Leonardo da Vinci has been widely celebrated as a leading Renaissance painter and sculptor, and although he was also known as an engineer and a scientist, his work in these fields remained hidden for many centuries. It is only relatively recently that analysis of his full body of work has led us to realise the sheer scope of his genius – he truly was one of the greatest inventors, artists, scientists and thinkers of all time. Leonardo was born in Anchiano, near the Tuscan town of Vinci, on 15 April 1452. The illegitimate son of a notary, Ser Piero, and a peasant woman, Caterina, he lived with his father and stepmother until the age of 14, when he was apprenticed to one of the most esteemed Florentine artists of his day: Andrea de’ Cioni, known as Verrocchio.
Being illegitimate, Leonardo was never afforded a formal education. He did not learn Latin or study formally with the clergy like his contemporaries. Instead he learned through the power of observation and experience – a skill he would apply to everything he did, for the rest of his life. It appears he was a unique individual; tall and handsome, left-handed, writing from right to left on the page in mirror image, that he invented. Historic accounts suggest he was likely to have been vegetarian, a pacifist, preferred the company of men, and was not particularly religious. A tireless observer, Leonardo was fascinated by the study of nature. He was a great student of light and shadow, riveted by the effects created by multiple light sources upon faces and objects. This deep curiosity with nature found expression in every sort of artistic discipline. He was unique among his contemporaries in using his scientific observations to enrich his paintings and sculptures, which often demonstrated extraordinary precision and accuracy.
From a young age Leonardo worked closely with Verrocchio in his workshop, along with other famous painters such as Perugino and Botticelli. In the Renaissance period, artists were true artisans, with an emphasis on and appreciation for technical skills. When Leonardo painted The Baptism of Christ, depicting a young angel holding Jesus’ robe, Verrocchio could not help but marvel at the depth and colour imparted by Leonardo’s new technique of oil painting. There was no denying his young protégé’s talent, and it was a professional turning point for Leonardo.
He went on to paint some of the most extraordinary pieces of art the world has known. Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Lady with an Ermine, Virgin of the Rocks (two versions) and controversially the most expensive art ever sold Salvator Mundi, selling at auction in 2017 for over U.S. $450 million (A.U.D. $685 million).
Leonardo was also a military strategist, inventing a forerunner to the military tank, a giant crossbow, multi-direction gun machine, the bullet and bridges for armies of amazing ingenuity. He dreamed of creating the ‘ideal city’ with a healthy environment that would rid the world of the plague. He foreshadowed the invention of the automobile, improved ball bearing and gearing systems, and sketched the mechanisms for a robot. But at a basic level, it all came back to that deep appreciation of nature. All Leonardo’s inventions are founded in principles of nature.