1452 – 1519
Artist
Florence
Born in the small town of Vinci, just west of Florence, as the illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant woman, Leonardo da Vinci would go on to become one of the masters of the High Renaissance, renowned for his exceptional skills as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist.
At a young age, he became an apprentice in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, one of the most successful artists in Florence. While he spent the majority of his working life outside of Tuscany, during his lifetime he was received in Florence with acclaim and honoured as a renowned native son. Due to his extraordinary and diverse talents, and unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Leonardo is often described as the classic example of the Renaissance man.
