Leonardo da Vinci

1452-1519 · Italian (Florentine) · Italian Renaissance

Known for: Renaissance polymath who painted the Mona Lisa and filled notebooks with flying machines and anatomical drawings

Leonardo da Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance man - painter, sculptor, architect, anatomist, engineer, and inventor. He produced the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, two of the most famous paintings in human history, while simultaneously designing flying machines, armored vehicles, and hydraulic systems centuries ahead of their time.

He filled over 7,000 notebook pages with mirror-script observations on everything from bird flight to human musculature, having personally dissected more than 30 corpses. He worked for the Medici, the Sforza, Cesare Borgia, and the King of France, never staying anywhere long. His perfectionism meant many projects were abandoned - but those he finished changed art forever.

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