In European History The Italian Renaissance began in the 14th century and lasted until the 17th century. Renaissance means "rebirth", as it was known as the cultural revival and was a huge change in European history from the medieval period to modernity. Before the Renaissance, there was a period known as the Middle Ages, but it is best known as the Dark Ages. This was a period between the decline of the Roman Empire in 476 CE and the Renaissance, where there were no achievements. After the decline of the Roman Empire, not a single state or government united the people of Rome. Additionally, the Catholic Church became powerful and its leaders derived their power from alliances with the protection of the Church. People across Europe were required to give 10% of their income to the church each year, which brought a lot of money and power. This is why the European economy has recovered. However, the Renaissance was a cultural and religious movement, and that's when people started to become interested in new things. One of the people was Leonardo da Vinci. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Leonardo was an Italian mathematician who was interested in inventions, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history and cartography. He was known as the greatest painter of all time. His most famous paintings were The Virgin of the Rocks, The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. All of his paintings were unique in their own way, leading to cultural and religious understandings, inspiring others artistically and intellectually, and were notable in art history. However, Leonardo's inventions and scientific ideas were never published to the public. There were two identical pieces for The Virgin of the Rocks, or sometimes known as The Madonna of the Rocks. Some believe that the first painting “The Madonna of the Rocks, Louvre” was created with the help of the Predis brothers and was offered to Louis XII. The second painting which is now in London has been accused of not having painted it, but not so long ago, according to the National Gallery, it was painted entirely by Leonardo himself. Geologist Ann C Pizzorusso studied the two paintings, of which the "Louvre" shows the rock formations, and the one in London does not. Leonardo was an artist who mastered realism and went to great lengths to create paintings with very exacting details and very precise and precise definitions that only some could understand. However, it is possible that the National Gallery's statement is incorrect due to the style and commitment to painting natural elements. Another remarkable painting is the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa is an oil painting which is the most famous painting and one of the most valuable paintings in the world. Although experts claim that this painting was certainly painted between 1503 and 1506, the exact dates have yet to be found. This painting also presents the characteristics of Leonardo's style in the last years of his life. Renaissance men and women said that there was a resemblance between the Mona Lisa and the Virgin Mary of the Renaissance period. Frank Zollner, a German professor said that the way Mona Lisa is painted follows in the footsteps of Flemish models and paintings. To be more precise, it particularly shows that the vertical slices of columns oftwo sides of the panel had precedents which represent the Flemish portrait. Additionally, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the few artists to master the vanishing point. Vanishing point involves creating sensational depth and drawing intersecting diagonal lines in the background of a painting to create three-dimensionality within a two-dimensional frame. This technique is found in The Last Supper, on which Leonardo spent three years. The Last Supper is a religious painting, it individualizes Christ in the middle of the painting and separates him from the others, but at the same time they are all united with each other, including Christ. Around Christ are twelve disciples; which includes a traitor. Leonardo managed to express the emotions and thoughts of the twelve disciples through facial expressions and demonstrate their personal reactions and movements. Not only was he known as the greatest painter of all time, but he was also known as the greatest inventor in history, even though he had very little impact on technology. Sketches and diagrams were drawn in his notebooks, but they were never published to the public. Either he lost interest or lost interest because he couldn't convince wealthy clients to finance the materials and supplies needed to build his models. Therefore, all of his inventions were never built during his lifetime. His ideas and inventions were wasted. “Madonna of the Rocks, Louvre” inspired people across Europe, including Leonardo's students. Therefore, the National Gallery claimed that the London version was painted by Leonardo's own students, Boltraffio and d'Oggiono, to show their devotion to their teacher, illustrating natural forms and elements in their own way. In the Louvre painting this shows Leonardo's sfumato technique and it is noticeable. Leonardo's sfumato technique is fine shading that shows softness and is indistinguishable between colors and tones. He also illustrated his talent for 3D effects applied to landscape backgrounds. Knowing the differences between these two paintings, both paintings were successful even if Leonardo painted one or both. Another painting for which the sfumato technique was used was that of the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa sets the goal for all future oil painted portraits, as Leonardo illustrated the beautiful blend of landscape and portraiture. The sfumato technique was also used notably for her hair, which reflects the rivers and valleys of the landscape behind her. Raphael, a young artist, adopted the Mona Lisa format for his own portraits, as he drew through Leonardo's work in progress. There are over a dozen exceptional Mona Lisa replicas; most of them were reproduced by Leonardo's students. Additionally, her painting, Mona Lisa, inspired American lyricist Ray Evans and songwriter Jay Harold Livingston to compose the beautiful tunes and lyrics of a classic song “Mona Lisa”. “His works were so influential that even Michelangelo and Raphael chose to adopt the same techniques characteristic of Leonardo: creating equally active and realistic figures with naturalistic structures. The artistic standards of his time would guide the generations of artists who followed. The Last Supper has been recreated, referenced, and imitated in Western culture, primarily in creations such as paintings, mosaics, and photographs. In 1955, an artist named Salvador Dali recreated The Last Supper as “The Sacrament of the Last Supper.” “The Sacrament of the Last Supper was the opposite of the original painting; Christ was drawn as a blond, showing the shaded torso, and the disciples were bent so that they..