Leonardo da Vinci Giclée Fine Art Prints 2 of 2

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - painter, draughtsman, mathematician, engineer, architect and urban planner - symbolises the Renaissance man. His art and knowledge marked the apogee of this extraordinary period in human history. He took his first steps in Florence, in the studio of the artist Andrea del Verrocchio. In 1482 he went to Duke Ludovico Sforza in Milan. There he spent twenty years: working on a project for an equestrian statue, undertaking hydraulic experiments, preparing lavish feasts for the Court. In 1495 he painted the fresco The Last Supper in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. In 1499 he left Milan and returned to Florence, where in 1503 he began the portrait of the Mona Lisa, the famous Gioconda. Around 1510, Leonardo da Vinci completed The Virgin Mary, the Infant Jesus, and Saint Anna. The monumental composition of the figures, inscribed in a pyramid that seems to rotate slightly, created a real sensation. For the Council Chamber in the Palazzo Vecchio he was commissioned to paint the fresco The Battle of Anghiari, celebrating the victory of the Florentines against the warriors of Pisa. Too fragile, the fresco has disappeared and is known only from drawings and copies. In 1517, the artist went to France at the invitation of François I, who elevated him as the first royal painter, architect and mechanic. Da Vinci took the painting of the Mona Lisa to France and it would be bought back by the French ruler. The artist died in Amboise in 1519.