Leonardo Da Vinci

Learning never exhausts the mind.

-Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

1452-1519

About

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. He was a painter, engineer, architect, and scientist who grew up in Vinci but later moved to Florence. He studied the human anatomy and nature, using science as an inspiration for art. He accepted many commissions without completing them, and moving on to the next. He worked on many military projects as an engineer and scientist, as well as designing many flying machines and paintings. He even wrote from right to left in his notes in order to keep people from copying them. Leonardo da Vinci died May 2, 1519.

Works of Art

  • Mona Lisa
  • Salvator Mundi
  • The Last Supper
  • St. John the Baptist
  • Lady with an Ermine
  • Annunciation
  • Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk
  • Ginevra de’ Benci
  • The Virgin and Child with St. Anne

Leonardo da Vinci’s Top 3 Works

Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is the best known, most parodied, and most world famous painting. It is well-known because of her “mysterious smile” that seems to change depending on where you stand. This painting  is located in the Louvre in Paris, France. It was painted by da Vinci at some point between 1503 and 1519.

The Last Supper

The Last Supper took over 3 years to complete, starting in 1495, and finished in 1498. It is painted on the wall at the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. It has lasted over a surprising 500 years (with refurbishments) on that wall. It depicts the last supper of Jesus with his apostles before he was crucified.

Salvator Mundi


Salvator Mundi was painted in 1500 for King Louis ⅡX of France, and was lost for over 200 years until found in 1900. It was in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, until it was sold for $400 million ($450 with tax) a year ago.  Art enthusiasts are perplexed by the crystal ball, because it doesn’t distort like a normal one would, and they think there is a hidden meaning behind it. Salvator Mundi is the only Da Vinci painting to still be owned privately, and it means savior of the world in latin. It is a painting of Christ, also known as “the male Mona Lisa.” 

Scientific Career

Inventions and Designs

Self-Propelled Cart
Helicopter-like Design
Triple-Barreled Cannon
Winged Glider
Scuba Gear made of Leather

Scientific Achievements

Leonardo da Vinci was not only an artist, but a scientist as well. He studied the human body, especially the brain and the anatomy. He drew an infamous diagram of the human anatomy, in the image below. He also came up with a geological explanation for mollusk fossils inland, proposing that they had once been coastlines.