Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in the little town of Vinci. He was the son of Master Piero, a public
painter and highly sciled, and his companion Caterina. Not much is known aboud Leonardos child hood but
we do know that he was not permited to live with his family untill the age of 12. He then moved in and
lived with his grand parents and father. There his father married the first of his four wifes. When he was 17,
Leonardo moved with his father to Florence, where Leonardo apprenticed to Verrocchio, there Leonardos
awsome art ability soon shone over that of his father.

In 1472 Leonardo became a member of the painter's guild of Florence. Where he spent most of his time
studying and paing. Then in 1476 he was denounced by the Night Watch, but was acquited of the charge of
immoral conduct.

One of his most popular early works, "The Adoration of the Magi," was painted in 1481 for the Monastery
of San Donato a Scopeto as an altar piece. It was never finished because of his departure for Milan, where
he offered his services to Duke Ludovico il Moro. He worked on the Duomo in Milan and the Duomo and
Castle in pavia; and painted the Madonna of the Rocks and the Last Supper in 1497. He also set up festivals
for the Duke and claimed to be an expert in military engineering.

In 1499 Ludovico il Moro fled Milan ahead of invading French troops. The Gascon bowmen of Louis XII
used Leonardo's model for the equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza for target practice. Soon afterwards,
Leonardo left Milan inspite of the evident good-will of the French authorities.

During the next few years, Leonardo wandered from Mantua, in the court of Isabella d'Este; Venice, where
he was consultant for architectural matters from 1495 to 1499 before becoming military engineer for Cesare
Borgia between 1502 and 1503.

The death of Pope Alexander VI changed the fortunes of Duke Valentino, and Leonardo came back to
Florence in 1503, remaining there until 1506. The Florentine Republic commissioned him to execute a
large fresco of the battle of Anghiari for one of the walls of the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo della
Signioria facing a fresco by Michelangelo, one of his rivals.

Leonardo experimented with a new technique of fresco, which deteriorated quickly and eventually was lost.
It was in Florence that Leonardo had his greatest following, and it was during his years there that he
painted such classics as the Mona Lisa.

Then in 1506 Leonardo obtained temporary leave from the Florentine Republic in order to return to Milan,
where he was to finish

certain projects which he had left incomplete due to his earlier hasty departure. In Milan he once again
came into contact with the French, who repeatedly asked the Florentine Republic to extend Leonardo's
leave.

Between 1507 and 1508 Leonardo visited Florence to settle his father's estate. He then spent many years in
Milan with the title of "peintre et ingenieur ordinarie". He devoted much of his time to scientific studies
and to the engineering projects such as the channeling of the course of the Adda river.

The return of the Sforza family in 1512 forced Leonardo to leave Milan once again. From 1513 to 1516 he
was in Rome at the Palazzo Belvedere under the protection of Giuliano dei Medici, the brother of Pope Leo
X. Here Leonardo came into contact with Michelangelo and Raphael; both younger, and both rivals.

After the death of Giuliano dei Medici, Leonardo accepted an invitation from his French friends and moved
to the castle of Cloux near Amboise, where he stayed with his faithful pupil Melzi.

Leonardo died on May 2, 1519, and was buried in the cloister of San Fiorentino in Amboise.