Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. His father was Ser Pierro and his mother was a young peasant woman named Caterina. Da vinci was raised mostly by his father and his stepmothers. Throughout his lifespan, da Vinci was involved with producing many artworks and was even involved in the makings of weapons, clocks, and other inventions we are still inspired from today.
Da Vinci did not get much schooling beyond basic reading, math, and science, but he had a very prominent artistic talent even when he was still very young. Leonardo was apprenticed at the age of 15 to the commonly known artist Andrea del Verrocchio. After da Vinci completed his apprenticeship, he went on to execute his first painting, Baptism of the Christ.
After that first painting, he went on to accomplish many more, such as The Last Supper, and the Mona Lisa, in his own studio in Florence. Throughout the time of his artwork, he was also interested in many mechanical inventions, and had many sketches of ideas such as the flying machine and other mechanisms we still use today. Da vinci went on to become a very popular young man, who was characterized as handsome and tall by many.
Leonardo da Vinci also had a few of his own apprentices. Two of which had a long relationship apprenticeship with Leonardo da Vinci were Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno, who entered his household in 1490 at the age of about 10 and Count Francesco Melzi, the son of a Milan aristocrat who was apprenticed to Leonardo by his father in 1506, at the age of 14, remaining with him until his death, in 1519 on May 2.
The artwork above is the Mona Lisa. The piece shows movement through the lines outlining the face of the Mona Lisa with curves, and gives a feeling of roundness and depth. The contrast of color between the pale face and the very dark clothing makes the woman in the artwork stand out more to the audience. Perspective always had a big role on da Vinci's artwork, and on this one, we see the small trees in the background contrasted to the Mona Lisa'a position on the painting to show how far away the painting is.
Works Cited
"Home." Home | Leonardo. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
"Leonardo Da Vinci." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
"Leonardo Da Vinci." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.