Born in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci owes his name to the town of Vinci near Florence. In 1469 he began working in the prestigious workshop of Verrocchio (1435-1488), where he learned different techniques from his master, a goldsmith, painter, sculptor and metal worker rolled into one. Around 1482 Leonardo moved to Milan to the court of Ludovic Sforza, Duke of Milan, where he became the “organizer of festivals and spectacles with lavish decoration.” During this period of almost 20 years, he painted and established his subtle draughtsmanship: the contours of the figures are not sharp, but blend together in a series of gradations. This effect is called “sfumato”.
Between 1495 and 1498 he painted The Last Supper which gave a fresh interpretation to the traditional representation of this Biblical episode through the natural quality of the expressions and figures, as well as the illusory nature of the depicted space, which seems to extend the wall of the refectory on which it is painted. He also worked on Ludovic Sforza’s equestrian statue project, drew up plans for churches, and reflected on architectural projects. He put down his artistic thoughts on paper and compiled his notes on anatomy, botany, mechanics and geometry in notebooks.
He left Milan after the Sforzas were overthrown in 1499, travelled to Mantua and then Venice; he then followed Cesare Borgia to Umbria as a military engineer and returned to Florence in 1503. There, he began work on the portrait of the woman known as the Mona Lisa, renowned for its smooth contours and distant, deep landscape. After another trip to Milan he settled for a time in Rome, under the protection of the Cardinal, Julien de Médicis. In 1517 he accepted the invitation of François I, who called him “the king’s supreme painter, architect, and mechanic”; he ended his days in the French court in 1519.
Leonardo da Vinci is the embodiment of the Renaissance artist par excellence: a painter, sculptor and architect, as well as an engineer and writer. Regarded as a master by his contemporaries, he applied himself to collecting together the whole breadth and depth of experience imaginable on the laws of nature and the universe.
