Leo da Vinci. Where Leonardo da Vinci was born: the life path of the great Italian

Da Vinci personality- the most mysterious, brilliant and little studied in history.

The biography of the Italian is very scarce, and he kept his personal life under a heavy lock - there are legends about it, but there are no reliable sources.

But the paintings, inventions, theories, diaries of the master are subject to fame and can shed light on some details of his life.

The great scientist and artist has always stood out from the background of others. Even as a child, he was incredibly curious, asking about everything he saw and heard.

It was hard to survive the separation from his mother, while still a child, he withdrew into himself, and, having matured, began to live in the world of creativity, devoted himself entirely to finding answers to exciting questions.

Birth and childhood

Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1451 in the village of Anchiano, which was located near the village of Vinci, Florence. Parents were not married - this affected inner world boy and his relationship with his father. Leonardo's mother was a peasant woman, Katerina, and his father, a young notary, Piero.

Initially, the son lived with Katerina, then dad took him to him. At that time, Piero was married for the first time, but the couple had no children. Ten years later, da Vinci's stepmother died, and his father remarried and was re-widowed. In general, the boy had 4 stepmothers, 12 brothers and sisters.

At the age of 14 he entered the artist's studio Andrea Verrocchio as an apprentice. The institution is conveniently located in the heart of intellectual Italy. This work determined further fate unique person.

Youth

In parallel with work, the young da Vinci studied the humanities and technical sciences.

Over the years, he has learned:

• metallurgy;
• chemistry;
• drawing;
• sculpture;
• drawing;
• modeling.

Together with talent, in the workshop of Verrocchio, they studied famous masters Agnolo di Polo, Lorenzo di Credi, Perugino. At the age of 20, Leonardo received the qualification of a master in the Guild of St. Luke. After 4 years, he was accused of sodomy, but was acquitted at the trial.

The first artistic masterpieces

The first masterpiece of Leonardo was the painting "The Baptism of Christ", which was ordered by Verrocchio.

The master asked the student to draw one of the two angels and a landscape. Andrea himself painted the rest of the canvas, including the second angel. The difference between them turned out to be colossal - da Vinci's angel turned out better. Verrocchio was so amazed that he abandoned his brush.

The next works of the genius were "The Annunciation", "Madonna with a Vase", "Madonna Benois".

It is hard to imagine that these masterpieces appeared from under the brush of a 20-year-old guy.

Leonardo received his first big order at the age of 30. The monastery of San Donato a Sisto asked to paint the canvas "Adoration of the Magi", which da Vinci never finished.

At the same age, the artist was engaged in another major work - the painting "Saint Jerome".

Personal life

Da Vinci was reputed famous person and during his lifetime - he was always surrounded by friends and students. But the master did not want to disclose intimate relationships.

For 67 years, he never married. Some historians believe that there was a love affair between the genius and Cecilia Gallerani, from whom the portrait of the “Lady with an Ermine” was written off.

Other historians claim that the Italian preferred men. One of the students named Salai, who served as the master's sitter for the paintings "John the Baptist" and "Bacchus", was allegedly the teacher's lover. There is also a theory that Leonardo was a virgin and did not love anyone, devoting himself to the study of the unknown.

last years of life

In the last years of his life, the Italian lived in the Clos Luce castle, accepting the invitation of the French King Francis I.

He almost did not draw, but he successfully organized holidays at court, and also planned a new palace in Romorantan, a spiral staircase in the castle of Chambord, a canal between Saone and Loire.

At the age of 65, Leonardo became difficult to move, became numb right hand. Before his death, he was constantly in bed, walking only with the help of loved ones.

The genius of all times died on May 2, 1519, in the castle of Clos Luce, among his students and masterpieces.

buried brilliant artist in the castle of Amboise and in his honor, an inscription was knocked out on the tombstone, which says that the ashes rest in the walls of the monastery the greatest man who visited the French kingdom.

The work of Leonardo da Vinci

He left behind many discoveries, works of art, records that provide detailed encyclopedic information on various sciences.

Art

Contemporaries know da Vinci as an artist, although the master himself considered painting only a hobby, and with age he devoted less and less time to it. But even in it, the genius succeeded - he created his own technique, put Renaissance painting on a new, higher level.

He painted not only in tempera, which was used by most artists of the era, but also in oil, which gave the figures figurativeness.

Da Vinci masterfully played the lyre. When he was tried, the case was about a musician, not an artist or an inventor. It is believed that he was engaged in sculpture. But only the terracotta head has survived to this day.

Scientific inventions of the "Magician from Science"

Leonardo was deeply engaged in science, he created many things that made life easier for mankind. Although half of them are called attributed to the author, it is still deserved.

The list is impressive:

• Submarine;
• diving suit;
• parachute
• armored tank;
• two-lens telescope;
• portable bridge;
• spotlight;
• self-propelled cart (car prototype);
• bearing;
• robot;
• wheel lock, which became popular during the life of the creator.

Da Vinci was obsessed with the idea of ​​flight and dreamed of designing an airplane. Among his drawings found a diagram aircraft ornithopter, which the inventor did not have time to try.

Anatomy and medicine

Leonardo made thousands of medical notes and anatomical sketches. He sought to study the human body in detail. For this, the scientist even performed autopsies of corpses himself. He managed to almost exactly reproduce a person from the inside, only the female reproductive system turned out to be inaccurate.

The genius founded dynamic anatomy, invented a glass model for studying heart valves, was the first to determine the proportions of the skeleton and disproved many theories about medicine of that time. He was ahead of anatomical practice by 300 years.

Literature of the great thinker

The literary heritage of the Italian has come down to posterity in a chaotic form. After the death of the genius, his student and friend Francesco Melzi compiled a Treatise on Painting from passages on art, which was published in 1651.

In addition to these passages, many prose works can be found in Leonardo's notes:

• fables,
• facies (joking stories);
• aphorisms;
• allegories;
• prophecies.

Among the latter, half have already come true. So, the genius predicted the appearance of telephone communication, a two-handed saw, agricultural machines. Other prophecies that have not yet come true are more like biblical ones - they talk about demons and cataclysms.

Diaries of Leonardo

The great Leonardo kept 120 diaries, of which approximately 7,000 pages have survived to date. On them you can find drawings of various inventions, sketches of human anatomy, notes young artists, architects, musicians, philosophical sayings, comic works, fables and prophecies.

Everything is written with the left hand and in mirror image - from left to right. Mirror code da Vinci was unraveled only at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Priceless diaries after the death of the author were kept by Francesco Melzi, and then the manuscripts inexplicably disappeared. Only separate fragments found with friends and relatives of Leonardo. For the first time, part of the diaries was published by Carlo Amoretti, the curator of the Ambrosian Library.

Students - young painters da Vinci

Having become a master, Leonardo da Vinci founded his own workshop, in which he taught others the art. Among young students, fame gained:

• Bernardino Luini;
• Ambrogio de Predis;
• Francesco Melzi;
• Andrea Solario;
• Giovanni Boltraffio;
• Cesare da Sesto;
• Giampetrino.

Master passed practical advice young painters in their diaries. He advised developing memory and imagination, finding new and surprising things in ordinary forms, paying more attention to nature, studying paintings. famous artists, history and theory of painting, start practicing prepared.

Interesting facts, secrets and fictions of the artist

The personality of da Vinci is surrounded by mystery. He was considered a black magician, an alien or a time traveler. Close friends appreciated and loved him, jealously guarding secrets.

Yet some Interesting Facts authentically known to contemporaries:

1. The genius was the first to understand. In his diaries, he wrote that the lighted particles of air located between the Earth and space are to blame. It is noteworthy that Leonardo called the cosmos "celestial blackness."
2. In his diaries, da Vinci referred to himself as "you", also speaking to potential readers. This indicates an unstable mental state.
3. The Italian slept for 15 minutes every four hours. This sleep technique has been used for many centuries. It helps to increase productivity, improve well-being, reduce the time spent on sleep.

Disputes about who Leonardo da Vinci was - a mystical or just a non-standard person are still ongoing. In any case, this was a unique multifaceted person who had the greatest impact on civilization. You can love or hate him, but it is impossible not to admire him.

Great italian artist and Renaissance inventor Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small village of Anchiano LU, located near the town of Vinci (Vinci FI). He was the illegitimate son of a wealthy notary, Piero da Vinci, and a beautiful villager, Katarina. Shortly after this event, the notary married a girl noble birth. They had no children, and Piero and his wife took a three-year-old child to their place.

Birth of an artist

The short period of childhood in the village is over. The notary Piero moved to Florence, where he apprenticed his son to Andrea del Veroccio, a famous Tuscan master. There, in addition to painting and sculpture, future artist got the opportunity to study the basics of mathematics and mechanics, anatomy, work with metals and plaster, and methods of leather dressing. The young man eagerly absorbed knowledge and later widely used it in his activities.

interesting creative biography the maestro belongs to the pen of his contemporary Giorgio Vasari. In Vasari's Life of Leonardo, Short story about how Andrea del Verrocchio attracted a student to fulfill the order "Baptism of Christ" (Battesimo di Cristo). The angel, painted by Leonardo, so clearly demonstrated his superiority over the teacher that the latter threw away the brush in annoyance and never painted again.

The qualification of the master was awarded to him by the guild of St. Luke. Leonardo da Vinci spent the next year of his life in Florence. His first mature picture– “The Adoration of the Magi” (Adorazione dei Magi), made to order for the monastery of San Donato.

Milan period (1482 - 1499)

Leonardo came to Milan as a messenger of peace from Lorenzo Medici(Lorenzo di Medici) to Lodovico Sforza, nicknamed Moro. Here his work took a new direction. He was enrolled in the court staff, first as an engineer and only later as an artist.

The Duke of Milan, a cruel and narrow-minded man, was little interested in the creative component of Leonardo's personality. The ducal indifference worried the master even less. Interests converged in one. Moreau needed engineering devices for warfare and mechanical structures for the amusement of the court. Leonardo understood this like no one else. His mind did not doze, the master was sure that the possibilities of a person are endless. His ideas were close to the humanists of modern times, but largely incomprehensible to contemporaries.

Two important works belong to the same period - (Il Cenacolo) for the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie (Chiesa e Convento Domenicano di Santa Maria delle Grazie) and the painting "Lady with an Ermine" (Dama con l'ermellino).

The second is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of Duke Sforza. The biography of this woman is unusual. One of the most beautiful and learned ladies of the Renaissance, she was simple and kind, able to get along with people. An affair with a duke saved one of her brothers from prison. She had the most tender relationship with Leonardo, but, according to contemporaries and the opinion of most researchers, their brief relationship remained platonic.

A more common (and also not confirmed) version of intimate relationships masters with students Francesco Melzi and Salai. The artist preferred to keep the details of his personal life a deep secret.

Moreau ordered the master equestrian statue Francesco Sforza. The necessary sketches were made and a clay model of the future monument was made. Further work was hampered by the French invasion of Milan. The artist left for Florence. Here he will return, but to another master - the French king Louis XII (Louis XII).

Again in Florence (1499 - 1506)

The return to Florence was marked by the entry into the service of the Duke of Cesare Borgia (Cesare Borgia) and the creation of the most famous canvas - "La Gioconda" (Gioconda). New job assumed frequent trips, the master traveled around Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria with various assignments. His main mission was reconnaissance and preparation of the area for hostilities by Cesare, who planned to subjugate the Papal States. Cesare Borgia was considered the greatest villain Christendom, but Leonardo admired his perseverance and remarkable talent as a commander. He argued that the Duke's vices were balanced by "equally great virtues". ambitious plans the great adventurer did not come true. Master in 1506 returned to Milan.

Later years (1506 - 1519)

The second Milan period lasted until 1512. The Maestro studied the structure human eye, worked on the monument to Giacomo Trivulzio (Gian Giacomo Trivulzio) and his own self-portrait. In 1512 the artist moved to Rome. Giovanni di Medici, son, was elected pope under the name of Leo X (Leo X). The pope's brother, Duke Giuliano di Medici, highly appreciated the work of his compatriot. After his death, the master accepted the invitation of King Francis I (François I) and left for France in 1516.

Francis proved to be the most generous and grateful patron. The maestro settled in the picturesque castle of Clos Lucé (Le Clos Lucé) in Touraine, where he had every opportunity to do what he was interested in. By royal commission, he designed a lion, from whose chest a bouquet of lilies opened. French period was the happiest in his life. The king appointed his engineer an annual annuity of 1000 ecu and donated land with vineyards, ensuring a peaceful old age. The life of the maestro ended in 1519. He bequeathed his notes, instruments and estates to his students.

Paintings

Inventions and works

Most of inventions of the master was not created during his lifetime, remaining only in notes and drawings. An airplane, a bicycle, a parachute, a tank… He had a dream of flying, the scientist believed that a person can and should fly. Studied bird behavior and sketched wings different forms. His design for a two-lens telescope is surprisingly accurate, and his diaries include a brief note about the possibility of "seeing the Moon big."

As a military engineer, he was always in demand, the light bridges he invented and the wheel lock for the pistol were used everywhere. He dealt with the problems of urban planning and land reclamation, in 1509 he built the St. Christopher, as well as the Martezana irrigation canal. Duke Moreau rejected his "ideal city" project. A few centuries later, London was built on this project. In Norway there is a bridge built according to his drawing. In France, already being an old man, he designed a canal between the Loire and Saone.

Leonardo's diaries are written in easy, lively language and are interesting to read. His fables, parables and aphorisms speak of the versatility of a great mind.

The secret of genius

There were plenty of secrets in the life of the titan of the Renaissance. The main one opened relatively recently. But did it open? In 1950, a list of the Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion (Prieuré de Sion), a secret organization created in 1090 in Jerusalem, was published. According to the list, Leonardo da Vinci was the ninth of the Grand Masters of the Priory. His predecessor in this amazing post was Sandro Botticelli, and his successor was Constable Charles de Bourbon (Charles III de Bourbon). The main goal of the organization was to restore the Merovingian dynasty to the throne of France. The Priory considered the offspring of this kind to be the descendants of Jesus Christ.

The very existence of such an organization raises doubts among most historians. But such doubts could have been sown by members of the Priory who wished to continue their activities in secret.

If we accept this version as the truth, the master's habit of complete independence and the strange attraction to France for a Florentine become clear. Even Leonardo's writing style - left hand and right to left - can be interpreted as an imitation of Hebrew writing. This seems unlikely, but the scale of his personality allows us to make the most daring assumptions.

Stories about the Priory cause mistrust of scientists, but enrich artistic creativity. Most a prime example- Dan Brown's book "The Da Vinci Code" (Da Vinci Code) and the film of the same name.

• At the age of 24, together with three Florentine youths was accused of sodomy. The company was acquitted for lack of evidence.
• Maestro was a vegetarian. People who consume animal food, he called "walking cemeteries."
• He shocked his contemporaries by the habit of carefully examining and drawing in detail the hanged. Exploring the device human body considered the most important of the activities.
• It is believed that the maestro developed for Cesare Borgia tasteless and odorless poisons and wiretapping devices made of glass tubes.
• TV mini-series "The Life of Leonardo da Vinci"(La vita di Leonardo da Vinci) shot by Renato Castellani, received the Golden Globe Award.
• named after Leonardo da Vinci and is decorated with a huge statue depicting a master with a model helicopter in his hands.

↘️🇮🇹 USEFUL ARTICLES AND SITES 🇮🇹↙️ SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Drama, detective, adventure, history
Director People: Peter Hoare, Michael J. Bassett, David S. Goyer
Cast Cast: Tom Riley, Gregg Chillin, Eros Vlahos, Laura Haddock, Blake Ritson, Elliot Cowan, Hera Hilmarsdottir, James Faulkner, Lara Pulver, David Schofield

About the series: Control humanity when it has faith, always easier to manage a group of people for whom nothing is sacred. One of the characters is trying to reveal valuable information to humanity, which is ancient knowledge. But as it turns out, making access open to all is not so simple.
The plot is based on the tragic life of one of the world's greatest artists. Some young heretic makes a revolution in society. He tries by all means and means to prove the religious deception. But others see him only as a rebel. Along with this, the man tries to awaken his father's conscience. But he is only recognized as an illegitimate child in response to his pleas for justice.
The heretic awakens from the sleep of numerous passions. The conflict is growing. Now its scale is difficult to assess. Only one thing is clear that the scandalous form must be urgently translated into the mainstream of peace negotiations. The past and the present are closely intertwined in one ball, in which there is also the presence of a thread of the future.
Leonardo appears on the scene. He is trying to restore justice by the methods known to him. But until the moment of contact with others, the hero will have to win the battle with his own demons lurking in the soul. The celebration of victory is already very close. But Leonardo is not able to cope with this problem without the help of loved ones. And yet he was destined to fight this fight himself. Now he is waiting for the time to gather strength for a decisive blow. He turns the story around, changing the course of events, and the audience continues to watch everything that happens on the screen with bated breath.
The free future is now becoming available to us, since Leonardo managed to discover the path of truth, feelings and love, the path of creativity and justice for all mankind. He destroyed the devil that sits in each of us, proving to the world and humanity that only the bright beginning worthily fills our hearts.
The film is an amazing riddle in content, a kind of mystical rebus, a message to future generations from the past from one of prominent people past centuries. The eternal struggle of evil and good formed the basis for the creation of this film project, so the picture will remain relevant and loved in several hundred years. And the actor's game makes the character as bright, memorable and charismatic as possible.

Leonardo da Vinci is an Italian scientist, inventor, artist and writer. One of the brightest representatives the Renaissance. Considered by many researchers to be the most brilliant man all times and peoples.

Biography

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small village of Anchiano, not far from Florence. His father Piero was a notary, his mother Katerina was a simple peasant woman. Shortly after Leonardo's birth, his father left the family, marrying a wealthy woman. Leonardo spent his first years with his mother. Then the father, who could not have children with his new wife, took the boy to be brought up with him. When he was 13 years old, his stepmother died. The father remarried and became a widower again. His attempts to interest his son in the notarial business were unsuccessful.

As a teenager, Leonardo began to demonstrate extraordinary talent artist. His father sends him to Florence, to the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio. Here he mastered humanitarian sciences, chemistry, drawing, metallurgy. The apprentice was actively engaged in sculpture, drawing, modeling.

When Leonardo was 20 years old (in 1473), the Guild of St. Luke awarded Leonardo da Vinci the qualification of a master. Then Leonardo had a hand in creating the painting "The Baptism of Christ", which was painted by his teacher Andrea del Verrocchio. Da Vinci's brushes belong to part of the landscape and an angel. Already here the nature of Leonardo as an innovator is manifested - he uses oil paints which were new in Italy at the time. Verrocchio instructs a talented student to deal with orders for paintings, while he focuses on sculpture. Leonardo's first self-painted painting was Enlightenment.

After this, a period of life begins, which is characterized by the artist's passion for the image of the Madonna. He creates paintings "Madonna Benois", "Madonna with a Carnation", "Madonna Litta". A number of unfinished sketches on the same subject have been preserved.

In 1481, the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto commissioned Leonardo to paint The Adoration of the Magi. Work on it was interrupted and abandoned. Already at that time, da Vinci was "famous" for his tendency to suddenly leave work unfinished. The Medici family, ruling in Florence, did not favor the artist, so he decided to leave the city.

In 1482, Leonardo went to Milan to the court of Lodovico Sforza, where he played the lute. The artist hoped to get a reliable patron in the person of Sforza, offering his services as an inventor of weapons for this. However, Sforza was not a fan of open conflicts, but of intrigue and poisoning.

In 1483, da Vinci received his first order in Milan - for the painting of the altar from the Franciscan brotherhood. Immaculate Conception. Three years later, the work was completed, and then another 25 years lasted trial regarding payment for work.

Soon orders begin to arrive from Sforza. Leonardo becomes a court painter, paints portraits and works on a statue of Francesco Sforza. The statue itself was never completed - the ruler decided to use bronze for the manufacture of cannons.

In Milan, Leonardo begins to create a "Treatise on Painting". This work lasted until the death of a genius. Da Vinci invents a rolling mill, a machine for the production of files, a loom for making cloth. All these valuable inventions did not interest Sforza. Also during this period, Leonardo creates sketches of temples, takes part in the construction of the Milan Cathedral. He developed the city sewer system, carried out land reclamation work.

In 1495, work begins on The Last Supper, which ends after 3 years. In 1498, the painting of the Sala delle Asse in Castello Sforzesco ends.

In 1499, Sforza loses power, Milan is captured French troops. Leonardo had to leave the city, and the next year he returned to Florence. Here he paints the paintings "Madonna with a spindle" and "St. Anna with Mary and the baby."

In 1502, Leonardo became an architect and chief engineer in the service of Cesare Borgia. During this period, da Vinci designs canals to drain swamps, creates military maps.

In 1503, work began on the portrait of Mona Lisa. For the next decade, Leonardo wrote little, trying to devote more time to anatomy, mathematics and mechanics.

In 1513, Leonardo comes under the patronage of Giuliano Medici and comes with him to Rome. Here for three years he studies the manufacture of mirrors, mathematics, explores human voice and creates new formulations of paints. In 1517, after the death of the Medici, Leonardo became a court painter in Paris. Here he works on land reclamation, hydrography and very often communicates with King Francis I.

On May 2, 1519, at the age of 67, Leonardo da Vinci died. His body was buried in the church of Saint Florentin, but the grave was lost during many years of wars.

Main achievements of da Vinci

• Leonardo's contribution to the development of the world artistic culture. He became the founder of a new painting technique.
• Ring pistol lock.
• Tank.
• Parachute.
• Bike.
• Portable military bridges.
• Catapult.
• Spotlight.
• Telescope.
• Robot.
• Leonardo left a huge legacy in literature as well. Most of his works have survived to this day poorly ordered, and often written in cryptography.

Important dates in da Vinci's biography

• April 15, 1452 - birth in Anchiano.
• 1466 - the beginning of work in the workshop of Verrocchio.
• 1472 - becomes a member of the Florentine Guild of Artists. Starts work on the paintings "The Annunciation", "The Baptism of Christ", "Madonna with a Vase".
• 1478 - opening of his own workshop.
• 1482 - moving to Milan to the court of Lodovico Sforza.
• 1487 - work on a winged machine - an ornithopter.
• 1490 - the creation of the famous drawing "Vitruvian Man".
• 1495-1498 - creation of the fresco " The Last Supper».
• 1499 - departure from Milan.
• 1502 - service with Cesare Borgia.
• 1503 - arrival in Florence. The beginning of work on the painting "Mona Lisa". Finished in 1506.
• 1506 - service with the French king Louis XII.
• 1512 - "Self-portrait".
• 1516 - moving to Paris.
• May 2, 1519 - died in the castle of Clos Luce in France.

• He masterfully played the lyre.
• He was the first to scientifically explain the blue of the sky.
• Worked equally well with both hands.
• Most researchers tend to believe that da Vinci was a vegetarian.
• Leonardo's diaries are written in mirror image.
• Was fond of cooking. Created his specialty of the house"From Leonardo", which was highly appreciated at the court worlds.
• IN computer game"Assassin's Creed 2" da Vinci presented as minor character helping the protagonist with his inventions.
• Despite the good home education, Leonardo felt a lack of knowledge of Latin and Greek.
• According to some suggestions, Leonardo loves carnal pleasures with men. Once he was sued for harassing a posing boy. However, da Vinci was acquitted.
• Leonardo was the first to establish that the light of the moon is the light of the sun reflected from the earth.
• Compiled a list of synonyms for the word "penis". And a very long list.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the village of Anchiato near the city of Vinci (hence the prefix to his surname). The boy's father and mother were not married, so Leonardo spent his first years with his mother. Soon his father, who served as a notary, took him to his family.

In 1466, da Vinci became an apprentice in the studio of the artist Verrocchio in Florence, where Perugino, Agnolo di Polo, Lorenzo di Credi also studied, Botticelli worked, Ghirlandaio visited, etc. At this time, Leonardo became interested in drawing, sculpture and modeling, studied metallurgy, chemistry , drawing, mastered work with plaster, leather, metal. In 1473, da Vinci qualified as a master at the Guild of Saint Luke.

Early creativity and scientific activity

At first creative way Leonardo devoted almost all his time to working on paintings. In 1472 - 1477 the artist created the paintings "The Baptism of Christ", "Annunciation", "Madonna with a Vase". In the late 1970s, he completed The Madonna with a Flower. Madonna Benois"). In 1481 the first big work in the work of Leonardo da Vinci - "The Adoration of the Magi".

In 1482 Leonardo moved to Milan. Since 1487, da Vinci has been developing a flying machine, which was based on bird flight. Leonardo first created the simplest apparatus based on wings, and then developed the mechanism of an airplane with full control. However, it was not possible to bring the idea to life, since the researcher did not have a motor. In addition, Leonardo studied anatomy and architecture, discovered botany as an independent discipline.

Mature period of creativity

In 1490, da Vinci creates the painting "Lady with an Ermine", as well as the famous drawing "Vitruvian Man", which is sometimes called " canonical proportions". In 1495 - 1498, Leonardo worked on one of his most important works - the fresco "The Last Supper" in Milan in the monastery of Santa Maria del Grazie.

In 1502, da Vinci entered the service of Cesare Borgia as a military engineer and architect. In 1503 the artist creates the painting "Mona Lisa" ("La Gioconda"). Since 1506, Leonardo has served under King Louis XII of France.

Last years

In 1512, the artist, under the auspices of Pope Leo X, moved to Rome.

From 1513 to 1516, Leonardo da Vinci lived in the Belvedere, working on the painting "John the Baptist". In 1516, Leonardo, at the invitation of the French king, settled in the Clos-Luce castle. Two years before his death, the artist's right hand went numb, it was difficult for him to move independently. Last years his short biography Leonardo da Vinci spent in bed.

Died great artist And scientist Leonardo da Vinci on May 2, 1519 at the Clos Luce castle near Amboise, France.

Other biography options

Biography test

An interesting test for knowledge of the biography of Leonardo da Vinci.