Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci
Portrait of Leonardo by Melzi
Born	Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452-04-15)15 April 1452 Vinci, Republic of Florence
Died	2 May 1519(1519-05-02) (aged 67) Amboise, Kingdom of France
Nationality	Italian
Education	Verrocchio
Known for	Arts and sciences
Notable work	All 8 of his paintings which include: The Adoration of the Magi (by c. 1482) Saint Jerome in the Wilderness (by c. 1490) Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre version) (by c. 1493) The Last Supper (by c. 1498) Salla delle Asse (by c. 1499) The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist (by c. 1508) Mona Lisa (by c. 1517) The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (by c. 1519)
Movement	High Renaissance
Patron(s)	King of France

Leonardo Da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath who lived during the Renaissance. He is famous for his paintings.^[1] He was also a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. Leonardo wanted to know everything about nature, and wanted to know how everything worked. He was very good at studying, as well as designing and making all sorts of inventions.^[2]

The art historian Helen Gardner said that no one has ever been quite like him because he was interested in so many things that he seems to have had the mind of a giant, and yet what he was like as a person is still a mystery.^[3]

Leonardo was born in Vinci, a small town near Florence, Italy. He was trained to be an artist by the sculptor and painter Verrocchio. He spent most of his life working for rich Italian noblemen. In his last years, he lived in a expensive home given to him by the King of France.

Two of his paintings are among the best-known in the world: the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He did many drawings. His best-known drawing is Vitruvian Man. Leonardo often thought of new inventions. He kept notebooks with notes and drawings of these ideas. Most of his inventions were never made. Some of his ideas were a helicopter, a tank, a calculator, a parachute, a robot, a telephone, evolution, and solar power.^[4]

1. ↑ Vasari, Boltraffio, Castiglione, "Anonimo" Gaddiano, Berensen, Taine, Fuseli, Rio, Bortolon, etc as quoted in della Chiesa, see Bibliography
2. ↑ Gardner, Helen (1970), Art through the Ages, Harcourt, Brace and World
3. ↑ "...His mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote". (Helen Gardner)
4. ↑ Lisa, Mona; Supper, The Last; Ermine, Lady with an; Rocks, Virgin of the; Man, The Vitruvian. "Leonardo da Vinci Facts for Kids". kids.kiddle.co. Retrieved 2023-10-07.