With multiple career exploits, Leonardo da Vinci lived a remarkable life in a time that experienced recovery and rebirth in the interests of the people. Emphasis on classical Greece and Rome, individualism, and secularism became the main components of a new era known as the Renaissance. Society formed the standard of a universal man, which translated to the term of "Renaissance man," and Humanists practiced the belief that men can live a happy, productive life on earth without defying the doctrines of the Church. Leonardo da Vinci is a prime example of a Renaissance man as well as a Humanist due to his individuality, physical strength, and intellect among his productive, prosperous life.
As a Renaissance man is a physically strong and well-rounded individual, Leonardo possessed many qualities of this criterion. Health held up very well him, for he survived the Plague and lived a long life until he was sixty-seven. His childhood was spent watching a painter; therefore, Leonardo mastered painting early in life. Leonardo painted an angel in Verrochio's "Baptism of Christ," and it was so much better than his master's that Verrochio allegedly resolved never to paint again. Since his intellect was extensive, his talent covered many career fields. He studied anatomy to perfect the image of the human body in his artwork and can also claim the profession of a scientist and inventor, for his notebooks contain knowledge of relationships and sketches of present day inventions like the helicopter. More renounced for his artwork, Leonardo is remembered as a painter and sculptor. It is debatable that the Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world. Though not highly recognized, he made a career in engineering as well and developed a plan to further expand the distribution of the citizen's living quarter's throughout the province to prevent rapid spread of disease and for maximum survival.
Characteristics of Humanism such as the rediscovery of classical civilization and self-actualization describe the lifestyle of Leonardo.