Leonardo was the illegitimate son of a Florentine notary and a peasant woman. The illegitimacy mattered: it barred him from university and from his father's profession. He could not become a lawyer or a doctor. He could become an artist. His father apprenticed him to Andrea del Verrocchio at fifteen.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1452–1519, Italian
- Movement
- Works held in
- 35 museums[1]
Biography
Verrocchio ran one of the best workshops in Florence. He was primarily a sculptor, but the workshop produced paintings, metalwork, and engineering projects. Leonardo learned everything there: anatomy, perspective, mechanics, how to grind pigments, how to prepare a panel. When Verrocchio asked him to paint an angel in The Baptism of Christ, the result was so good that, according to Vasari, Verrocchio stopped painting entirely. The more likely version is that he simply handed the painting work to Leonardo and went back to sculpture, which he preferred.
Leonardo wrote backwards, right to left, in mirror script. He was left-handed and had no formal education, so nobody corrected the habit. His notebooks, thousands of pages of drawings and observations, are written this way. They cover anatomy, optics, water flow, flight, botany, geology, and the design of machines that would not be built for centuries. He was ambidextrous and could draw with both hands simultaneously.
He finished relatively few paintings. The Mona Lisa took years. The Last Supper began deteriorating almost immediately because he experimented with an oil-and-tempera technique on dry plaster instead of using standard fresco methods. The Adoration of the Magi was abandoned. The Battle of Anghiari was abandoned. He had a pattern of losing interest once the problem was solved in his head.
He moved between Florence, Milan, Rome, and finally France, where Francis I gave him a house near Amboise and a pension. He died there in 1519, at sixty-seven. He left his notebooks to his pupil Francesco Melzi, who kept them carefully. After Melzi's death they were scattered and many were lost.
Timeline
- 1452Born on 15 April in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci, the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci, a Florentine notary, and Caterina, a young peasant woman.
- 1466Apprenticed at roughly 14 to Andrea del Verrocchio, one of the leading artists in Florence. Verrocchio's bottega provided training in painting, sculpture, metalwork, and engineering.
- 1472Qualified as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke at 20, though he remained in Verrocchio's workshop for several more years.
- 1482Moved from Florence to Milan, aged 30, entering the service of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. He presented himself as a military engineer and musician.
- 1498Completed The Last Supper on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, aged 46, using an experimental oil and tempera technique on dry plaster.
- 1503Began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, now known as the Mona Lisa, at around 51. The work would occupy him intermittently for over a decade.
- 1507Conducted pioneering anatomical dissections at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, aged 55, filling dozens of notebook pages with detailed studies.
- 1516Accepted the invitation of King Francis I, aged 64, and moved to the Chateau du Clos Luce near Amboise in the Loire Valley.
- 1519Died on 2 May at Clos Luce in Amboise, France, aged 67. He was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert at the Chateau d'Amboise.
Notable Works
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Where to See Leonardo da Vinci
22 museums worldwide.
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311 works
Royal Collection
London, United Kingdom
The British Royal Collection holds 311 Leonardo drawings at Windsor, acquired by Charles II around 1670. The group covers anatomical studies, mechanical diagrams, maps, and grotesque heads, and is the largest body of his autograph drawings anywhere in the world.
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22 works
British Museum
building of the British Museum, United Kingdom
The British Museum's Leonardo holdings run to roughly 50 sheets, one of the most important drawings groups globally. Highlights include the Burlington House Cartoon preparatory studies and anatomical drawings of the shoulder and heart, acquired through the Payne Knight bequest of 1824 and later gifts.
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22 works
Louvre
Paris, France
The Louvre holds the largest group of Leonardo paintings anywhere: Mona Lisa (c. 1503), Virgin of the Rocks, La Belle Ferronnière, and Saint John the Baptist (1514). Francis I acquired four of them directly from Leonardo or his heirs, placing the royal French collection at the centre of his surviving output.
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Did leonardo da vinci have children?
Leonardo da Vinci's father undertook the rearing of him. His first two stepmothers had no children.How did leonardo da vinci die?
Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519 at the age of 67.How did leonardo da vinci impact the world?
Leonardo da Vinci is famous for capturing both the person and the intention of their soul in his art. He revolutionised art by capturing what was going through each figure's mind, and he immortalised the dramatic moment.Is leonardo da vinci italian?
Leonardo da Vinci set the Mona Lisa in a depicted valley in Italy. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest painters.Leonardo da vinci art style technique?
Leonardo wrote a series of papers between 1473 and 1518 that were collected as his Treatise on Painting. One section, written in 1492, discusses linear perspective and demonstrates his technique for transferring a figure onto a curved vault, prefiguring the later style known as trompe l'oeil.Was leonardo da vinci a christian?
Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper, which has been the world's most revered religious painting for five centuries. In it, he aimed to paint the 'man and the intention of his soul'.When did leonardo da vinci live?
Leonardo da Vinci lived from 1452 to 1519. In 1499, the invasion of Milan by the French drove him from the city.Where can i see leonardo da vinci paintings?
Leonardo da Vinci's works can be seen at Royal Collection, Royal Library of Turin, Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, and 2 other museums worldwide.Where can i see leonardo da vinci's last supper?
Leonardo da Vinci's works can be seen at Royal Collection, Royal Library of Turin, Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, and 2 other museums worldwide.Why did leonardo da vinci paint the mona lisa?
Leonardo da Vinci never gave the painting to Lisa or her husband; he kept it with him until he died. Though it is regarded as a masterpiece today, he may have considered it to be unfinished, as he completed comparatively few of the paintings he started.Why did leonardo da vinci write backwards?
Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards, in mirror script, because he was left-handed and had no formal education. Nobody corrected the habit, so he continued to write this way in his notebooks.What is leonardo da vinci famous for painting?
Leonardo da Vinci is famous for painting the Mona Lisa, his most famous portrait, and The Last Supper. The Last Supper has been the world's most revered religious painting for five centuries.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Leonardo da Vinci.
- [1] museum Courtauld Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Städel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Palace of Fontainebleau Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Christ Church Picture Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Kupferstichkabinett Berlin Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book Susie Hodge, Art Used for: biography.
- [8] book Susie Hodge, Art: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Artists and Their Work Used for: biography.
- [9] book Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author, Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author - The Art Book_ New Edition, Mini Format Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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