Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. He was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci, and a local woman, Caterin. There isn’t much on Leonardo's childhood except his father made him the apprentice of Andrea del Verrocchio (1435–1488), the leading artist of Florence at the time.
Verrocchio took great lengths in honing quality of execution in expressing the vitality of the human figure. These elements were important for Leonardo's artistic style. Leonardo's approach to art originated from using tradition..
Around 1478, Leonardo set up his studio. In 1481, he received a church commission for the Adoration of the Magi. In this piece, Leonardo's take on it was very developed. The Magi altarpiece was left unfinished as Leonardo left Florence in 1482 to become post of court artist to the Duke of Milan. Leonardo’s departure followed a trend set by masters of the older generation who went to
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Florentine painters of the generation immediately following Leonardo were excited by his modern methods, with which they were familiar through the unfinished Adoration of the Magi. Leonardo had a large influence on the novice artists.
Leonardo served a term as military engineer for Cesare Borgia in 1502, and made more projects in Florence than any other time in his life. In his works of these years, his primary focus shifted to the portrayal of human vitality, shown with the Mona Lisa. She was a Florentine citizen’s wife. Her smile is deemed mysterious because it’s difficult to determine whether she was smiling or not.
Leonardo's great project was a cavalry battle scene that the city commissioned to adorn the Council Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio. It’s only know through drawings and sketches that piece it together. Leonardo couldn’t finish painting the scene because he got called to Milan before it could’ve been finished. A short time thereafter, the room was remodeled and the fragment was