loving art, science and creative kids

Renaissance Woman

She focuses one eye to the world and the other to her thoughts.

The Depth and Breadth of Renaissance Minds 

Leonardo da Vinci was not only a painter and sculptor, he was an animal lover who challenged the morality of consuming meat and was probably a vegetarian. When a child, he would purchase caged birds and set them free. He is also described as an accomplished singer and composer who was talented on the lyre. As though that was not enough to fill his plate, da Vinci worked as a military architect and engineer for Cesare Borgia. After moving to France at the age of 60 due to political upheavals in Milan, his days were consumed with scientific projects.

Da Vinci was not a self-promoter, an oligarch, or a politician. He pursued knowledge for its own sake and was a jack of all trades, mastering them all. His accomplishments were incredible for having been born an illegitimate child, though recognized by his father, Se Piero, a wealthy Florentine notary. As a boy, his education was spotty, and though he learned the basics and taught himself Latin, much of his learning occurred after the age of thirty when he devoted himself to mathematics. Da Vinci's busy mind was often occupied with scientific research and engineering to the exclusion of art.

Leonardo da Vinci is considered the first Renaissance Man, a concept that defines a person as being multi-faceted and able to see the world in ways that are beyond the minds of those locked in a single focus. Thinking about him always makes me wonder where his thirst for knowledge came from and who might be compared to him today.

Elon Musk is among those suggested as contemporary renaissance men. As an internet-savvy youth, he co-founded x.com, a company that transitioned into PayPal. But instead of staying with making online innovations, he founded Space-X a privately-funded rocket that put a satellite in orbit and docked the Space-X Dragon with the International Space station. Musk founded Tesla Motors and is credited with the initial idea for SolarCity, the largest solar provider in the U.S. Musk is concerned about three existential threats to humanity; falling global birthrates, artificial intelligence going wrong, and the rise of religious extremism. As an entrepreneur and innovative engineer, he likes to be known as a patron of the arts. He put out a call on Twitter for his new Tesla Factory in Germany. However, since he is not a master of the art himself, I don't consider him and true Renaissance Man. 

In my search for Renaissance people, I investigated individuals who look through fractured lenses to see the world in its multi-faceted complexity. These people embraced a lifelong practice of learning that leds to excellence and mastery in a variety of fields. Their special blend of physical, mental, and emotional skills produces extraordinary self-knowledge. They are people who dared to follow their dreams and live life fully.

Following are a few of my favorites.

Albert Einstein remained an individualistic thinker throughout his 80 years. As a brilliant scientist and mathematician, he was responsive to society and the causes of humanity. Einstein transformed our understanding of Nature on every scale, both large and minuscule. The Theory of Relativity, consider his crowning glory, and years of work at Princeton, provided the underpinning for advances in electronics, nuclear power, and space travel. But science wasn't his only interest. He was an accomplished violinist, a philosopher, a poet, and had a strong interest in politics. Einstein is recognized as having been a "true citizen of the world…who reminded us that the teaching of the humanities was more important for the preservation of our culture than just dry specialized knowledge." Einstein wrote, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

Noam Chomsky, born in 1928 is sometimes called the father of modern linguistics. He is also an analytic philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist who wrote more than 100 books on spacing topics from linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. He says his path started by improvising the sounds of his favorite piano composers. He believes that the arts should be part of everybody's education. He gives an excellent YouTube lecture about Artistic Creativity.

Mae Jemison known as a physician, engineer, entrepreneur, writer, and teacher, is also an artist. In college she choreographed a performing arts piece called Out of the Shadows, bringing attention to the African American experience. Early in her medical career, she worked with the Peace Corps and later started her own practice. She was the first African American woman to travel to space as a Nasa astronaut and later appeared on an episode of Star Trek. After leaving NASA she taught environmental studies at Dartmouth and directed the Jemison Institute for Advanced Technology in Developing Countries. Jamison is a person who learns from everywhere. In 1990, after moving her work to Cornell University, she wrote her first children's book, Find Where the Wind Goes." Jemison gives an inspiring TED talk on YouTube about teaching the arts and sciences together. She stresses the necessity for both creativity and scientific investigation in our lives.

Before his death, Steve Jobs wrote, "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

I agree with his thoughts. Trust what you love and find the thing or things that make your heart sing. Bring art and science together for a rich life.

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Please share your thoughts on my blog site about those you consider to be Renaissance Men and Women. Renaissance Woman is 43" by 23", three-dimensional mixed media with acrylic paints available for $785.

Art is always for sale. Go to marilynne@eichingerfine art with your questions.

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References:

Stewart, J. & Cole, M. (2022) 14 Facts about the Original Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci, My Modern MET. retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/leonardo-da-vinci-facts/.

Website" Einstein-HyperHistoryretrieved from EINSTEIN

Connolly, M. (2021) 5 Key Values of a Modern Day Renaissance Woman, Is This You? Neways. Women in Leadership. retrieved from WOMAN.

Morgia, L. Mae Jemison: the power of developing multifaceted Skills. Ness Labs. retrieved from JEMISON.