Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. Leonardo was born in a farmhouse in Anchiano, which is about 2 miles away from Vinci. Leonardo's family lived in this area since the 13th century. The father of Leonardo da Vinci, Ser Piero, was a 25 years old public notary when Leonardo was born. In the same year when Leonardo was born Ser Piero married his first wife. He didn't marry the mother of Leonardo, because she was a daughter of a farmer. The mother of Leonardo was called Catarina.

Leonardo lived probably in Anchiano for five years until he settled to Vinci. Vinci is a small town, placed at the foot of "Monte Albano", in the most wonderful place on earth the Tuscany in Italy. In 1457 Leonardo moved in with his grandfather from Anchiano to Vinci. In Vinci, Leonardo went to school. Leonardo learned to write, to read and to calculate.

English: Studies of Embryos by Leonardo da Vinci (...

tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic

English: Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. Red c...

Also he was taught in geometry and Latin. Later Leonardo tried to improve his knowledge in Latin, because he thought that he didn't learn enough Latin in school. Perhaps this is the reason why Leonardo did his notes in Italian.

Leonardo lived in Vinci until 1466. At the age of 14 Leonardo moved to Florence where he began an apprenticeship in the workshop of Verrocchio. Verrocchio was at this time the most gifted and famous artist in Florence. He was a sculptor, painter, goldsmith, bronze caster and more. Verrocchio was fascinated by the drawings of the young Leonardo and so he gave him a place in his workshop. Leonardo worked at the workshop of Verrocchio with some other famous artists like Botticelli, Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi. Leonardo started his apprenticeship with the mixing of colors and then he painted simple parts of paintings. There are no...