Leonardo da Vinci: An artist to reckon with
Leonardo quickly
outstripped his master (though he continued to study with Verrocchio
until around 1476) and was admitted to the Florence painters’ guild in
1472.
Leonardo spent about wenty years (1480s - 1499) in the service of
Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan (who frequently neglected to pay
Leonardo).
Leonardo da Vinci, often referred to by just his first name, was the
epitome of the term “Renaissance man”.
Any subject - and there were many - toward which he directed his
insatiable curiousity, artistic talent and keen scientific mind found
itself dissected, improved upon and catalogued for posterity. Leonardo,
truly, was a man before his time.
Leornardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in the the village of Vinci in
Tuscany and that is how he got the name ‘Vinci’ included.
Though illegitimate, Leonardo was taken in and raised by his father.
A child of unearthly beauty, Leonardo showed precocious genius in
math, music and art. His greatest desire was to be apprenticed to a
painter, a profession which was looked down upon at the time.
Eventually, his father was worn down by the boy's undeniable talent,
and took him to Florence to study painting, sculpting and engineering
under the great Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo quickly outstripped his
master (though he continued to study with Verrocchio until around 1476)
and was admitted to the Florence painters’ guild in 1472.
Leonardo spent about twenty years (1480s - 1499) in the service of
Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan (who frequently neglected to pay
Leonardo).
His output during this period included two of his best known
paintings:
*The Madonna of the Rocks* (1483-85) and the mural *The Last Supper*
(1495-98).When Milan was seized by French troops in 1499, Leonardo
returned to Florence. It was here that he painted one of the most
famous portraits of all time, *The Mona Lisa*, more correctly known as
*La Gioconda* (1503-06).
Leonardo spent his later years moving between Florence, Rome and
France, working on a variety of projects.
He lived long enough to be appreciated and well-paid, a rarity among
artists. Throughout it all, he kept prodigious notebooks, in “mirror”
writing, to keep track of his ideas, designs, and numerous sketches.
Leonardo eventually settled in France, at the invitation of Francis
I, an ardent admirer. On May 2, 1519, Leonardo passed away at the castle
of Cloux, near Amboise, France.
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