Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. Leonardo was a painter, a sculptor, an architect and an engineer. He was raised by his father and his stepmother. Leonardo received little formal education beyond basic reading, writing and mathematics instruction, but his artistic talents were evident from an early age. Around the age of 13.
At the age of 14, he entered as an apprentice in the studio of Andrea de Verrocchio, a Florentine painter who owes part of his multidisciplinary training: drawing techniques, engraving, painting, sculpture, chemistry, metalworking and leather and plaster work.
As a painter he stands out for his compositions using light and shadow and the reproduction of emotions through gestures and especially for his technical mastery of 'sfumato'. He concentrated mostly on portraying human vitality as in the Mona Lisa. Leonardo's deep imagination designed a large number of ingenious machines, from warlike to scientific instruments and flying machines
http://www.davincilife.com/
http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
At the age of 14, he entered as an apprentice in the studio of Andrea de Verrocchio, a Florentine painter who owes part of his multidisciplinary training: drawing techniques, engraving, painting, sculpture, chemistry, metalworking and leather and plaster work.
As a painter he stands out for his compositions using light and shadow and the reproduction of emotions through gestures and especially for his technical mastery of 'sfumato'. He concentrated mostly on portraying human vitality as in the Mona Lisa. Leonardo's deep imagination designed a large number of ingenious machines, from warlike to scientific instruments and flying machines
http://www.davincilife.com/
http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396