Leonardo Da Vinci: Renaissance Man

Leonardo Da Vinci

Popularly known as the ‘Renaissance Man’, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, shortened as Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452 in Anchiano, Tuscany (near Vinci), in the province of Florence, Italy. He was among the creative thinkers of the Italian Renaissance. Though he was a highly significant figure as an Italian sculptor and painter, he showed his enormous talents in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, invention, music, and writing.

Early Life:

Leonardo da Vinci’s parents were not married when he was born. His father, Ser Piero was a Florentine attorney and notary, and his mother, Caterina was a peasant woman. When Leonardo was very young, his mother left his father and married an artisan. Leonardo grew up on his father’s family estate and received his elementary education at home, that is, simple reading, writing, and

Besides being in his teacher, Verrocchio’s workshop, he also worked with another artist called Antonio Pollaiuolo. At the young age of 20, in 1472, the painters’ guild of Florence offered him a membership. However, he extended his apprenticeship for five more years. After that when he was 26 years, he began to work independently in Florence. As an independent artist, in around 1482, he painted ‘the Adoration of the Magi’ for San Donato, a Scopeto monastery of Florence, which was his first commissioned work.

However, Leonardo da Vinci did not complete ‘the Adoration of the Magi’, as he went to Milan to work for the ruling Sforza clan. He served the clan as a painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, and designer. As an artist, Leonardo also kept an extensive workshop in Milan and employed several students and apprentices. As a major task, he worked on the clan’s project of creating a 16-foot-tall monumental equestrian bronze statue to honour the dynasty founder Francesco