The Distinctive Creativity of Leonardo and Michelangelo

Abstract

The artistic creativity of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo can be studied from a neuroscientific perspective. We can appreciate their innovativeness if we recognize that creativity is rare, for good evolutionary reasons. Our genetic material predisposes us to imitate our elders and betters because it is safer that way. This is why norms are so prevalent. This is also why innovation is rare, and why it is often found in the work of individuals who, for some reason, are outside the norm. Such people will possess neural resources that are exceptional, and none will be more important for artists than their default mode networks (DMN), which are vital because of their integration of past memories, present experience, and future planning. The more independent and non-normative the artist, the more crucial are such resources, especially for artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo. Their family backgrounds, family relationships, and experiences were all unlike those of other people, equipping them with highly differentiated networks, which they were in a good position to exploit because of their brains’ neuroplasticity and their training in attention which gave them their mental discipline. These two artists were also skilled in several fields which contributed to their creativity. Their conscious interdisciplinarity included insights from visual arts and music (for Leonardo), from architecture (for Michelangelo), and from the study of human anatomy for both artists.