Introduction

Not all men can be termed as a genius. But if we need to attribute it to someone in the true sense , it would be Leonardo Da Vinci. Although he is best known for his dramatic and expressive artwork . Da Vinci also conducted dozens of carefully thought-out experiments and created futuristic inventions that were truly groundbreaking for his time.

This Italian polymath was blessed with a plethora of talents. He was a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. Leonardo’s genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. He is among the greatest painters in the history of art and credited as the Founder of the High Renaissance. In his formative years, he was educated in Florence by the Italian Painter and sculptor Andrea Del Verrocchio. Later he worked in Florence and Milan , as well as briefly in Rome, he attracted a large number of students.

PAINTINGS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo Da Vinci enjoyed unique fame in his lifetime and to date that has remained undimmed. An artist by disposition as well as by endowment, .e considered his eyes to be his main avenue to acquire knowledge.

When he was twenty, the Painter’s Guild of Florence offered Da Vinci membership . He remained with Verrocchio until he became an independent master in 1478. Shortly after this, he relocated to Milan to work for the ruling Sforza Clan . He served as an engineer, painter, architect, designer of court festivals, and most notably; a sculptor. Although relatively few of Da Vinci’s paintings and sculptures survive . Two of his works are among the world’s most well-known and admired paintings . Firstly The Last Supper  ( A tempera and oil mural on plaster, drawn sometime between 1495 to 1498 ) . Secondly Mona Lisa ( A portrait painted between 1503 and 1506.

OTHER WORKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

Da Vinci’s interests ranged far beyond fine art. He studied nature, mechanics, anatomy, physics, architecture, weaponry, and more; Often creating accurate workable designs for machines like the bicycle, helicopter, submarine, and military tank . The designs that would come to be implemented centuries later.
Probably because of his diverse interests, Da Vinci failed to complete a significant number of his paintings and projects. Somewhere in the early 1490s, Leonardo began filling notebooks related to four broad themes – paintings, architecture, mechanics, and human anatomy. He covered thousands of pages with neatly drawn illustrations and densely penned commentary. The notebooks which are often referred to as his manuscripts and codices . Is now a museum collection . 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

OLD AGE

From September 1513 to 1516, Leonardo spent much of his time living in the Belvedere in the Vatican in Rome . Here Raphael and Michelangelo were both active at the time. In October 1515, François I of France recaptured Milan. On 19th December, Leonardo was present at the meeting of Francois I and Pope Leo X . This took place in Bologna.

Leonardo died at Clos Lucé, France, on May 2, 1519. François I had become a close friend. Finally , Leonardo sent for a priest to make his confession and to receive the Holy Sacrament. In accordance to his will, sixty beggars followed his casket. However, Melzi was the principal heir and executor, receiving as well as money, Leonardo’s paintings, tools, library and personal effects. Leonardo also remembered his other long-time pupil and companion, Salai and his servant Battista di Vilussis . They received half of Leonardo’s vineyards . His brothers who received land .His serving woman who received a black cloak of good stuff with a fur edge.