Leonardo da Vinci, the Greatest Artist that Ever Lived

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of a peasant girl named Caterina, and a notary, Ser Piero. Leonardo had 17 half brothers and sisters, born to both his father, and his mother and her new husband. His father took custody of him when he was very young, and when he was 15 he sent him to work as an apprentice to Andrea del Verrochio, a renowned painter. Da Vinci showed great talent, and painted an angel called, "The Baptism of Christ." This painting was thought to be an even better painting than his masters, and Verrochio said he would never paint again. Leonardo stayed with Verrochio until 1477. It was during these years that he painted "The Last Supper."

In 1482 Leonardo started work for the Duke of Milan. This is when his work really began to be noticed, however, he only produced around 6 paintings because of his inability to complete a project. He was so interested in other things that he would drop what he was doing to begin the study of another subject. He studied and designed weapons, buildings, machinery, geometry, nature, canals and architecture. He began to record his studies and draw illustrations of his subjects of interest in notebooks in 1490, and these have become rare collectibles that are worth millions of dollars today. Bill Gates purchased a set of Da Vinci's notebooks for 30 million dollars!

Leonardo stayed with the Duke of Milan for 17 years, then worked for the King of Francis 1 obtaining the title, "Premier Painter, Engineer, and Architecture of the King." In 1503 his father died and his step brothers and sisters cheated him out of his fathers inheritance, however, when his uncle passed away, he inherited his home and land. In 1504 Leonardo opened his own workshop, both teaching, painting, and designing. This is when he started work on the "Mona Lisa." During this time Leonardo's right hand became paralyzed, but he continued to draw and teach, and he continued studying the movement of various animals, mainly cats and horses, and he also drew sketches of many different types of machinery. Leonardo passed away on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67. It is said that King Francis was holding him in his arms when he took his last breath.