Heroes/Anti-Heroes in Art

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Introduction

The term ‘hero’ in arts refers to a character who displays self-sacrifice, courage and nobility in the face of adversity or when dealing with the challenges facing one or more persons in a society. A hero portrays traits such as fortitude, compassion, bravery, nobility and honor. On the other hand, the term ‘anti-hero’ is used to refer to a prominent character who does not have heroic qualities or who displays bad traits (Scott, 2010). In this paper, I explore the similarities and differences in the personal traits, moral characters, achievements and moral decision-making of two renowned artists, namely, Leonardo da Vinci and Salvador Dali.

Comparison between Leonardo and Salvador

Leonardo is widely known as a skilled artist who was born in Italy in 1452 and died in 1519. In addition to being a renowned painter, Leonardo was a writer, botanist, cartographer, geologist, anatomist, inventor, engineer, mathematician, architect and sculptor (Nicholl, 2005). On the other hand, Salvador was a renowned Spanish artist who was born in 1904 and died in 1989. Unlike Leonardo who displayed skills in a variety of fields, Dali specialized in arts. Although Salvador mainly focused on Draftsmanship, he also involved himself in photography, sculpting and making of films (Shanes, 2012).

From my assessment of the two artists, I realized that they had exceptional personality traits. I found that both displayed high level of creativity that enabled them to produce unique work. However, I also found that they displayed several differences in their personalities. Leonardo had passion for art and science, while Salvador had passion for art only (Nicholl, 2005). I found that unlike Leonardo, Salvador used his work to grab the attention of the public. While Salvador had interests in politics, Leonardo did not engage in politics during his life.

I also assessed the achievements of the two artists. One of the achievements of their remarkable is that they managed to produce creative artistic works that earned them fame and honor. Among the most popular works of Leonardo that I came across are The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man and the Mona Lisa. I realized that The Persistence of Memory is the best-known work of Salvador (Shanes, 2012). Unlike Salvador who concentrated on arts, Leonardo made significant contributions to science, as I mentioned earlier. I noted that Leonardo conceptualized concentrated solar power, an armored vehicle, flying machines and adding machines. In addition, he made discoveries in hydrodynamics, optics, civil engineering and anatomy.

With regard to morality, I realized that Leonardo was known for his support for protection of life. He even advocated for the rights of animals. For instance, I he had a habit of purchasing suffering caged rabbits and selling them. However, the available court records show that Leonardo might have been engaging in erotic sexual acts (Nicholl, 2005). The records indicate that Salvador was charged with sodomy together with three other young men in a case that involved a famous male prostitute. Although the case was dismissed due to lack of adequate evidence, some of his works such as Bacchus and John the Baptist manifested eroticism. Just like Leonard, some of Salvador’s paintings and etchings containing erotic features (Shanes, 2012). Despite Leonardo showing support for morality, my overall assessment of the work of the two artists indicates that they did not have moral integrity. Unlike Leonardo who did not openly show support for immorality, Salvador openly supported immoral acts such as the killing Jews by Hitler. His decision to support such acts indicates that he had little or no support for morality.

Conclusion

Leonardo and Salvador did not have explicit qualities of a hero. Despite this, they made significant contributions in supporting the evolution of arts and science. Leonardo made massive contributions in both science and art, while the Salvador made achievements in arts. Although they had similarities and differences in personality traits, achievements, moral traits and moral decisions, their contribution to arts and science is still remarkable today.

References

Nicholl, C. (2005). Leonardo da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind. California: Penguin

Scott, A. (2010). Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them. Richmond, Virginia: Oxford

University Press

Shanes, E. (2012). The Life and Masterworks of Salvador Dalí. Ho Chi Minh: Parkstone

International