2. He was born in 1452 in the Tuscan village of
Vinci. Italy was then a patchwork of city-
states like Florence, Venice and small
republics as fiefs under the power of princes
or the pope. The Eastern Roman Empire fell in
1453 and, the Holy Roman Empire, was a
violent time in which, however, the
splendor of the courts had no limits.

3. He started drawing mythical beasts of
his own invention, inspired by
a profound observation of the natural
environment in which it grew.
His father allowed him, when
Leonardo was fourteen years
to enter as an apprentice in the
workshop of Andrea del Verrocchi,

4. Leonardo made his studies of anatomy and a
knowledge of Latin and Greek in the workshop
of Antonio Pollaiuollo.
In 1482 he moved to Milan, offering his services
to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, Milan had
gone as ambassador of Florence, in the plan of
the Medici of Florence dissemination of art as a
source of prestige and cultural propaganda
tool. In Milan he spent 17 years working in
various projects of all kinds, both artistic and
scientific, in which the desire to experience
the primary objective.

5. After the invasion of Milan by French forces,
returns to Florence, improved their knowledge
of anatomy, was commissioned to decorate a
room in the Council Chamber, never finished. In
1506 he returned to Milan and the following
year entered the service of Louis XIII of France,
who worked as a painter and engineer. Between
1513 and 1516 in Rome, but aware that it can
not compete with Michelangelo accepted the
invitation of Francis I of France and moved
there, and died in the castle of Cloux, near
Amboise, in 1519.

6. His personal life is largely a mystery, just have
come indications of their habits, tastes or
defects. It is known that it was strictly
vegetarian, from his letters and writings on
anatomy, which calls omnivores "eaters of
corpses." It also seems fairly established that
Leonardo was homosexual, suffered persecution
for this and was about to face the Inquisition.
Its always managed to elude guards the public
trial in other cases ended with the burning at
the stake of the alleged culprits. In any case,
Leonardo remained unmarried and childless.
He died on 2 of May in 1519 in Cloux.

8. The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da
Vinci circa 1487. It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the
famed architect, Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in pen and ink on
paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his
arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and
square.
It is stored in the Gallerie dell’
Accademia in Venice, Italy.

9. Lady with an ermine is a painting by
Leonardo da Vinci, from around 1489–
1490. The subject of the portrait is
identified as Cecilia Gallerani, and was
probably painted at a time when she was
the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of
Milan, and Leonardo was in the service of
the Duke.
It is currently displayed in the Wawal
Castle, Krakow, Poland.

10. The painting, thought to be a portrait of
Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del
Giocondo, is in oil on a poplar panel, and
is believed to have been painted between
1503 and 1506.It was acquired by King
Francis I of France and is now the
property of the French Republic, on
permanent display at the Musée du Louvre
in Paris.The ambiguity of the subject's
expression, frequently described as
enigmatic, the monumentality of the
composition, the subtle modeling of forms
and the atmospheric illusionism were
novel qualities that have contributed to
the continuing fascination and study of
the work.

11. It is a little less than life-size,
carved out of a single block of
marble. Michelangelo made it
when he was only 23 for a
French cardinal living in Rome.
Now it is in St. Peter’s Basilica.
It is the only statue
Michelangelo ever put his name
on.