Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest minds of his time. His notebooks are still referred to today in modern society. He developed concepts such as the tank and flying apparatus" before electricity even existed. He was the epitome of what the general populace wanted to achieve during the renaissance period.
Born on April 15 1452, Leonardo was the son of a noble and a peasant woman. Shortly after his birth he was taken in to live with his noble father, and his mother married another man. Because of this Leonardo has 17 half brothers and sisters. Leonardo was raised in Vinci Italy, a city full of art, most notably painting. At the age of 15 his father apprenticed him to the renowned workshop of Andrea Del Verrochio in Florence. Leonardo was so skilled that he quickly made a name for himself and surpassed many of his masters. One instance is called to attention where Leonardo was to work on an angel in The Baptism of Christ; his angel was so much better than that of master Verrochio's work that Verrochio never painted again. .
In 1482 Leonardo, in search of new challenges, took a job with the duke of Milan. Leonardo worked under the service of the duke for 17 years. This is the period of time in which Leonardo contributed the most to his many notebooks that we have today. The duke constantly had Leonardo designing new weapons, machinery, etc. Leonardo was so ahead of his time that he came up with concepts such as a car, a tank, and a submarine. He took so much time with his studies that he rarely every completed a full work of art, which is the reason there are so very few "masterpieces" produced by Leonardo. Between 1490 and 1495 he developed his habit of recording his studies in meticulously illustrated notebooks. His work covered four main themes: painting, architecture, the elements of mechanics, and human anatomy. These studies and sketches were collected into various codices and manuscripts, which are now collected by museums and individuals.
