Born near Florence in 1452, the Renaissance Man and polymath died 500 years ago when retired in France. A summary of his great artistic achievements.
da Vinci
Developed in the mid 1600s, pastels are often considered to be the ‘purest’ form of painting, in which pure pigment is applied to the ground.
Two final paintings, his striking portrait of Saint John the Baptist, and the highly controversial ‘Salvator Mundi’, the most expensive painting in the world.
Two lost paintings – a mural of the Battle of Anghiari in Florence, and a possible work showing Leda, plus his later Virgin and Child with St Anne.
Two probable copies of his lost Madonna with the Yarnwinder, and the most famous painting in the world: the Mona Lisa, which introduced sfumato and advanced glazing.
Some of the most famous works of European art: Vitruvian Man, The Last Supper, and the second (London) version of the Virgin of the Rocks.
The Benois Madonna, his abandoned Adoration of the Magi, the first (Louvre) version of the Virgin of the Rocks, and a Lady with an Ermine.
Early paintings showing signs of what is to come: his Annunciation, portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci, and Madonna of the Carnation.
His pupils, and the pupils of those artists, included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and di Credi.
Over 550 years ago, a 14 year-old boy started his apprenticeship with the Florentine painter and sculptor Verrocchio. He was Leonardo da Vinci, and here are some of his master’s works.
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