(1452–1519). A man far ahead of his time, Leonardo da Vinci excelled as a painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer. His paintings of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper won him everlasting fame. Leonardo is equally known for his serious scientific studies. More than 300 years before flying machines were perfected, Leonardo developed plans for an airplane and a helicopter.

Early life

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452, in Vinci, in what is now Italy. He received the basic education of his time: reading, writing, and arithmetic. When he was about 15, his father put him under the guidance of the artist Andrea del Verrocchio, who had a famous workshop in Florence. Under Verrocchio Leonardo received an all-round training in painting, sculpture, and the design, construction, and use of mechanical devices.

First Milanese period

In 1482 Leonardo entered the service of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Leonardo was listed in the register of the royal household as “painter and engineer of the duke.” He stayed in Milan, in northwest Italy, for 17 years, until Ludovico's fall from power in 1499.

Notebooks

While at Milan, Leonardo also became deeply interested in scientific study and observation. Leonardo thought that a painter should have the power to see things in a fine and detailed way, and also the skill to portray what was seen in an original manner.

He thought this could be achieved by observing all visible objects and using pictures to describe them exactly as they were. The result of this plan was what we know today as Leonardo's notebooks. The notebooks began as loose sheets on tiny paper pads Leonardo kept in his belt. Four major themes interested him: painting, architecture, human anatomy, and the elements of mechanics.

Second Florentine period

In 1503 Leonardo returned to Florence. There he carried on with his intensive scientific study in Florence. He dissected corpses at the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, made observations on the flight of birds, and continued studies of the properties of water and its currents. He also worked on the science of flight.

Between the years 1500 and 1506, he worked on four masterpieces, which confirmed and heightened his fame. The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, which even as a preliminary drawing called forth admiration for the finesse of its composition; Mona Lisa, a portrait; the Battle of Anghiari, planned as a huge mural; and Leda, a painting. Only the Mona Lisa was ever completed. It is probably Leonardo's most famous work, and is today displayed in the Louvre, Paris.

Last years

In 1516 Leonardo decided to accept the invitation of the young French king, Francis I, to enter his service in France. Leonardo spent the last three years of his life in the small residence of Cloux, near the king's summer palace. Leonardo did no more painting or, at most, completed the painting of St. John the Baptist. He spent most of his time arranging and editing his scientific studies.

Leonardo died at Cloux on May 2, 1519. He was buried in the palace church of Saint-Florentin. The church, however, was devastated during the French Revolution and completely torn down at the beginning of the 19th century. Leonardo's grave can no longer be located.