When most people think of Leonardo da Vinci, they think of him as an artist who painted some of the world’s greatest paintings as the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper. Many may not realize that Leonardo, during his lifetime, was a master of many different types of professions.

Leonardo da Vinci is a man known to have had many different titles and professions during his lifetime. He was able to master this profession because he was a genius. But more than just being a genius, Leonardo is also self-educated and never stopped learning. He had an insatiable amount of curiosity about all kinds of subjects.

Leonardo da Vinci And His Different Professions

Leonardo was a man that was known to have a variety of professions. We can all say that he was a brilliant artist, but even with his art, his patrons often got frustrated and asked to return the money as he did not complete a commission.

Also an artist, he was a notoriously slow painter and would complete his work late. Yet the few pieces of artwork he left are considered some of the most important pieces of art ever created.

He was a self-taught medical researcher fascinated with studying the human body and how the body works. During his lifetime, he dissected over 30 cadavers.

He was an inventor who would look at how to solve a problem when he saw a problem. He was an engineer who made technical drawings for all his creations and a mathematician who spent his life studying math.

The list of all his professions is quite long but what made him unique is that Leonardo was not afraid to try something new and to teach himself new things that he wanted to learn about.

Like the rest of us, he could master many of these professions, and many he did not. But no one can fault him for trying to master and learn so many different professions.

Some Reasons Why Leonardo da Vinci Could Master So Many Professions:

There are some traits that Leonardo da Vinci had that helped him to e able to master so many different professions in his life. We can all learn from his life and learn from him.

Leonardo da Vinci Was A Genius

By all accounts, Leonardo da Vinci was a Genius. Indeed, the artwork he left to us, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, shows artistic genius.

Today when we look at a genius, we measure it by someone who has an IQ over 140. But during Leonardo’s time, they did not know IQ, so all we have left is to look at Leonardo and all he left for us to view today.

A genius is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as:

Certainly, we can say that Leonardo had exceptional both intellectual and creative power; Leonardo certainly had a lot of natural ability as he was very much a self-taught man.

Because he was a genius, it does not mean that he was proficient at everything, but he had exceptional powers both intellectual and creative.

Leonardo da Vinci Was Self Taught

One of the great attributes that Leonardo da Vinci had was that he was not afraid to learn or be self-taught. He did not let a lack of formal education in many of these professions stop him from learning and working on mastering them.

Leonardo was a self-taught kid and did not go to school because he was born out of wedlock. But Leonard did not allow this to stop him, and he thrived in learning things independently.

From his childhood to when he was on the deathbed, he never stopped learning and seeking to master something new. Even on his deathbed, he drew the spiral forms and tried to figure out the math behind them.

Leonardo da Vinci shows us all that we can learn and spend our lives seeking to become better at whatever we choose to do that. We can also spend our lives in pursuit of knowledge.

Leonardo da Vinci Was Curious

OneLeonardo’sdo’s most important defining traits to help him with all the different professions was extremely curious. He was known to go around with his notebooks and write and draw out things as they came to him.

Leonardo kept a series of notebooks that he would carry around from Florence to Milan. He was constantly sketching people’s faces and expressions, trying to fully understand the emotions and betray the inner feelings.

Leonardo da Vinci And The Study Of Human Emotions

Leonardo da Vinci only finished painting one mural during his lifetime; that mural is known as the Last Supper. It is one of the most famous paintings of the Last Supper ever created.

Duke Ludovico Sforza commissioned Leonardo to paint the Last Supper mural. What makes the Last Supper mural so unique is that he painted it at the exact time when Christ told the Apostles during The Last Supper meal that one of them would betray him. Leonardo showed the apostles’ reactions, including Judas, who betrayed Christ.

In The Last Supper, we can see how he was painting, not just the apostles but also their reaction at the exact moment that Christ told them one of them would betray. This working with the inner emotions was a new way of painting for his time and shows his creative genius.

He was able to accomplish this as he spent the time needed to understand the human body and human emotions. Leonardo was curious enough to do this and study this, to help make him a great artist.

No doubt Leonardo da Vinci was a genius, but more than that, he was also self-taught and extremely curious. We can all learn from him that it is okay to seek to master different professions but to do so, we may also need to be self-taught and have the same kind of curiosity.

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Related Questions

What Inspired Leonardo da Vinci To Paint The Last Supper?

Duke Ludovico Sforza commissioned Leonardo to paint the Last Supper mural. What makes the Last Supper mural so unique is that he painted it at the exact time when Christ told the Apostles during The Last Supper meal that one of them wouapostles’ him. Leonardo showed the apostles’ reactions, including Judas, who betrayed Christ.

By clicking here, you can learn more by reading What Inspired Leonardo da Vinci To Paint The Last Supper?.

Was Leonardo da Vinci A Philosopher?

Leonardo da Vinci was a philosopher; being a philosopher means that you want to seek wisdom. Leonardo was one person who wanted to seek wisdom or enlightenment in his life. Leonardo was an active observer and learner of the human body, human behavior, and nature.

By clicking here, you can learn more by reading Was Leonardo da Vinci A Philosopher?.