Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance. He was a painter, artist, engineer, scientist, and architect. He became famous for his paintings, but his notebooks with drawings and notes were also important. Leonardo is seen as a genius and his collective works helped shape European art, almost as much as those of his friend Michelangelo.

He was born near Vinci to a father who was a notary and a peasant mother. Leonardo grew up in Florence and studied with the artist Andrea del Verrocchio. He worked in many places, including Milan for Ludovico Sforza, Florence, Rome, and finally France where he spent his last years with Francis I.

Leonardo is one of the greatest painters in Western art. Even though many of his works are lost, his famous pieces are known around the world. The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous painting ever, The Last Supper is very well-known, and the Vitruvian Man is a famous symbol. In 2017, a painting called Salvator Mundi sold for a very high price.

Leonardo was also known for his clever ideas for new inventions. He imagined machines that could fly and ways to use sunlight for power. Though few of his designs were built, some of his smaller ideas were used in factories. He made discoveries in science but did not write about them, so they did not change science right away.

Biography

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, near the town of Vinci in Italy. He was the son of a legal notary and a woman from a lower-class family. At a time when many people only learned basic reading and writing, Leonardo showed great talent in art from a young age.

As a teenager, Leonardo began training in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence, where he learned many skills, including painting, sculpting, and engineering. During this time, he met other famous artists and was exposed to new ideas that would shape his work. Leonardo became known for his amazing paintings, such as The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, and he was also very interested in science and technology. He filled notebooks with his observations and inventions.

Later in life, Leonardo traveled between cities like Milan and Florence, working on many projects for rulers and important people. He designed buildings, machines, and even cities, while continuing to create beautiful artworks. Leonardo passed away on May 2, 1519, in France, where he had been living under the protection of King Francis I. Today, Leonardo is remembered as one of history’s greatest geniuses, admired for his art and his curious mind.

Personal life

Main article: Personal life of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci didn’t write much about his personal life, but people were very interested in him. He was known for his clever inventions, good looks, and graceful manners. Leonardo loved animals and often bought caged birds to set them free. He had many famous friends, including the mathematician Luca Pacioli, with whom he worked on a book called Divina proportione. He was close to a few women, like Cecilia Gallerani and two sisters named Beatrice and Isabella. One of his assistants was a young man named Salaì, who stayed with Leonardo for many years. Leonardo kept much of his private life to himself, and many details about his relationships remain unclear.

Paintings

See also: List of works by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his paintings. People have admired his works for many years. His paintings are special because of how he used color and shape, his knowledge of the human body and nature, and how they show feelings. Some of his most well-known paintings are the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and the Virgin of the Rocks.

Leonardo started getting noticed for his paintings early in his career. He worked with other artists on paintings like the Baptism of Christ. In the 1480s, he began many important paintings, such as Saint Jerome in the Wilderness and The Adoration of the Magi, although he did not finish all of them. In the 1490s, he painted The Last Supper, showing a special moment with Jesus and his disciples. In the 1500s, he painted the Mona Lisa and Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. These paintings have inspired many other artists.

Drawings

Leonardo was a wonderful artist who loved to draw. He filled his notebooks with sketches and drawings of everything he saw. Some of his famous drawings are the Vitruvian Man, which shows how the human body is shaped, and The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, a big drawing made with soft black chalk.

He also studied faces and clothing, often watching people in public places for ideas. Leonardo's drawings show how closely he observed the world around him.

Journals and notes

Renaissance humanism did not separate science and art. Leonardo's science work was as amazing as his art. He wrote about his studies in about 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. He mixed art with natural philosophy, an early kind of science. His notes had many topics, like grocery lists, ideas for flying machines, and studies of plants, animals, and the human body.

After Leonardo died, his student Francesco Melzi looked after his notebooks. Over time, the notebooks went to different collectors and places. Today, you can see them in famous spots such as the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, the Louvre, and the British Library in London. Many of Leonardo's writings are in mirror-image cursive, probably because he was left-handed.

Science and inventions

Main article: Science and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo studied the world by watching and describing things very carefully. He did not have special training in Latin or math, but he made many notes and drawings about many topics. These included how the sun moves and the study of very old rocks called fossils.

Leonardo’s notebooks had plans for many books about science. He looked closely at the human body, drawing pictures of muscles, bones, and organs. He also thought about how machines worked and designed many clever ideas, like flying machines and water pumps. His special way of mixing ideas from different places helped him imagine new inventions, even if they could not be built at that time.

Legacy

Further information: Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci and List of things named after Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as one of history’s greatest thinkers. Even without formal schooling, he was very curious and full of creative ideas. People still admire his paintings, and his notebooks show his thoughts on many subjects.

Many people praise Leonardo’s genius. Writers and artists study his work, and museums hold special shows to display his talents. His famous painting, the Mona Lisa, is one of the most famous portraits in the world.

Location of remains

Leonardo da Vinci was buried in the collegiate church of Saint Florentin at the Château d'Amboise in 1519. Today, we don't know exactly where his remains are because the church was torn down during the French Revolution in 1802, and many graves were lost.

In 1863, workers found a skeleton that some think might be Leonardo’s. In 2019, a ring and lock of hair that might be his were shown at the Leonardo Museum in Vinci to celebrate 500 years since his death. Scientists hope to use DNA testing to learn if these items are really his.