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Leonardo da Vinci is born on April 15, 1452 in Tuscan down of Vinci. Little is known of da Vinci's childhood, except that he spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano, and then later the house of his father.
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Leonardo was apprenticed to one of the most successful artists of his day, Andrea di Cione, known as Verrocchio. There he would have been exposed to a vast range of technical skills and had the opportunity to learn drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics and carpentry as well as the artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting and modeling.
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Leonardo's earliest known dated work is a drawing in pen and ink of the Arno Valley.
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The Annunciation is painted. The work, initially credited to Da Vinci, is now believed to have been painted by Lorenzo di Credi.
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Around the the year 1480, da Vinci began inventing flying machines, helicopters, robotic knights, parachutes, etc.
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Leonardo begins work on The Adoration of the Magi, an altarpiece for the Monastery of San Donato at Scopeto.
He sketches many studies. -
Da Vinci worked in Milan between 1482 and 1499. He was commissioned to paint the Virgin of the Rocks for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. He painted this artwork during 1483 and 1486.
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Leonardo was fascinated by the flight, producing many studies of the flight of birds. This included his Codex on the Flight of Birds, as well as plans for many flying machines. Within these plans he designed a helicopter and a light hang glider. Today, the hang glider has been successfully constructed and demonstrated based on his designs.
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Leonardo paints Lady with an Ermine from around 1489–1490. The subject of the portrait is Cecilia Gallerani.
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Leonardo works on The Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
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Leonardo begins painting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, a project that he only finishes after 10 years.
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Leonardo begins work as senior military architect and general engineer for Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.
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Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa between 1503 and 1506. It has become one of his most famous paintings. The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman whose facial expression is frequently described as enigmatic.
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Leonardo is commission to paint a mural for the council hall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, which is to be the Battle of Anghiari. This painting is now considered lost.
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Leonardo paints St. John the Baptist around 1513 to 1516. It is said to have been his last work of art.
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Leonardo dies in France in 1519.
