At times, however, beauty, charm, and virtue unite in a single person to such an extraordinary degree that, wherever they turn, every one of their actions appears divine, leaving all other mortals far behind. It becomes unmistakably clear: their achievements are bestowed by God, not attained through human skill. This was evident in Leonardo da Vinci, who, in addition to his never-praised-enough physical beauty, possessed a grace more than infinite in everything he did.
Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist, inventor, and scientist who lived during the Renaissance in Italy. He is best known for his paintings Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. However, Leonardo was also an outstanding engineer and inventor, making significant contributions to the field of anatomy. He was a true Renaissance man with a wide range of interests and a profound curiosity about the world around him. He is considered one of the greatest geniuses in history.
Leonardo da Vinci was Italian. He was born in the village of Vinci in Tuscany and spent most of his life in Italy. He lived in Florence, Milan, and Rome. His last three years were spent in France at the French royal court in Amboise.
Leonardo da Vinci lived from 1452 to 1519, approximately 550 years ago. The era in which he lived is now referred to as the Renaissance. The Renaissance (French for 'rebirth') began in the 14th and 15th centuries in Italy and marked the rediscovery of knowledge from the Greek and Roman antiquity, which was thought to have been lost. For example, high-quality ancient statues were discovered during construction work, ancient writings by Greek philosophers were found in libraries, and the engineering achievements of ancient Roman builders were remembered.
The people of the Renaissance aimed to surpass these ancient models. The Renaissance was characterized by a renewed interest in antiquity and classical culture, a focus on individual freedom and human capabilities, and an emphasis on rational thinking and scientific discovery. It became a cultural, scientific, and artistic movement that spread from Italy throughout Europe.
The Renaissance led to numerous significant advancements in art, science, architecture, and philosophy, leaving a lasting impact on Western culture. Alongside Leonardo, famous artists of the Renaissance include Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
There are no contemporary portraits that are definitively considered accurate depictions of Leonardo da Vinci. However, some descriptions suggest that he was tall and handsome. It is important to note that these descriptions are based on second-hand accounts and may not necessarily be accurate. From Leonardo's notebooks, it is known that he dressed in fine clothing and placed great importance on cleanliness and a well-groomed appearance. Although no confirmed portrait of him exists, these four depictions are often assumed to represent Leonardo.
Lionardo is the Italian version of Leonardo. The first name roughly means "strong as a lion." The choice of the name reflects Leonardo's family's pride in their hometown, as the lion "Marzocco" is the emblem of Florence.
In Italy at that time, it was customary to indicate the father's first name after one's own. Leonardo's father was named Piero, hence the name Lionardo di Ser Piero da Vinci.
Leonardo's family had owned land for many generations in a place called Vinci near Florence. That is why they used the suffix "da Vinci," which means "from Vinci." It was not a noble title, but simply an indication of their place of origin.
The title "Ser" was an honorary title for jurists in Italy, and Leonardo's father Piero was a notary in Florence. Therefore, Leonardo's full name was Lionardo di Ser Piero da Vinci, which means "Lionardo, son of the jurist Piero from Vinci."
Likely upon completing his training, Leonardo referred to himself simply as Leonardo da Vinci. Like other Renaissance artists, such as Michelangelo or Raphael, he is usually referred to by his first name alone, Leonardo.
The surname "Vinci" in Italian means "You win" ("Tu vinci," 2nd person singular, present tense).
Later in life, Leonardo learned Latin to read ancient textbooks in their original form. In Latin, "Vinci" has two additional meanings:
Leonardo was aware of the various meanings of his surname and played with them in many ways.
| First Name | Leonardo |
| Last Name | da Vinci |
| Initials | L D V (coincidentally the Roman numerals for 50, 500, and 5, adding up to 555) |
| Birth Name | Lionardo di Ser Piero da Vinci |
| Born | April 15, 1452, in a farmhouse near Vinci, Italy |
| Baptism Date | April 16, 1452, at the parish church of Santa Croce in Vinci, Italy |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Nationality | Italian (Republic of Florence) |
| Era | Renaissance |
| Professions | Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Engineer, Scientist |
| Teacher | Andrea del Verrocchio (Fine Arts) |
| Fellow Students | Sandro Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, Perugino |
| Deceased | May 2, 1519, at the age of 67 |
| Place of Death | At Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, France |
| Burial Site | Cemetery of the Church of St. Florentin, Amboise, exact location now unknown |
| Diet | Vegetarian |
| Handwriting | Left-handed; always wrote in mirror script, likely to avoid smudging the ink |
| Love of Learning | Practiced "lifelong learning" |
| Self-address | Wrote reminders to himself in the second person, e.g., "Make a horse like you did for the Duke." |
| Legal Proceedings | Accused of homosexuality and held in custody, eventually acquitted |
| Painting | Madonna of the Rocks, Lady with an Ermine, La Belle Ferronière, The Last Supper, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Mona Lisa, St. John the Baptist, Vitruvian Man |
| Inventions | Flying machines, helicopter, parachute, automobile and mechanical robots with spring drive, tank, and much more |
| Writings | Treatise on Painting, Codex on the Flight of Birds, Various scientific notes (Codex Atlanticus, Codex Leicester, and more) |
| Students | Francesco Melzi, Jacopo da Pontormo, Andrea Solari, Bernardino Luini, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio |
| Biology | Anatomy, Botany |
| Mathematics | Geometry, Arithmetic |
| Physics | Optics, Astronomy, Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Hydraulics, Fluid Dynamics |
| Languages | Italian, Latin, and French |
| Arts | Painting, Sculpture, Poetry, Singing, various musical instruments |
| Events | Invention of the printing press, development of the heliocentric worldview, discovery of America, Reformation |
| Contemporaries | Johannes Gutenberg, Nicolaus Copernicus, Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther |
Leonardo dies of unknown causes at the age of 67, one week after drafting his will. He is buried in the cloister of the Church of Saint-Florentin, directly below Château d'Amboise.
Leonardo's grave is later destroyed during uprisings, and his presumed remains are subsequently reinterred in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert at Château d'Amboise.
Leonardo da Vinci died 17 days after his 67th birthday. It is interesting to note a pattern in the duration of his stays in each of his primary places of activity. In both Florence and Milan, Leonardo spent 30 years as his main residence. These were followed by three years each in papal Rome and royal Amboise. This can be seen as a reflection of an era that placed great importance on symbolism.
| Duration of Stay | Period | Primary Residence | Remarks |
| 30 years | 1452-1482 | Florence | Birth and youth in Vinci near Florence, training and early independence in Florence |
| 30 (+1) years | 1482-1513 | Milan | Following the expulsion of the Sforza ducal family by the French, Leonardo left the city in 1500 after 18 years and spent six years elsewhere. During this time, he traveled through Northern (1501) and Central Italy (1502-1503). He spent the rest of the time in Florence before returning to Milan, where he worked for another six years under the French occupiers. |
| 3 years | 1513-1516 | Rome | Invited by Pope Leo X of the Florentine banking family Medici. The Medici were lifelong patrons of Leonardo. |
| 3 years | 1516-1519 | Amboise | Invited by King Francis I of France. The French royal house had sought to employ Leonardo for many years. |
The years add up to 66, but Leonardo lived to be 67. This discrepancy can be attributed to a rounding error since the months were not considered here.
The error lies in the years 1512-1513. The French occupiers of Milan, whom Leonardo had worked for since 1506, were expelled, and the former Sforza ducal family regained control of Milan. Leonardo stayed outside the city, waiting for events to unfold. When the French failed to reclaim Milan in 1513, Leonardo left the city for good and accepted the Pope's invitation to Rome. Thus, it would be more accurate to state Leonardo's time in Milan as 30+1 years.
Three of Leonardo's four primary residences are associated with the lily. The lily is the emblem of Florence, was part of the papal coat of arms during Leonardo's time in Rome, and adorned the flag of the royal French court.
Leonardo was aware of the meanings of the lily and incorporated it into his artworks. For example, lilies adorn the green hem of the portrayed woman in the painting “La Belle Ferronière,” which likely depicts a Milanese noblewoman. One of Leonardo's inventions, presumably for the French king, was a mechanical lion. It could walk a few steps and open its chest, which was filled with lilies.
The symbolism of the lily traces back to the Bible, where it is mentioned several times in various contexts:
Leonardo was an illegitimate child. According to the custom of the time, he was raised by his father's family and spent his childhood in the idyllic village of Vinci in Tuscany. However, his father lived in nearby Florence and rarely saw his son. It was only during Leonardo's teenage years that his father brought him to Florence and had him trained as an artist.
After a difficult start, Leonardo's career only began to flourish when he turned 30. At that point, he left Florence for nearly twenty years and moved to Milan. There, Leonardo became very wealthy and world-famous. In his later years, he worked for the Pope in Rome and the King of France. When Leonardo died in France, he was buried with the highest honors at the French royal court.
Almost nothing is known about Leonardo's private life. Despite being handsome and of good character, he remained unmarried and childless. Therefore, it is often speculated that Leonardo was homosexual.
Leonardo created the Mona Lisa, the most expensive painting in the world (estimated value: over 1 billion dollars). Although Leonardo is still considered the greatest painter of all time, he produced very few paintings. He did not sign his works, making it difficult to determine exactly which paintings were created by him. Around 1900, approximately 100 paintings were attributed to Leonardo. However, with increasingly precise methods of examination, the number of Leonardo's works has been narrowed down to only 22 today. It is very likely that the actual number is even smaller, as only seven of these are considered unquestionably authentic.
Five of these paintings are housed in the famous Louvre Museum in Paris. A small portrait, Lady with an Ermine, is displayed in Krakow, Poland. The Last Supper is a mural in a small church in Milan. These seven unquestionably authentic paintings are presented here.
Leonardo da Vinci is considered the epitome of a universal genius today. Unlike other geniuses, such as composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or physicist Albert Einstein, Leonardo did not limit himself to a single art or science. For Leonardo, art and science were inseparably linked. His artworks were the results of his scientific discoveries, and he pursued science to create his artworks.
Leonardo not only painted the most famous paintings, but he also worked as an architect. He collaborated closely with Bramante, the original architect of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Leonardo's wondrous château in Chambord, designed for the French king, is particularly famous.
Additionally, Leonardo planned to create the largest equestrian statue of his time, intended to be cast in bronze. The full-scale plaster model was already completed, but just before the final casting, the bronze was repurposed for cannons, and the plaster model was destroyed during the war.
Leonardo was also a celebrated organizer of courtly festivities. His envisioned Paradise Festival was considered the most impressive stage spectacle of its time, so much so that the French king had Leonardo stage it again 25 years later. In contrast, Leonardo's fables vividly reflect his lively perception of all things in nature.
Leonardo developed an extensive technical understanding, which he combined with his scientific knowledge. This led to numerous inventions and discoveries, some of which were centuries ahead of their time. Leonardo's flying machines are among his most famous inventions. Together with Luca Pacioli, one of the most influential mathematicians of his time, Leonardo worked on a book about proportions in nature. The world-famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man likely originated in this context.
To perfectly depict human anatomy in his paintings, Leonardo dissected at least 30 corpses and created detailed drawings. Had these drawings been published as planned, they would have become the first illustrated textbook on human anatomy. Leonardo's curiosity about everything around him led to numerous insights in physics, chemistry, and biology. To better understand the practical sciences, he undertook extensive mathematical studies, particularly in geometry.
All of Leonardo's known writings and drawings come from his notebooks. Leonardo's notebooks, also called Codices (Latin for "books/notebooks"), comprise approximately 6,000 pages. The Codices contain information on everyday aspects of Leonardo's life, such as bills, lists of employees, inventories, drafts of letters, and more. However, the most fascinating parts are the scattered artistic and scientific studies found within them. These reflect Leonardo's wide-ranging interests but are rarely organized thematically.
During the Renaissance, paper was very expensive, so Leonardo often made full use of the available space. As a result, studies for a painting, a geometric construction, and an astronomical observation might all appear on the same page. Leonardo also had the habit of always carrying a small notebook with him, where he jotted down spontaneous thoughts and ideas. These types of notes are also included in the Codices.
Frank Zöllner, Leonardo, Taschen (2019)
Martin Kemp, Leonardo, C.H. Beck (2008)
Charles Niccholl, Leonardo da Vinci: Die Biographie, Fischer (2019)
Frank Zöllner/ Johannes Nathan, Leonardo da Vinci - Sämtliche Zeichnungen, Taschen (2019)
Highly Recommended
Marianne Schneider, Das große Leonardo Buch – Sein Leben und Werk in Zeugnissen, Selbstzeugnissen und Dokumenten, Schirmer/ Mosel (2019)
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