43 Best Leonardo da Vinci Quotes (ART SCIENCE)

Top 20 Most Famous Leonardo da Vinci Quotes About Art and Science (LEARNING)

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. — It had long since come to my attention that people of **accomplishment** rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.

A beautiful body perishes, but a work of art dies not.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.

Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.

“Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.”
Leonardo da Vinci

There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.

Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.

A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. — A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in **nature** are dark except where exposed by the light.

It is better to imitate ancient than modern work.

Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets. — **Learning** is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.

The knowledge of all things is possible. — The **knowledge** of all things is possible.

It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.

Nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first understood.

Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active.

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”
Leonardo da Vinci

23 Inspirational Leonardo da Vinci Quotes About Life and Nature (SIMPLICITY)

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself. — One can have no smaller or greater **mastery** than mastery of oneself.

As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. — As a well spent day brings **happy** sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. — Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its **purity** from stagnation… even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.

Nature is the source of all true knowledge. She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity. — **Nature** is the source of all **true knowledge**. She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity.

Nature never breaks her own laws. — **Nature** never breaks her own laws.

Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.

“If you are alone you belong entirely to yourself. If you are accompanied by even one companion you belong only half to yourself or even less in proportion to the thoughtlessness of his conduct and if you have more than one companion you will fall more deeply into the same plight.”
Leonardo da Vinci

Our life is made by the death of others.

Time abides long enough for those who make use of it. — **Time** abides long enough for those who make use of it.

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake? — Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in **dreams** than the imagination when awake?

While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die. — While I thought that I was **learning** how to live, I have been learning how to die.

Knowledge of the past and of the places of the earth is the ornament and food of the mind of man. — **Knowledge** of the past and of the places of the earth is the ornament and food of the mind of man.

“One has no right to love or hate anything if one has not acquired a thorough knowledge of its nature. Great love springs from great knowledge of the beloved object, and if you know it but little you will be able to love it only a little or not at all.”
Leonardo da Vinci

Intellectual passion drives out sensuality. — Intellectual **passion** drives out sensuality.

The deeper the feeling, the greater the pain.

Tears come from the heart and not from the brain.

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.

Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.

He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.

I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.

He who does not oppose evil, commands it to be done.

“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”
Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci Short Biography

Born 15 April 1452 in Anchiano, Vinci, Republic of Florence (present-day Italy), Leonardo da Vinci was a painter and sculptor. He was responsible for creating famous works of art; the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

Born out of wedlock to a wealthy father, da Vinci received an unofficial education in Latin, geometry, and mathematics.

At the age of 15, da Vinci became an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio. Under his tutelage da Vinci learned how to paint and sculpt.

In 1472, da Vinci became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke, a guild of painters residing in Florence. A year later, da Vinci created his earliest work of art, a pen-and-ink drawing.

Da Vinci worked in Milan from 1482-1499, it was during this time that he painted The Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. He finished 6 works during his stay in Milan.

Aside from his famous paintings, da Vinci was also very well known for his drawings, such as the Vitruvian Man, depicting the anatomy of the human body.

Leonardo da Vinci was also an inventor. In 1487 he created what is known as Leonardo’s Tank, an armored vehicle that was used as a prototype for modern tanks.

To this day, da Vinci is considered one of the greatest artists of all time.

Further Reading:

What Made Leonardo da Vinci a Genius? – National Geographic
Four Ways in Which Leonardo da Vinci Was Ahead of His Time – The Conversation
Renaissance Man: How Leonardo da Vinci Changed What it Meant to Truly Live – Autodesk
5 Mysteries of Leonardo da Vinci’s Famous Paintings – Brightside

Here are the best Leonardo da Vinci quotes so you can retain a childlike sense of wonder and be relentlessly curious to seek new knowledge.

(MUST READ)

**Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson**

Also read:

Top 20 Most Famous Leonardo da Vinci Quotes About Art and Science (LEARNING)

23 Inspirational Leonardo da Vinci Quotes About Life and Nature (SIMPLICITY)

Leonardo da Vinci Short Biography

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