b. April 15, 1452 – d. May 2, 1519
Leonardo Da Vinci was a 16th century genius
and a visionary.
He painted “The Mona Lisa” and
“The Last Supper,” two of the world’s
most famous masterpieces.
LGBT Icons
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
Leonardo Da Vinci was the archetypal Renaissance man.
His curiosity and genius led him to make observations, experiments and breakthroughs in a variety of fields, including engineering, architecture, maths, anatomy, optics, astronomy, geology, biology and philosophy.
His artwork and inventions, many of them advanced far beyond the innovations of the time, continue to earn him wide acclaim.
Artist Andrea del Verrocchio hired 15-year-old Da Vinci as his apprentice.
While working with Verrocchio in Florence, Da Vinci learned a broad range of skills including painting, sculpting and drafting.
In 1472, he was accepted into the painters’ guild in Florence. Da Vinci lived mostly in Florence and Milan for the rest of his career while working on commissioned art.
“The Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper” and “Madonna of the Rocks” are a few of his most famous paintings.
Da Vinci left behind a collection of 40 notebooks, 31 of which still exist.
He filled them with diagrams and records of his observations and research in the fields of painting, architecture, mechanics, human anatomy, geophysics, botany, hydrology and aerology.
Da Vinci conceptualized helicopters, tanks and calculators long before construction of these machines became feasible.
He also envisioned solar power and developed a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics.
Da Vinci’s professions included civil engineer, musician, military planner and weapons designer.
He worked as the court artist for the Duke of Milan.
From 1513 to 1516 he lived in Rome. He developed a close relationship with Niccolò Machiavelli and mathematician Luca Pacioli, with whom he helped write “Divina Proportione” (1509), “Divine Proportion.”
No evidence suggests that Da Vinci had relationships with women.
Commentaires