LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS POSSIBLY THE most versatile genius in the history of mankind, consistently demonstrating ideas far ahead of his time. Painter, architect, engineer,draughtsman, botanist and anatomist, he personified the Renaissance man. Contemporaries might have found that they could not grasp the full weight of his thought, but today both his scientific vision and his skill as an artist seem breathtaking. He pursued his seemingly diverse studies not in isolation, but in the humanist tradition, as linked expressions of a single system of learning.

Born in obscurity near Florence in 1452,Leonardo was apprenticed to the sculptor Verrocchio, and even by 1472, when he qualified,his extraordinary skill as a painter was selfevident. In 1490 he went to Milan under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, and it was clear from his letter of self-recommendation that,even at this comparatively early stage in his career, he was interested in far more than just painting. His plans for cannon, helicopters and many other military devices were revolutionary, and it is only at the end of his letter to Sforza that he mentions his artistic skill. However, it was during this time in Milan that he executed some of his best-known paintings,including The Last Supper.His paintings were as innovative as his scientific researches; not only did he master the newly-discovered science of perspective, but he also did much to advance the idea of the artist as a creative thinker rather than a mere artisan.Nowhere is this more clear than in his portrait of La Gioconda - the Mona Lisa - probably the most famous painting in the world and one which has puzzled art experts for generations.His paintings achieved a previously unheard-of naturalism and his techniques have influenced figurative artists ever since.  Patronized by some of the most powerful men in Italy -Sforza, Lorenzo de" Medici, and Cesare Borgia, as well as Francis I of France -Leonardo"s genius was acclaimed across six-teenth-century Europe. Leonardo traces the artist"s career and his extraordinary life, with an illuminating text that explains the complexities of his work. A carefully-chosen selection of his paintings and drawings from every stage of his career are reproduced in full colour, making this an informative introduction to one of the greatest Renaissance artists.

CHAPTER ONE

Florence, 14 52-82

CHAPTER TWO

Milan, 1482-99

CHAPTER THREE

Florence, 1499-1506

CHAPTER FOUR

Rome and France, 1506-19

Index

Acknowledgments