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HISTORY

Leonardo da Vinci died 500 years ago

By Ben Mullins

May 2, 2019 - Leonardo da Vinci, renowned Renaissance artist and polymath, died on May 2, 1519, aged 67.

Widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time, Leonardo’s prodigious talents included drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography.

He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank.

Born out of wedlock to notary Piero da Vinci and a peasant woman named Caterina near the Tuscan town of Vinci, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the Florentine painter Verrocchio.

He won the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, de facto ruler of Florence and a noted patron of the arts, before entering the service of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, where he completed many of his finest works.

He later worked in Rome, Bologna, and Venice, and spent his final years at Clos Lucé manor house in Amboise, France – awarded to him by King Francois I.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 18/04/2019; STORY: Graphic News
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