Leonardo Da Vinci (lay oh NAHR doe dah VEEN chee) was
born in a
small village called Vinci in the country of Italy. He was raised by
his grandparents and even as a boy showed signs of genius. He could
work hard mathematics problems and was a very good artist.
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His father Piero recognized that he had artistic
talent and sent him to
Florence to study with the artist Verrocchio (vuh RAWK ih oh).
In addition to art he also learned sculpture and engineering. Soon he
was a better artist than his teacher. At age 20 he was accepted into
the painters' guild in Florence.
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About ten years later he was hired by Sforza, who
later became Duke of Milan. It was during this time he painted The
Last Supper.
Artists through the centuries had used egg tempera as the base for
their paint, but Leonardo wanted to try something new, so he applied
plaster to the wall and painted on the dried plaster. Unfortunately the
plaster began to flake off after just a short time and the painting has
required a lot of repair through the years. Possibly if he had
experimented with the process on a smaller work, the outcome would have
been different.
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When the French army captured Milan, the duke had to
flee, and Leonardo
went back to Florence. It was here he painted the portrait of the wife
of a merchant named Giocondo. It is called La Giocando, or Mona
Lisa.
Legend has it he hired musicians to play while he painted the portrait
so his subject would stay in a good mood. Numerous words have been
written about the painting and it remains one of the most recognizable
paintings in the world.
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He was a musician who invented musical instruments. He
would compose, then play and sing his own songs.
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Probably of greater importance than his paintings are
the contributions
Leonardo made in the areas of engineering and architecture. He along
with Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante designed St. Peter's Church in
Rome as well as other buildings in the Vatican.
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Leonardo kept books of sketches he made. He studied
human anatomy and
drew sketches of the body.
He had ideas for inventions that would not be developed for hundreds of
years. He had an idea for a flying machine, a propeller, and for
weapons of war. He designed and built bridges, canals and locks to
carry water and move ships.
He could write with both his right and left hands. We say such a person
is ambidextrous. He wrote his notes backwards with his left hand and
read them in a mirror. Today you could find nearly 7,000 pages of his
notes which still exist.
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Leonardo Da Vinci was truly a man ahead of his time.
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