Leonardo da Vinci

(1452 - 1519)

 

Was born in Italy, out of wedlock to a poor woman. His father was a successful notary who was set to marry a woman of his same social standing, and so Leonardo was not a legitimate son.

 

While the details of his childhood are mostly lost to history, it is likely that Leonardo was born somewhere near the little village of Vinci (hence his name), which was only 20 miles outside of Florence the epicentre of the Italian Renaissance. All we know is that he led a life estranged from his father and more humble than most. However, when the young Leonardo set out on his own, he would prove to become one of the greatest artists, scientists, and engineers of the Italian Renaissance.

 

At the age of 14, Leonardo began working as a studio boy for Verrocchio.Verrocchio is one of the most underrated masters of the Quattrocento. His workshop in Florence served to create some of the most breathtaking works of the time, and his students include Pietro Perugino (an accomplished artist who went on to mentor Raphael), Lorenzo di Credi, very likely Sandro Botticelli, and most importantly of all Leonardo. Here he would learn the fundamental skills that an artist of his time needed to master: casting, metallurgy, leather, drafting, drawing, painting, sculpting, among many others. He also learned

what was known of the science behind these skills, like chemistry and

mechanical engineering.

 

Leonardo's art made many major breakthroughs. He spent long hours studying human anatomy. His notebooks are filled with well-observed sketches of the body, including those cadavers he dissected. He also studied optics. Examining how the eye took in light and turned this into images. These studies led to his sfumato technique, sometimes called "Leonardo's smoke". The blurring of brush strokes gave many of his most popular works their trademark haziness.

 

Unlike other artists, even Leonardo’s sketches remain important

achievements — most famously with the Vitruvian Man.

 

He kept rigorous notes of his studies in science, all written backwards, over the course of his life. There are more than 10,000 surviving notebook pages that some say hold many mysteries. Like his understanding of plate tectonics. His invented concepts that include flying machines, calculators, parachutes, and military vehicles like tanks. His notebooks have become a major point of interest.

 

It was in Florence in 1503, now in his 50s, that Leonardo first began to sketch Mona Lisa, the world's most famous painting. She is said to be modelled after the Lisa del Giocondo, wife of a rich Florentine merchant. Just 77x53 cms, much smaller than what she appears in pictures, he breathed life into her using oil paint on wood. The painting is not just exquisite but has several unique features. The blurred effect known as Leonardo’s sfumato is most visible around her eyes and mouth. The smile, its most famous feature, adds a sense of mystery. But so too does the background, which hardly seems to make sense.

 

There are many stories about how long it took Leonardo to finish her. According to one theory, she was completed in three years, as per another he worked on the painting for four years and then took a break. He is believed to have then continued to mull over and add touches to her here and there, and really perfected the piece a little before his death in 1519.

 

In 1515, now in his 60s, and nearing the end of his life and more than likely yesterday's news. Michelangelo and Raphael were all the rage. The French King, Francis I, invited Leonardo to Château du Clos Lucé, near Amboise. He travelled by mule across the mountains from northern Italy to central France, carrying with him sketchbooks and unfinished artwork. Leonardo lived in the rehabilitated Medieval fortress from 1516 until his death in 1519.

 

Legend has it that King Francis was at his side when he died, cradling Leonardo's head in his arms.

 

The "Mona Lisa" was purchased by the French King, Francis I,

for4,000 gold ducats, either from da Vinci himself or, after the artist's death, from da Vinci's heir, Francesco Melzi.