History Online - Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci, world renowned as a genius not only in art, but also his work in anatomy, optics, and hydraulics, was born in 1452 to a nobleman and a peasant woman who lived in Vinci, a town in the Tuscany region, near Florence. He was given the best Florentine education, and came to work as an apprentice was Andrea del Verrocchio, another painter. While apprenticing with Verrocchio, Da Vinci was introduced to various different forms of art, from canvas painting to making alter pieces. He was given the opportunity to work on one of Verrocchio's paints, Baptism of Christ, where Da Vinci painted the kneeling angel on the left side.

By 1478, Da Vinci had become an independent painter, drawing his first commission when we was asked to paint an altar piece for the Florentine town hall. He, however, never executed its creation. His first large painting, which was also left unfinished, was The Adoration of the Magi, commissioned by the Monastery of San Donato a Scopeto. Other works attributed to a young Da Vinci are Benois Madonna, Ginevra de Benci, and St. Jerome.

About 1482 Leonardo entered the service of the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Da Vinci wrote the duke an astonishing letter in which he stated that he could build portable bridges; that he knew the techniques of constructing bombardments and of making cannons. He said that he could build ships as well as armored vehicles, catapults, and other war machines; and that he could execute sculpture in marble, bronze, and clay. He served as principal engineer in the duke's numerous military enterprises and was active also as an architect. In addition, he assisted the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli in the celebrated work Divina Proportione. Also, while in Milan, evidence shows he might have had a few students as well, for which he wrote Treatise on Painting. During his years in Milan, his most important and famous paintings are The Virgin on the Rocks and The Last Supper, which took him years to complete. Unfortunately, The Last Supper had begun to deteriorate by 1500, and much of the painting's original splendor has been lost.

In 1502 Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia, duke of Romagna and son and chief general of Pope Alexander VI. In his capacity as the duke's chief architect and engineer, Leonardo supervised work on the fortresses of the papal territories in central Italy. Also while in Florence, Leonardo worked on several portraits, including his most famous work, the Mona Lisa, and another celebrated piece, La Gioconda.

In 1506, on the summons of French governor n 1506 Leonardo again went to Milan, at the summons of its French governor, Charles d'Amboise. That following year, he was appointed court painter for French King, Louis XII, who was living in Milan. For the rest of his life, Da Vinci divided his time between Milan and Florence, often visiting family and looking after his inheritance. He was then called to Rome by Pope Leo X, where he spent most of his time working on science, rather than paintings. In 1516 he traveled to France to enter the service of King Francis I. He spent his last years at the Château de Cloux, near Amboise, where he died.