Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most recognizable and celebrated thinkers of high renaissance. A practical savant, his contributions to art, engineering and scientific study are unparalleled.
History And Career
Born out of wedlock in 1452 in Anchiano, to a famed notary, Leonardo only received a rudimentary, informal, education before his artistic talent was perceived. He was soon apprenticed to Verrocchio in Florence where he not only studied art and painting, but also chemistry and mechanics among other subjects. It was at this workshop where he would meet many of his contemporaries such as Botticelli and Perugino.
By the age of twenty he qualified as a master in The Guild of St Luke, though his attachment to Verrocchio was such that he continued to work with him. He worked on a few commissions during this time before moving to the Medici gardens from where he was sent as an ambassador to Milan. Here he worked for Ludovico Sforza on many projects before fleeing to back Florence after the duke was overthrown by the French.
In Florence, he offered his services to Cesare Borgia and became his chief military engineer. Soon after he returned to The Guild of St Luke and it is here that he started work on what is possibly the most famous painting in the world – The Mona Lisa.
After a brief return to Milan under French rule, he was summoned to Rome. He continued to work here under different rulers before a series of strokes ravaged his body and ultimately led to his death in 1519 at the age of 67.
Legacy
Little is known about Leonardo’s private life, while he maintained detailed notes of his artistic explorations, he mentioned little to nothing of his personal goings-on.
His talent was nurtured at a young age and his revolutionary thinking led him to be admired by all. From working with renowned artists of the time to becoming one of the worlds leading polymaths, Leonardo was a true renaissance man. It is even said that the king of France cradled Da Vinci’s head when he was on his deathbed.
The full extent of Leonardo’s genius was more thoroughly discovered in the 19th century when his notebooks were examined. To this day, researchers study his works and analyze his paintings to find out more about this gifted man.
Famous Works
Leonardo’s curiosity as a thinker and creator led him to be at the forefront of invention and artistry. His projects were sometimes left unfinished - such was his zeal for searching out new avenues of thought and production. He invented whimsical things such as a marching lion that held lilies and a silver lyre in the shape of a horse’s head. His greatest and most recognizable works lie in the field of painting however, some of which are included below
Contemporaries
Sandro Botticelli was a fellow apprentice of Leonardo at Verrocchio’s workshop, while Da Vinci traveled across Italy, Sandro spent all his life in a single neighborhood in Florence. He is famed for his religious paintings which had decidedly Gothic aesthetics, despite being part of the renaissance movement. 
Another famous name to have counted Da Vinci as a contemporary is Domenico Ghirlandaio who was another apprentice at Verrocchio’s workshop. After leaving the tutelage of the Italian master sculptor, he went on to form his own workshop with his two brothers. He gained popularity for his juxtaposition of contemporary life and religious depictions.
