues and patrons. It was extremely rare for him to leave his country and spend long hours alone. Like many other artists, he was stimulated when his interests were surrounded by a diverse group of people, and he wrote in his notebooks as if overturning his own words.

"Drawing with others is much better than drawing alone."

- Florence

Florentine thinkers actively embraced Renaissance humanism, trusting in the dignity of the individual and finding happiness in the world through knowledge. A third of Florence's population could read, which was the highest literacy rate in Europe. By embracing trade, Florence became a financial centre and a melting pot of ideas.

Florence Cathedral is the most beautiful in Italy. It was a success in both art and technology, and the good connection between these two fields was the secret of Florence's creativity. Many of Florence's artists were also architects, and its textile industry emerged by combining technology, design, chemistry and commerce.

It was common for people with various talents to mix and fuse ideas from different fields.

An atmosphere that encourages creativity, the ability to fuse ideas from disparate fields, is added like a spice to the festival culture of Florence. People went to the plaza when they had a break and had a heated discussion.

The culture of that time rewarded those who studied and grafted different fields in depth.

​

- Bronelleschi and Alberti

Filippo Brunelleschi designed the dome of Florence Cathedral.

He developed sophisticated mathematical modelling techniques and invented a series of hoists and engineering tools to erect the domes of Florence Cathedral. He also rediscovered and greatly developed the classical concept of visual perspective. He used to conduct experiments as if he had foreseen Leonardo's achievements. The linear perspective that he exiled not only turned the art world upside down, but also influenced the application of optics, architecture, and Euclidean geometry.

It was Leon Battista Alberti who succeeded Krunelleschi as a theorist of linear perspective. He refined several of Bruteleschi's experiments and expanded his optics research. Alberti, an artist, architect, engineer and writer, resembled Leonardo in many ways.

Alberti had an engineer's instinct to prefer collaboration. He was a lover of friendship and he had an open mind.

He strongly supported 'discourse in the public sphere'. He shared his discoveries with his devotion, gathered his intellectual comrades to conduct further research based on each other's findings, and encouraged public debate and publications to promote his knowledge accumulation. (Relatively, Leonardo did not have a strong desire to expand human knowledge by publishing and disseminating his findings as a book.)

Alberti, 'the incarnation of elegance in every word and deed'.

Leonardo studied Alberti's thesis and consciously imitated his writing and attitude.

​

 

- Verrocchio

When Leonardo was about 14 years old, Piero gave him an apprenticeship under one of his clients, Verrocchio.

By the time Leonardo joined, Verrocchio's studio was carrying out various works for the Medici family.

Verrocchio's workshop was more of a shop than a sophisticated art studio. He did not sign his paintings and works. Because it was not a work that contained personal feelings. Most of the works, including many of the paintings that are usually known as Verrocchio's works, were completed through collaboration. The purpose of this workshop was not to nurture original and creative geniuses but to continuously produce art and crafts sold in the market. The artisans of these workshops were not recognized as cultural elites because they were not properly educated in Latin. But the status of the artist began to change.

Alberti's writings and the development of mathematical perspectives raised the social status and intellectual level of the painters, some of whom became sought-after celebrities.

Verrocchio left most of his paintings in the hands of young artists. Verrocchio was a generous teacher. Students like Leonardo often continued to work with him after his apprenticeship was over, and young painters like Sandro Botticelli became part of his group.

Verrocchio's camaraderie tended to act as a weakness. He was not a strict work supervisor, and his studio was notorious for not completing commissioned works on time. Verrocchio held on for years until he completed some of his paintings. Leonardo showed a tendency similar to that of Verrocchio, who was easily distracted and gave up on his work or held on to painting for several years.

Leonardo studied commercial mathematics at Jusan School, but he learned much more profoundly from Verrocchio. That is the beauty of geometry. He learned that there is harmony in proportions and that mathematics is the brushstroke of nature.

- Drapery, Piaroscuro, Sfumato

One of the training in Verrocchio's studio was the study of drapery, which allowed Leonardo to reinforce the main components of his artistic genius.

“The first goal of an artist is to draw an object on a flat surface that appears to be completely separate from the flat surface, and those who excel in this ability deserve the greatest praise. is completed through light and shadow, i.e. chiaroscuro."

The Italian word 'chiaroscuro', meaning light/dark, uses the contrast of shadows to create the illusion of three-dimensionality and plasticity of a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional picture.

While he was busy studying drapery in Verrocchio's studio, Leonardo developed the 'sfumato technique' to blur outlines and edges. This is a technique used by artists to express things as we see them, not through sharp outlines.

'Sfumato' is derived from the Italian word meaning 'smoke', more precisely, it refers to smoke that slowly disappears as it spreads into the air.

"Shadow and light must blend without lines or borders, like smoke scattered in the air."

From the angel's eyes depicted in <The Baptism of Christ> to the smile of <Mona Lisa>, the blurry edges that seem to be obscured by smoke allow us room for imagination. There are no sharp lines, so enigmatic glances and smiles feel more mysterious.

Genius is created by experience, on which hard work and excellence are the foundation.