Leonardo da Vinci was a remarkable man in the times of old and still is today. Leonardo lived during the Renaissance which was a scientific revolution which took place from about 1350 until 1600. In the course of the Renaissance men were aimed upon only learning about, using, and extending the knowledge and techniques of men of former times. He was so phenomenal that he was and is expansively known as a "Renaissance Man." A "Renaissance Man" as a text book definition was a person who excels in many fields of work and knowledge, but evidently he or she was a universal genius/man. And that is frankly what da Vinci was.
Leonardo was born in a village in central Italy called Vinci, on April 15, 1452, during the time of the Renaissance. He was born as the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci, who was a thriving landowner or craftsman, and his mother, Caterina, who was a peasant girl.
tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic
English: Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. Red c...
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Galleria dell'...It has been suggested that Caterina was a slave of Middle Eastern origin owned by Piero, but the evidence is inadequate. He lived with his father in Florence and had very little formal education, which analysts claim allowed him to escape the faulty theories of the time and let his extraordinary mind range freely over the problems of philosophy, science, engineering, music, sculpture, and painting. Then when he was fourteen he was apprenticed to the skilful Florence painter, Andrea del Verrocchio. During his life he also met with great intellectuals and artists of the time, who combined with his astounding aptitude and unquenchable inquisitiveness about a number of cultural areas, affected his work.
Leonardo da Vinci was an extraordinary man and even without formal education he was an architect, inventor, engineer, sculptor, painter, scientist, musician, mathematician, anatomist, philosopher, astronomer,