Leonardo Da Vinci

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Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance time period, especially in sculpturing, architecture, engineering, and science and painting. His new styles and techniques in painting have influenced many Italian and other artists around the world. Leonardo's did also scientific studies and experiments in anatomy, optics and hydraulics. Many of these studies have anticipated modern scientific developments.

Leonardo was born in Vinci, near Florence, where his family settled in the mid-1460. He was given the best education in Florence, a major intellectual and artistic center of Italy. About in 1466 he was apprenticed as an assistant to Andrea del Verrocchio, the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his day.

In 1478 Leonardo became an independent master. His first large painting, The Adoration of the Magi was left unfinished. Although the painting was left unfinished the Monastery of San Donato in Scopeto bought it in 1481.

The painting introduced a new approach to composition, in which the main figures are grouped in the foreground, while the background consists of distant views of battle scenes.

About in 1482 Leonardo entered the service of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, as principal engineer in military enterprises and as an architect. The most important of his paintings during this period was The Virgin of the Rocks.

From 1495 to 1497 Leonardo worked on his masterpiece, The Last Supper, a wall painting in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. He also did other paintings and drawings like theatre designs, architectural drawings, and models for the dome of Milan Cathedral. Most of these paintings and drawings have been lost.

In the 1500 he returned to Florence, where two years later he entered the service of Cesare Borgia, the Duke of Romagna. As...