Leonardo, the son of the master Piero of Vinci, was born in Florence on April 15, 1452. Leonardo was the illegitimate child of Piero da Vinci, a young notary, Messer/Ser (meaning Master), and probably Caterina, a farmer's daughter. He was born in Anchiano, near the town of Vinci.
Italian hezârfen, who lived during the Renaissance, was an important philosopher, astronomer, architect, engineer, inventor, mathematician, anatomist, musician, sculptor, botanist, geologist, cartographer, writer and painter of his time.
Leonardo, who lived in Vinci until the age of 14, went to Florence with his father in 1466 after his grandparents died one after the other. Since children out of wedlock were forbidden from going to university, they had no chance of receiving a university education.
When Leonardo, who made beautiful drawings from a young age, showed his paintings to his father, Andrea del Verrocchio, the famous painter and sculptor of the period, Verrochio took him on as an apprentice. He had the opportunity to work with famous artists such as Lorenzo di Credi and Pietro Perugino, as well as Leonardo Verrocchio. In the workshop, he learned not only to paint but also to play the lyre. He played really well.
He left Florence in 1482 and entered the service of Sforza, Duke of Milan. The letter he did not send, in which he explained that he could build bridges, weapons, ships, bronze, marble and clay statues in order to enter the duke's service, was accepted as the most extraordinary job application of all time.
Da Vinci, who worked on various works throughout his adventure in Milan, also painted 'The Last Supper' here in the dining room of Santa-Maria delle-Grazie. This fresco, measuring 9.10X4 20, is another very popular work with its mathematical details and the secrets it contains.
Leonardo, who left Milan in 1499 and started looking for a new protector, traveled in Italy for 16 years. He worked for many people, leaving most of his works unfinished.
It is said that he started working on Mona Lisa, considered one of the best paintings in human history, in 1503. After completing this painting, he never left it with him and carried it with him on all his travels. He returned to Florence upon the news of his father's death in 1504. He fought with his brothers for the right to inherit, but his efforts were unsuccessful. However, his beloved uncle left all his wealth to him.
In 1506, Leonardo met Count Francesco Melzi, the 15-year-old son of a Lombardy aristocrat. Melzi became his best student and closest for the rest of his life. The young man whom he took under his protection in 1490 when he was 10 years old and named Salai, was with him for 30 years, but this young man, known as his student, did not produce any artistic work. The relationship between Leonardo and il Saliano is not considered “easy”. In 1491, he described Leonardo il Salaino as "thief, liar, stubborn and foulmouthed" and likened him to the "Little Devil". Nevertheless, il Salaino remained in Leonardo's service as his companion, servant and assistant for 30 years. Leonardo continued to call il Salaino “The Little Devil.” Drawn naked in Leonardo's artist notebooks, il Salaino is depicted as a handsome and curly-haired teenager. Some researchers suggest that il Salaino is the Vitruvian Man.
He lived in Rome between 1513 and 1516 and took part in various projects developed for the Pope. He continued to work in anatomy and physiology. Anatomy studies became a subject on which da Vinci increasingly focused. He approached the human organism as a perfect machine whose operating rules he was curious about.
He was clarifying everything he saw and observed by drawing. He revealed the details of anatomy with his detailed drawings. His drawings are extremely clear despite some minor inaccuracies. For his famous drawing of a baby in the womb, he examined cows and adapted the results to humans. After the Pope forbade him to work on human anatomy, he continued his research on the circulatory system by working with bovine hearts.
After the death of his guardian Giuliano de' Medici in 1516, he received an invitation from King Francis I to become the chief painter, engineer and architect of France. He settled in the mansion prepared for him, right next to the Royal Palace near Amboise, southwest of Paris. The king, who greatly admired Leonardo, often came to visit and chat.
Leonardo died at his home in Amboise on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67. It is rumored that he died in the king's arms, but it is known that the king was in another city on May 1 and could not come there in one day. In his will, he left the main part of his inheritance to Melzi. He was buried in the Church of Saint Florentin in Amboise.