Leonardo da Vinci
Italy, 1452-1519

Leonardo da Vinci (lay-oh-nar-doh da vin-chee) was gifted in just about everything
intellectual and cultural—mathematics, physics, anatomy, geology, botany,
geography, music, sculpture, architecture, and, of course, painting. Although
Leonardo had many ideas, he had difficulty finishing the actual works. A huge bronze
equestrian (horseback) statue of Ludovico Sforza was in progress for so long that its
patrons wanted to hire two other artists to finish it. Yet what he did accomplish
stimulated the world then and is still impressive today.

As a child, Leonardo showed talent for drawing and was apprenticed to the artist
Andrea del Verrocchio. He soon rejected both the egg tempera and fresca media that
were commonly used then, and he turned to oil. When he worked with oil on canvas,
Leonardo created masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and the portrait of Ginevra de'
Benci. Perhaps Leonardo da Vinci is most highly regarded today for a mind that was
constantly inventing, searching, and trying new ideas. His notebooks include ideas
for flying machines, an improvement of Gutenberg's printing press, war machines,
plans for domes, anatomical studies, and details of flowers.