Artist, engineer, scientist, inventor, musician—Leonardo da Vinci did it all. And he did it well.
As a painter, he created the Mona Lisa, the most famous work of art in the world. As an inventor, he made sketches of tanks, planes, submarines, and helicopters. Yet those machines were not actually produced until hundreds of years after his death. Called one of the greatest thinkers and creators of all time, Leonardo was highly skilled in architecture, sculpture, biology, botany, anatomy, geology, optics, and city planning. Those who knew him said he sang beautifully and was a fine musician. And that’s not all. Contemporaries described him as kind, generous, and charming.
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in or near the town of Vinci, in central Italy. Da Vinci means “from Vinci.” Little is known of his early life. His father’s elderly parent brought him up, and he probably had only an elementary education.
So, how did this son of a peasant woman and a notary (a law clerk) grow from a curious child to a man of startling brilliance and one of the world’s most talented artists? Read on.
