Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519

Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 and was the illegitimate son of Piero da Vinci. Leonardo was a very gifted child, with outstanding mathematical, musical and artistic abilities. However, his favorite thing to do was draw. His father could see his talent, and took some of his drawings to Andrea Del Verrichio, the leading artist in Florence, who also recognized his ability. His father arranged for him to learn from Verrochio. His talent soon surpassed his master, and at age 24 he moved to Milan to work independently.

Throughout his life Leonardo started many projects, but finished few. As a perfectionst, he would spend days perfecting a small aspect of whatever he was working on. As he neared death he began to regret not finishing most of his projects and many of his notebooks contained this line:

"Tell me if anything at all was done, tell me if anything at all was done...."

Today we recognize that Leonardo was probably history's greatest genius. He was an painter, sculptor, engineer, inventor, and biologist. He was, in every aspect, a jack of all trades, or the "Quintessential Renaissance Man". As an inventor, his ideas were far ahead of his time. His sketches were accurate, precise, and immensely detailed. Everything Leonardo did has had a lasting affect on our history and the development of technology.

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