Leonardo Da Vinci the Origins of a Universal Man.
Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest men that history has produced. The contributions that he made in the fields art, science, and to humanity which are still make him one of the most important men in history. Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in a little village in Vinci between the Tuscan cities of Empoli and Pistoia. Da Vinci's father Ser Piero d" Antonia was a notary and Da Vinci's mother was a woman from Anchiano named Caterina (Santi 3). Leonardo was an illegitimate child, but despite this Da Vinci's father took custody. Leonardo was treated with affection in his father's house where he was reared and educated. Leonardo had a large source of many different scholarly texts owned by his family and friends which he had access to growing up in his father's house (Santi 3). .
After the death of Leonardo's grandfather the following year the family moved to Florence, Italy (Santi 3). Because of the amazing artistic gifts that Leonardo exhibited as a boy led his father to send him to study with one of the most versatile and sought after Florentine art masters of the time named Andrea Verrocchio (Wallace 11-13). While with Verrocchio Leonardo was introduced to many techniques of art, such as learning how to paint altarpieces, panel painting, and how to do projects with sculpture and bronze. Very little is known about Leonardo Da Vinci's works while he was with his master, because there are very few examples of Verrocchio paintings to be found. Because of a traditions that goes back many years the master would assign assignments for his students to complete, so Verrocchio assigned Leonardo to be responsible for one of the angles and the landscape on the painting the "Baptism of Christ" (Santi 3). .
Around 1472 Da Vinci, was enrolled as one of the master in the Company of Painters, his apprenticeship ended with Verrocchio that year, even thought he still remained at the master's shop (Santi 3).