Vinci, Leonardo da

Vinci, Leonardo da (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor, engineer.

Leonardo da Vinci began his career as a painter in Florence and people were soon talking about his paintings.

He showed himself able to do many things outstandingly well.

He went to work for the Duke of Milan and not only did paintings and sculptures for him, but also changed the courses of rivers and built canals, and entertained the Duke by playing on the lute and singing.

Later, back in Florence, Leonardo made maps, drew up plans for fortifications and canals, and designed a new type of cannon.

Afterwards he worked for King Louis XII of France in Milan, and in Rome for Pope Leo X.

He helped Raphael and Michelangelo with the plans for St. Peter's Cathedral.

All his life Leonardo was interested in science. He studied the flight of birds and drew plans for flying machines. These can be seen in his notebooks of which 7,000 pages have survived.

The notebooks contain sketches of many ideas for inventions, and studies of the human body.

Leonardo's two most famous paintings are: 1. The Last Supper which is painted on a wall in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and has suffered much damage over the years. 2. His portrait of a lady, known as the Mona Lisa, which is in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Leonardo's drawings are said to be the most skilful ever made and there are collections of them in a number of places including the British Museum and Windsor Castle.

See Leonardo's Notebooks ~ da Vinci Leonardo