As Europe prepares to mark the th anniversary of his death, we look at his achievements in art, science — and even flight. Leonardo was born in , apparently in a Tuscan village called Anchiano, not far from Vinci, and died in France in He may be best known as an artist but he was also an engineer, thinker and inventor.
These included ideas that would only become a reality hundreds of years later, such as flying machines — although Giorgione warns against embracing hindsight and seeing Leonardo as a visionary.
Perhaps surprisingly Leonardo wrote his diaries in the mirror image of normal script, although quite why remains something of a mystery.
As a teenager Leonardo trained in the workshop of the famous Renaissance artist Andrea del Verrocchio where all sorts of activities were on the go from drawing and painting to sculpture and metalwork — including making armour. While still training with Verrocchio, it is thought that Leonardo could have been involved in making the huge gilded copper ball that sits on top of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — he was certainly on the scene when it was hoisted into place in and made sketches of the lifting devices used.
In Leonardo was registered as a painter his own right, although he continued to collaborate with Verrochio. A bit of both. He was certainly good with a brush: among his commissions, in the late s, Leonardo was asked to paint an altarpiece for a civic palace and was later commissioned by a group of monks to paint a scene of the Adoration of the Magi.
But he had an eye for opportunities. Certainly not — many artists would also have been architects or engineers. Further, they made him a prominent figure during the Renaissance period, for his forward-thinking, and distinct view on images he created during the period.
At the age of 14 Leonardo da Vinci worked as an apprentice to Verrocchio. During this six year period he learned several different techniques and technical skills. This included in metal working, working with leather, the arts, carving, sculpting, and of course drawing and painting. By the age of 20 he had become a master craftsman of the guild, and had opened his own studio at this young age.
For a couple years he remained out of the public eye, following the period where he was charged with and acquitted of having committed sodomy. Up until about the age of 22, he really did not focus much on his works. Lorenzo de Medici commissioned Leonardo da Vinci in , to create a piece for the Duke of Monaco, which was being done as a gesture of peace.
In addition to creating the piece, he wrote a letter explaining how he would be the perfect painter, and how he could work for the court.
After the piece and his letter were accepted, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to work from up until by the court. Although he worked on many individual pieces during this time, a few which did become famous pieces, it was also during this time when he crafted one of his most well-known pieces, The Last Supper. Between to Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned for private work.
It was during this period that he not only created his most famous piece of artwork, but also possibly one of the most well known, and the most famous pieces of artwork which has ever been crafted in the world, The Mona Lisa. There were many theories and stories behind this piece. Some included that she had jaundice, many thought it was a piece of a pregnant woman, and others claim it is not a woman at all, but a man dressed in drag. Although no accounts are proven, there are many theories surrounding this piece, and this is what gives it so much allure.
The Mona Lisa was also a constant work in progress for Leonardo da Vinci; it was a piece he never quite finished, and was always trying to perfect. The painting itself was never given to the commissioner who had hired him for the work, and was kept with him until his death.
Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April near the Tuscan town of Vinci, the illegitimate son of a local lawyer. He was apprenticed to the sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence and in became an independent master. In about , he moved to Milan to work for the ruling Sforza family as an engineer, sculptor, painter and architect. Da Vinci was in Milan until the city was invaded by the French in and the Sforza family forced to flee. He may have visited Venice before returning to Florence.
During his time in Florence, he painted several portraits, but the only one that survives is the famous 'Mona Lisa' In , da Vinci returned to Milan, remaining there until This was followed by three years based in Rome.
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