Leonardo da Vinci 1452 to 1519 1452 to 1519

What people say about da Vinci The most talented person ever to have lived. One of the greatest minds in history. The embodiment of the Renaissance man A man before his time. One of the most versatile geniuses in history. His curiosity makes him a symbol of the Renaissance spirit. His mind and personality seem to us superhuman.

Da Vinci’s talents Painter Musician Sculptor Architect Engineer Mathematician Inventor Anatomist Geologist Botanist Writer

Early Life Born in Vinci, near Florence in 1452. Born out of wedlock to a lawyer father and a peasant (illegitimate) His real is name is Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci (Leonardo son of Piero from Vinci) Very little is known of his early life. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a Florentine painter Verrocchio As an illegitimate child, he was lacking anyone in whose footsteps he was expected to follow, Leonardo could develop freely into the universal man he would become. His father made sure he got a basic education but most of his knowledge and talents he taught himself.

Apprenticeship to Verrocchio Da Vinci worked with his master on his painting of the Baptism of Christ. It was said that his contribution was so superior to his master’s that Verrocchio put down his brush and never painted again. By 1472 aged 20 da Vinci qualified as a master in the guild of artists in Florence. Verrocchio had served under the great sculptor Donatello and was official sculptor to the Medici family. He was not only a skilled artist but a skilled teacher as well. At first, like any apprentice, he would have had to perform simple chores, almost as a servant would. Later he would have learned to prepare pigments and canvases; then he would have drawn studies of Verrocchio's works and other models.

Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ According to Vasari, Leonardo's first biographer, Verrocchio was so impressed with his pupil's work on the angel that he grew ashamed of his own talents, and swore never to paint again. And indeed, Verrocchio soon abandoned paint as a medium; however, a more likely explanation is that he simply decided that Leonardo was good enough to take over most of the workshop's painting so that Verrocchio could focus on his sculpture works, which he had always preferred and excelled in Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ

Da Vinci’s contribution to his master’s painting An x-ray of Verrocchio's Baptism reveals that Leonardo's brushstrokes are much lighter than those of his master, and it is obvious to the naked eye that he was the greater talent. Da Vinci’s contribution to his master’s painting

Leonardo left Florence for Milan before he could finish it. Adoration of the Magi

30 inches tall and 20 inches wide. The Mona Lisa "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world. Viewed by 6m every year. Stolen in 1911 by an Italian employee of the Louvre, who believed it should be returned to Italy, and was missing for 2 years 30 inches tall and 20 inches wide.

Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Paris 30 inches by 20 inches

Leonardo's Last Supper, on the end wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is one of the most renowned paintings of the High Renaissance. Recently restored, The Last Supper had already begun to flake during the artist's lifetime due to his failed attempt to paint on the walls in layers (not unlike the technique of tempera on panel), rather than in a true fresco technique. Even in its current state, it is a masterpiece of dramatic narrative and subtle pictorial illusionism.  The Last Supper Leonardo chose to capture the moment just after Christ tells his apostles that one of them will betray him, and at the institution of the Eucharist. The effect of his statement causes a visible response, in the form of a wave of emotion among the apostles. 

The Virgin of the Rocks

The Virgin and Child with St Anne and John the Baptist Attacked in 1986 with a shotgun. Housed in the National Gallery in London. The Virgin and Child with St Anne and John the Baptist

provides the perfect example of Leonardo's keen interest in proportion. Leonardo da Vinci, a famous Italian renaissance inventor and painter, was greatly influenced by a man named Vitruvius. Vitruvius was a Roman engineer and architect during the first century B.C. Vitruvius discovered a formula to model what he thought were ideal proportions for a man. Da Vinci used this ideal model when drawing the Vitruvian Man in about the year 1490.  The drawing shows a man standing in a square, which is inside a circle. The man has two pair of outstretched arms and two pair of outstretched legs. These are some of the proportions given for the Vitruvian Man:  • The span of the man’s arms is equal to his height.  • The width of his shoulders is one-fourth of his height.  • The distance from the top of his head to the middle of his chest is one-fourth of his height.  • The distance from the middle of his chest to the top of his leg is one-fourth of his height.  • The distance from the top of his leg to the bottom of his knee is one-fourth of his height.  • The distance from the bottom of his knee to the bottom of his foot is one-fourth of his height. Vitruvian Man

The portrait of a man in red chalk (circa 1510) in the Biblioteca Reale, Turin is widely accepted as a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. It is thought that Leonardo da Vinci drew this self-portrait at about the age of 60 Far from universally accepted as a self portrait. Self Portrait

Generally considered his last masterpiece. John the Baptist

he Madonna Litta is a late 15th-century painting of the Madonna nursing the infant Jesus which is generally attributed toLeonardo da Vinci and is displayed in the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg. Madonna Litta

Head of a Woman

Leonardo’s notebooks Written in mirror writing. Books record his fascination with nature and his genius for invention. In many places the pen seems to race along, struggling to keep up with the pace of his mind. Most of the notebooks are housed in museums around the world http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Arundel_MS_263 Bill Gates bought one of his notebooks for $30.8 million in 1994 – the most expensive book ever.

Leonardo’s Mirror Writing

Da Vinci – anatomical drawings Leonardo’s fascination with the human body took him to the morgues and hospitals of Florence, where he performed dissections of corpses, often of executed criminals. His greatest feat was understanding the workings of the heart. Rumors of da Vinci resorting to grave robbery persist to this day, but the truth is that he was allowed to dissect and study corpses at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. 

Da Vinci - Inventions helicopter parachute tank