Two Genius Lions in The World of Art: Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinсi

In 1504, the competition between two greatest artists in art history happened in just one room. Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were commissioned to create a mural side by side to each other on the opposite wall in the same hall called Hall of Five Hundred. Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, whose works made the Renaissance reaching its peak in the 15th century, were the most talented artists of all time. Artists, students, and people all over the world are attracted and inspired by their masterful works. Over 6 million people visit Da Vin Ci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre each year and Michelangelo’s David and Pieta are undoubtedly marble masterpieces in artistic and historic value. These two successful artists were known to be rival because they’re both genius in the same era, like two lions in the same cave. However, they both shared some types of intelligence. Both Da Vin Ci and Michelangelo had spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. However, Da Vin Ci had logical-mathematical and naturalist intelligence which made him being more than an artist but a genius in many different fields.

Michelangelo was a well-known sculptor. He clearly had spatial intelligence, an ability to perceive three-dimensional shapes and arrange objects in space. It’s frequently said that he could visualize the finished sculpture just by gazing at a block of stone. When he’s only 25 years old, he created Pieta, the marble masterpiece that represents the Virgin Mary holding Christ’s body after the crucifixion, surprising everyone in Rome making his name recognized as a young genius in the era.

he sculpture is unbelievably beautiful in every aspect. The fabric on Virgin Mary and the flesh of Christ look so delicate and natural that it’s hard to believe that it’s made from marble. This also proves that Michelangelo had bodily-kinesthetic intelligence that he could manipulate objects freely as he imagined. Even though Michelangelo was known as a sculptor, his talent in painting was not inferior. The Creation of Adam in Sistine Chapel, the painting which Adam’s finger almost touch God’s, is very famous and iconic. His painting style is notable for how he accurately presented human’s muscle and details. He was the first artist to be recognized and had his own biography written during his lifetime. We can’t deny that he’s one of the talented artists of all time whose works have inspired and influenced the world of art for a very long time.

Like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci also had strong spatial intelligence. His famous painting, Mona Lisa, was described as ‘the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world’. It is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It is very impressive that he can create the Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile that engage people’s curiosity from time to time. His remarkable style of painting is playing with light and focus by blending colors to blur the part that looks out of focus to make the painting looks like it is being seen in person eyes’ vision. Another famous work is The Last Supper which is one of the most iconic painting that has been countless studied and copied for decades. Like Michelangelo, Leonardo also had bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. One thing that people might not know is that in his early youth, he worked as a sculptor. During 1489 to 1494 Leonardo devoted himself to create a huge, bronze horse statue for Francesco Sforza.

Moreover, Leonardo Da Vinci was recognized as an inventor and a scientist that represents his logical and mathematical intelligence, which is an ability to solve problem or puzzle, investigate science and use logical reasoning. In the opposite, Michelangelo was very bad at mathematics and science. In Leonardo’s lifetime, he created and designed tons of inventions such as weapons, flying machine, musical instrument, working tools etc. He even invented a mechanical lion that can move by itself. In addition, he was accredited for the invention of parachute according to his design in his sketch book. To be able to create a great art, Leonardo believed that a good artist must have a good understanding in science, so that an artist can accurately illustrate nature, landscape, figure, lighting and reflection. Leonardo was also a naturalist. He loved to study nature very closely, for example, he always walked in nature to observe relationship between living creatures, study how bird fly and observe rocks and fossils. It is inarguably that Leonardo’s multiple intelligence making him more than just an artist but a genius with many talents in a wide field.

While both two incredible artists shared strengths in spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence which is a key to success in the art field. Leonardo’s logical, mathematical and naturalist intelligence shows that he was a rare true genius. However, both of them were ones of the most influential and talented artists in the art history. Their greatness in the art world is hardly to compare. Both Leonardo and Michelangelo died more than 400 years ago, but through their works that timelessly keep fascinating us, it seems like they were still alive in an eternal forest of aesthetic beauty in the world of art.

Works Cited

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