Scientific Inquiry in Renaissance Art: The Artistic Characteristics of Leonardo's Works

Abstract

In the Renaissance, due to the rise of humanism, people started to break through the confines of previous medieval thought, paying more attention to real life and drawing inspiration from it. Artists began to abandon the traditional way of painting, gradually changing their previous way of creating, and decided to get inspiration from nature. During this period, artists focused on the study of the phenomena and laws of nature so that they could create artworks that were more in line with the laws of nature. During this period, the artists' research involved botany, anatomy, mathematics, physics, and other fields. Their research results not only helped their creations but also made great contributions to the development of natural science in later generations. As one of the most important artists in the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci was involved in many fields such as anatomy, physics, and mathematics, and applied his research results in his artworks. In his artworks, science and art are skillfully combined. According to Leonardo's works such as "Annunciation", "The Last Supper" and "St. Jerome", it can be analyzed that there was a close connection between Leonardo's works and disciplines such as anatomy, mathematics, and physics. This could be helpful for understanding the application of knowledge of natural sciences in Leonardo's paintings and providing a reference for the subsequent research on Leonardo and science.