The self-taught, revered scientist, expert naturalist and all-rounder Charles Willson Peale was considered a true Renaissance man. He passed on all his artistic talent and knowledge to his many children. As a friend of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, Peale promoted artistic development and public art. In his artwork, he captured the reality and vibrancy of life. The similarities between Peale and his American contemporaries can be seen when they are compared to him. The noted neoclassical artist Charles Peale, in all his trades, was a skilled craftsman and artist. Fully knowledgeable in many fields, Charles Peale was known as an American Leonardo. Lived from 1741 to 1827 Peale was the eldest of 5 children raised in Chestertown, Maryland (Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography). Being a scientist, artist, saddler, watchmaker, silversmith, upholsterer, soldier, politician and inventor, Charles Peale earned the title of a true man of enlightenment. By inventing a new type of glasses, false porcelain teeth, a steam bath, and a stove that consumed its own smoke, Peale was certainly particularly innovative (Strickland 72). While being trained in the saddle-making trade, Peale decided, at the age of 21, that painting would be the best path to take. In 1776 he settled in Philadelphia and during the American Revolutionary War, Peale served as a militia officer from 1776 to 1778 and continued to paint throughout this time. With his three wives, Rachel Brewer, Elizabeth DePeyster, and Hannah Moore, Peale had 17 children (Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography). Because of his insatiable interest and curiosity, Willson Peale founded a natural history museum...... middle of paper ......aries and Charles Peale, it is noted that these were all skilled artists of neoclassicism. As Charles Peale examines his life you see that he was an ingenious scientist, inventor and artist. His painting The Peale Family is an extraordinarily profound work of art, with its complex composition and style. Compared to Peale himself, American contemporaries of his time, like Peale, were creative artists and architects who greatly influenced neoclassicism and current and future culture. Works Cited Charles Willson Peale." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia. com. November 16, 2013Peale, Charles Willson. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. November 16, 2013 Strickland, Carol. The Mona Lisa Annotated. Kansas City : Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007.