Leonardo da Vinci's Biography

Around 1470 Leonardo da Vinci became an apprentice under Andrea del Verrochio, the Florentine sculptor and painter.

Leonardo da Vinci's life was to be an amazing mix of art, engineering, invention and crossed fields as diverse as anatomy and military weapons.

In the early 1480s Leonardo da Vinci moved to Milan and worked in the service of Duke Ludovico Sforza. His mural The Last Supper finished in around 1498 was one of his most famous works of art from his time in Milan. The following year the Duke of Milan lost power and Leonardo da Vinci returned to Florence.

In 1503 Leonardo started painting the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). Leonardo developed a new style of painting, which he used in the Mona Lisa. The technique was called Sfumato.

In 1506 Leonardo da Vinci returned to Milan, where much of his time was spent making discoveries in the field of anatomy. In 1513 he moved to Rome at the invitation of Pope Giuliano dei Medicire, where his important paintings included St John The Baptist. In 1517, at the invitation of the French king Francis I, Leonardo da Vinci moved to France, where he died on 2 May 1519.

Leonardo's sketches reveal prototypes of gliders, deep sea diving suits, armoured cars, parachutes and an aerial screw akin to the helicopter.