Leonardo da Vinci: life and legacy
Workshop education
Leonardo trained in Verrocchio's Florentine workshop, where art involved materials, mechanics and collaboration. The modern category of solitary genius obscures this social and practical education.
Court employment
In Milan he served Ludovico Sforza through painting, festivities, engineering proposals and military design. Patronage created opportunity but also left projects vulnerable to political change.
Observation and experiment
His notebooks investigate anatomy, water, flight, optics and machines through close drawing. Many ideas were never built or published, so influence should not be confused with later discovery of the manuscripts.
Art and afterlife
The Last Supper and Mona Lisa combine technical experiment with intense observation. Later culture turned Leonardo into a universal symbol of invention, sometimes attributing modern technologies to speculative sketches.
.jpg?width=1400)
