Leonardo da Vinci

Introduction

One of the greatest figures of the High Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), a painter, sculptor, engineer, and scientist. He began his career as a painter in Florence, then worked in Milan and Rome before moving permanently to France during his final years. He also served as a military engineer while working as an artist. Leonardo produced many paintings, but only a few have survived. -- Leonardo Da Vinci, Renaissance and Reformation Almanac

(b Anchiano or Vinci, 15 Apr. 1452; d chateau of Cloux, nr. Amboise, 2 May 1519). Florentine artist, scientist, and thinker, the most versatile genius of the Italian Renaissance and one of the most revered and influential of all painters. Leonardo was born in or near the small town of Vinci, a day's journey from Florence. His father was a notary, and Leonardo was his illegitimate son by a peasant girl. Vasari's biography and other early sources testify that he was blessed with remarkable beauty and charm as well as an extraordinary mind. -- Oxford Dictionary of Art