Leonardo da Vinci

From 1466 to 1476 Leonardo da Vinci worked as an apprentice in Verrocchio's workshop. Verrocchio was a famous artist at that time in Florence, and - as every artist of his time - organized his work in a workshop. Whenever he had art works to do he did not all the work himself but let his employees do it; only the most difficult and challenging steps were done by himself.
Verrocchio's painting The Baptism of Christ is the product of an cooperation between him and his apprentice Leonardo da Vinci.

So Leonardo da Vinci got acquainted with all kinds of artistic work - metal working, painting, sculpting, drawing.

Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Last Supper in 1498 in Milan. It shows the moment when Jesus tells his followers: "One of you will betray me".

He did not use the fresco technique on the walls of the Convent of Sta Maria delle Grazie, and so in a short time the painting deteriorated. Nevertheless it has become the most reproduced work of art.

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in the beginning of the 16th century. The picture is famous for the faint smile on Mona Lisa's face (that's why the painting is also called La Gioconda, the laughing one.

The dress of the woman is unadorned and so the focus of the beholder is directed on the eyes and the hands.

Leonardo da Vinci studied the anatomy of man by close observation. He recorded the effects of age and of human emotion on the physiology of living people, studying in particular the effects of rage. He also drew many figures who had significant facial deformities or signs of illness.

But he also wanted to look inside the human body, and in order to do this, he had to dissect it. At that time it was strictly forbidden to do this. Leonardo da Vinci however got the permission to do this at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence.

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Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the phenomenon of flight. He observed birds and drew plans for flying machines. Most of his plans were impractical, but his light hang glider has been successfully constructed and demonstrated.