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Biography (Page #1) Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small Tuscan town of Vinci which is near Florence. His father was a wealthy Florentine notary and his mother was a peasant woman. A notary is a public official. Leonardo was born illegitimate; but his family did not keep his birth a secret. His mother then went on to marry one of Leonardo’s father’s friends. Leonardo’s father then married his first of what would turn out to be four wives. Leonardo’s full name was “di ser Piero da Vinci.” This name indicated that he was not thought of as noble or his father’s true heir.
Biography (Page #2) When Leonardo was 14 years old he moved to Florence along with his father. While there he was apprenticed by Andrea del Verrocchio who at the time was the most important artist in Florence. Andrea del Verrocchio was a very important influence on Leonardo da Vinci. In 1472, Leonardo’s apprenticeship was finished. The first work Leonardo is known to have done after completing his apprenticeship is the pen-and-ink drawing of the Arnovalley which he drew on August 5, 1473. In 1496, Leonardo and his former master painted “Baptism of the Christ”. In 1496, Leonardo da Vinci was actually accused of homosexual conduct along with three other men. Eventually Leonardo and the three other men were acquitted because of lack of evidence.
Biography (Page #3) From the years 1482 to 1499 Leonardo worked for the Duke of Milan and also maintained his own workshop with apprentices. During the years 1495 to 1498 Leonard da Vinci painted one of his most famous paintings, The Last Supper. While he was there, the duke put aside seventy tons of bronze for Leonardo to use to make the "Gran Cavallo”, a horse statue for the Duke. Instead, the bronze ended up being needed for war! It was molded into weapons so that Milan could try to defend itself against France. Milan ended up falling easily to France in 1498. A year later Leonardo left.
Biography (Page #4) Leonardo then spent two months in Venice and then moved again to Florence in 1500. While he was there he entered the services of Cesare Borgia who was the son of Pope Alexander VI. Leonardo worked as a military architect and engineer. In addition, between the years of 1503 and 1506, Leonardo da Vinci painted one of the most famous paintings in the world, the Mona Lisa. In the year 1506, he returned to Milan. In 1507, Leonardo met a 15 year old aristocrat named Count Francesco Melzi who became Leonardo’s pupil, life companion, and heir. Between the years 1513 to 1516 Leonardo lived in Rome. In the year 1515 Francis I of France retook Milan. Leonardo was then commissioned to make a centerpiece for the peace talks in Bologna, which were between the French king and Pope Leo X. Leonardo then spent the last years of his life in Amboise, France. Leonardo died May 2, 1519 in Amboise at the age of 67.
Baptism of Christ The Baptism of Christ was Leonardo’s first painting work. Leonardo painted the landscape background and the blond angel on the left. The rest of the painting was done by Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo’s former master. It was finished in about 1475.
St. Jerome in the Wilderness This painting called St. Jerome in the Wilderness was left unfinished. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1480. The painting is now in the Vatican Museums, Rome. This painting shows Saint Jerome during his retreat to the Syrian desert which is where he lived the life of a hermit.
The Adoration of the Magi This painting, called The Adoration of the Magi, was painted in 1481 by Leonardo da Vinci and was left unfinished. Leonardo was commissioned by the Augustinian monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence to paint it; but left for Milan the following year leaving the painting unfinished. Since 1670 it has been in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Virgin of the Rocks This painting, called Virgin of the Rocks was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between the years 1483 to 1486. In 1483, Leonardo was commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception to paint a work celebrating the Immaculate Conception for their new chapel.
The Last Supper This painting, called The Last Supper, was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan between the years 1495 to 1498. It was painted for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este.
Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa is probably Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting and was painted between the years 1503 to 1506. The painting now hangs in the Musée du Louvre which is in Paris, France.
The Virgin and Child with St. Anne This painting called The Virgin and Child with St. Anne was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1508. It is an oil painting and shows St Anne, her daughter, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus as an infant. The Virgin and Child with St. Anne was commissioned as the high altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata which is in Florence, Italy.
Notebooks Leonardo da Vinci also kept notebooks which comprised around 13,000 pages of his studies in science and engineering. His notebooks were written using mirror-writing because Leonardo was left handed. Leonardo used an observatory approach to science. This means that he tried to understand a phenomenon by describing and depicting it in extreme detail. Leonardo also participated in autopsies and created many extremely detailed anatomical drawings. He actually designed a complete work of human and comparative anatomy. Leonardo da Vinci was also fascinated by the study of flight. Leonardo studied the flight of birds and also designed some flying machines. His notebooks also included many of his inventions in the military field.
Work Cited http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/l/leonardo/biograph.html http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Leonardo_da_Vinci/biography.html Leonardo da Vinci The Mind of the Renaissance (Book) Prentice Hall World History Connections To Today Volume One (Textbook)
