Leonardo da Vinci
The life and work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
Category: Figures
- April 15, 1452Birth of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo is born near the town of Vinci, in the Republic of Florence.
- c. 1467Leonardo apprenticed to Verrocchio
At about fifteen, Leonardo is sent to Florence to train under the artist Andrea del Verrocchio. Sources date the start anywhere from 1464 to the late 1460s.
- 1472Leonardo joins the Florentine painters' guild
Leonardo is accepted into the painters' guild of Florence.
- c. 1482Leonardo moves to Milan
Leonardo leaves Florence for Milan and finds work at the court of the Sforza family. Most sources say 1482; the National Gallery gives about 1482-3.
- c. 1490Leonardo draws the Vitruvian Man
Leonardo draws a male figure inscribed in a circle and a square, a study of ideal human proportions, probably in Milan.
- August 11, 1492Rodrigo Borgia is elected Pope Alexander VI
Rodrigo Borgia is elected pope on 11 August 1492 after a costly conclave, amid rumours of vote-buying that were never proven. His son Cesare Borgia later employed Leonardo da Vinci as a military engineer.
- 1494Luca Pacioli's Summa de arithmetica is printed in Venice
Luca Pacioli's Summa de arithmetica, printed in Venice, is the first published description of double-entry bookkeeping. Its fame brings him to Ludovico Sforza's court in Milan, where he works with Leonardo da Vinci.
- c. 1495 – 1498Leonardo paints The Last Supper
For Duke Ludovico Sforza, Leonardo paints The Last Supper on a wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent in Milan. The exact dates are undocumented; sources range from 1493 to 1498.
- 1499French army drives Ludovico Sforza from Milan
A French army removes Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan and Leonardo's patron, from power.
- c. 1500Leonardo returns to Florence
After visits to Mantua and Venice, Leonardo goes back to Florence, at the end of 1499 or early in 1500.
- 1502Leonardo maps the town of Imola
Working for Borgia, Leonardo draws a plan of Imola seen from directly above, a method unusual at the time. Most sources place it in autumn 1502.
- August 1502Leonardo becomes military engineer to Cesare Borgia
Leonardo is appointed military architect and engineer to Cesare Borgia, commander of the papal army, and inspects fortifications across central Italy.
- c. 1503Florence commissions The Battle of Anghiari
The Florentine Republic commissions Leonardo to paint a mural in the Palazzo Vecchio. He leaves it unfinished in 1505. Sources date the commission to October 1503 or to 1504.
- 1506Leonardo returns to Milan
Leonardo goes back to Milan, now under French rule.
- c. 1510Leonardo dissects human bodies with Marcantonio della Torre at Pavia
Leonardo da Vinci works with the anatomist Marcantonio della Torre at Pavia on human dissections, planning a treatise that was never published. Della Torre died of plague in 1511. Some drawings may date to 1513.
- 1516Leonardo enters the service of Francis I of France
Leonardo moves to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who gives him use of the Manoir du Cloux (now Clos Lucé) near Amboise. He never returns to Italy.
- May 2, 1519Death of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo dies at the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, France, at the age of 67.