About Me
Leonardo Da Vinci
1452-1519
1452-1519
Born in Vinci, Italy, and being born to a notary and peasant girl in the region of Florence, Leonardo had quite an interesting childhood. In his notebooks, he mentions one experience as a child in which a bird landed on him and repeatedly hit his lips with its feathers. Scientists believe this is what gave Da Vinci the motivation to learn to fly (and as smart as Da Vinci was, flying would not happen for another 384 years.)
As a child, Da Vinci loved to draw. It wasn't long before his father noticed and got him appointed to an art studio. He did a lot of great work there.
In 1482, Da Vinci moved to Milan. Being a master draftsman, it would have been a reasonable choice to stay in Florence, but Da Vinci was unhappy with his life there. His mother came to live with him at this time, and passed away a few years later.
Da Vinci returned to Florence in 1503, and while he was there, he painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In 1507, Da Vinci had to return to Florence because his father died without a will. His uncle also died in 1507.
In 1513, Da Vinci traveled to Rome, due to his patron being defeated. During these years, Da Vinci pursued architecture, hydraulics, and the dynamics of mirrors. He also attempted to fashion a parabolic solar reflector that would later be essential to the process of making dyes. In Rome, Leonardo created his last major painting, Saint John the Baptist.
In 1516, Da Vinci traveled to France, where on May 2nd, 1519, he would later die.