In 1452 AD, Leonardo da Vinci was born in a small town called Vinci. He was the illegitimate son of a lawyer and a woman of whom nothing is known. When he was small he loved to draw pictures of plants, insects, flowers, animals, and birds. When Leonardo was in his teens his father took him to Florence, Italy, to study at the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. Not only was Leonardo an artist, but he was also an architect, musician, sculptor, scientist, inventor, and mathematician. .
Even as a bastardly child, Leonardo was not stigmatized. In the time, illegitimate children were looked upon no differently than children born in wedlock. Illegitimate children emerged from households rich and poor. As an apprentice of the age to Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo soon surpassed him as a painter. Verrocchio was not totally outdone by his apprentice. Verrocchio was one of the most sought after artists of the time. It could be said that Leonardo was planned not to paint as a student, but to work in Verrocchio's large shop.
Leonardo's paintings drew the eyes of many for his well-designed styles of the renaissance but more so they drew the eyes of many because of the styles he used that had never been tried. One might wonder if because most of the renaissance was a time of tension and unrest, Leonardo became as audacious as he did. When he worked under the rule of the Duke Lodovico Sforza who commissioned him for his ability to paint portable images, as Leonardo stated in a letter to him. While most of his time was spent working on civil engineering and military projects, Sforza requested Leonardo paint "The Last Supper." Here, Leonardo used techniques that had never been as recognized like before or if at all. The painting itself symbolized the characters in a different priority than ever before. Instead of Jesus" disciples huddled near him, he placed them at different ends of the table indicating they had a pivotal role in the death of Jesus.
