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Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519 · Polymath: Artist, Engineer, Anatomist, and Inventor
An Italian Renaissance artist, engineer and investigator whose drawings and notebooks explored subjects ranging from anatomy and mechanics to water, flight and geology.
“Learning never exhausts the mind.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Combining extraordinary artistic achievement with wide-ranging investigations of anatomy, engineering, mechanics and the natural world, recorded in thousands of drawings and notes.
Leonardo's story
The Illegitimate Son
Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 near the town of Vinci in Tuscany. He was the illegitimate son of the notary Ser Piero and a woman named Caterina. He received a limited formal education but later trained intensively in the Florence workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, where art, craft and engineering were practised together.
The Workshop of Verrocchio
As a young man Leonardo entered Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop in Florence. There he trained in drawing, painting, sculpture, metalwork and other practical arts. By 1472 he was registered as a member of the painters' guild of Florence, although he continued working in Verrocchio's circle for several years.
The Notebooks
Leonardo filled thousands of pages with drawings, diagrams, observations and working notes. He investigated anatomy, the movement of water, geology, optics, mechanics and the flight of birds and designed many machines and devices. Most of these engineering concepts were never constructed, and some would not have worked as drawn. His notebooks are important because they show how he used observation and drawing to investigate problems across art, science and engineering.
Milan and the Great Horse
In 1482, Leonardo left Florence for Milan, seeking the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, who then ruled Milan on behalf of his nephew. He wrote a remarkable job application letter listing his military engineering skills — bridges, cannons, mortars, and 'vehicles safe and indestructible' — and mentioned painting almost as an afterthought. In Milan he spent 17 productive years, painting the Last Supper, staging elaborate court pageants, and beginning work on a colossal bronze horse — a 23-foot equestrian statue that would have been the largest in the world. He made the full-scale clay model, but before the bronze could be cast, war broke out and the metal was needed for cannons. The French invaders used the clay model for target practice. It was a devastation Leonardo never forgot.
The Mona Lisa and the Last Supper
Leonardo painted relatively few pictures — fewer than 20 survive — but two of them are among the most famous images in human history. The Last Supper, painted on a refectory wall in Milan between 1495 and 1498, captures the moment Jesus says 'one of you will betray me,' with each disciple reacting in a uniquely human way. Leonardo experimented with a wall-painting technique rather than using traditional true fresco — the paint began flaking within his lifetime. The Mona Lisa, begun around 1503, is a small portrait that Leonardo carried with him until his death, constantly refining it. Its fame comes from the subject's enigmatic expression and Leonardo's pioneering use of sfumato — the smoky blending of colours at the edges that creates an illusion of depth and life.
The Final Years
Leonardo spent his last years in France, invited by King Francis I, who gave him the title of First Painter, Engineer, and Architect to the King and a handsome pension. He lived in a manor house near the royal château at Amboise, still sketching, still thinking, still designing — though now more interested in water management, geometry, and the flight of birds than in painting. He died on 2 May 1519 at the age of 67, reportedly in the arms of the king himself, though that story may be more legend than fact. He left his notebooks to his favourite pupil, Francesco Melzi. The thousands of pages were preserved, lost, scattered, and rediscovered over centuries — a testament to a mind that never stopped asking 'why.'
What did they discover?
Anatomical Studies
Dissected perhaps thirty human bodies and produced hundreds of remarkably detailed anatomical drawings of bones, muscles, organs, the nervous system and the heart. Some observations were exceptionally advanced, although others remained incomplete or incorrect.
Flying Machine Designs
Studied bird flight and drew concepts for flying devices including flapping-wing machines and a helical aerial screw. These were exploratory designs rather than practical aircraft.
The Last Supper
His mural painting in Milan, depicting the moment of Christ's betrayal announcement, revolutionised composition and psychological depth in art and remains one of the most studied images in the world.
The Mona Lisa
This small portrait, painted using his pioneering sfumato technique of smoky colour blending, became the most famous painting in history, renowned for its lifelike expression and atmospheric depth.
Armoured Vehicle and War Machines
Produced conceptual drawings for military machines including an armoured vehicle, multi-barrelled weapons and a giant crossbow. Most remained unbuilt designs.
Civil Engineering and Hydraulics
He designed canals, locks, bridges, and water-lifting machines, and produced detailed studies of fluid dynamics that informed irrigation and flood control projects across Italy.
Amazing facts
Leonardo received limited formal schooling but gained extensive practical training in Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop in Florence.
He wrote his notebooks in mirror writing, right to left, so the words appear backwards when viewed normally.
He was left-handed and usually wrote his private notes in mirror writing from right to left.
He dissected perhaps thirty human corpses and recorded his investigations in hundreds of anatomical drawings.
His notebooks contain exploratory designs for flying machines, a parachute-like device, an armoured vehicle and many other mechanisms, most of which were never built.
His 23-foot clay model for a giant bronze equestrian statue was used for target practice by French soldiers and destroyed before it could be cast.
Thousands of Leonardo's drawings and notes survive, including more than 500 sheets preserved in the Royal Collection.
Leonardo continued working on the Mona Lisa for years and took the painting with him when he moved to France.
Leonardo left his drawings and notebooks to his pupil Francesco Melzi, helping preserve a large part of his scientific and artistic work.
His anatomical drawings include a famous study of a foetus in the womb made during his investigations of human reproduction.
Timeline
Born in Anchiano, near Vinci, Tuscany, the illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant woman
Accepted into the Compagnia di San Luca, the Florentine painters' guild, at age 20
Received his first independent commission for a painting in Florence
Moved to Milan to work for Duke Ludovico Sforza, staying for 17 years
Began painting the Last Supper on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan
French forces invaded Milan and destroyed his clay model for the giant equestrian statue
Began painting the Mona Lisa, a portrait he would keep and refine for the rest of his life
Moved to Rome at the invitation of Pope Leo X, but received few commissions
Moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who gave him a pension and a manor house
Continued his notebooks and hydraulic studies in France, preparing designs for a royal palace
Died at Amboise, France, aged 67
Entered Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop in Florence
Produced extensive notebooks on art, anatomy, mechanics and the natural world
Awards & honours
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