Leonardo da Vinci

Birth

1452

On April 15th in 1452, in a small hill town near Florence Italy, (Mclanathan pg. 10) Leonardo da Vinci was born. His parents, Ser Piero, a land lord, and Caterina, a peasant girl, were not married. His father thought that the wife should bring in a lot of money and Caterina was very pour. In result, his father married a rich young heiress named Alberia. The first few years of da Vinci's life were spent with his mom, he then moved to Florence with his father(biography.com editors).

Student of Ander del Verrochio

1466

At age 14 his father signed him up for an apprenticeship with a famous artist, Andrea del Verrochio. With Verrochio he learned painting, sculpting techniques and technical-mechanical arts. His first dated work was in 1473, a landscape of the Arno valley done in pen and ink. (Heydenreich 3) In 1472 he was accepted into the Painters Guild of St. Luke as a master painter. He also got his own workshop.(biography.com editors)

da Vinci went to court

1476

In 1476 Florentine court records show that Leonardo da Vinci was charged with sodomy. He was found with four other young men. This crime can result in exile or even execution. After da Vinci was acquitted, his whereabouts were undocumented for two years. Many believe he went into hiding due to embarrassment.

Engineering Studies

1482

Throughout Leonardo da Vinci's life he studied many different topics. One of those happened to be engineering. Around 1842, he was fascinated by machinery and how it worked. He believed studying this made him a better artist. In Milan he was a Military engineer for 17 years. Lorenzo de 'Medic even asked da Vinci to created a silver lyre as a peace gesture to Ludovico Sforza. (biography.com editors)

Move to Milan

1482

From 1482 to 1499, Leonardo da Vinci resided in Milan. It is believed that he moved here because of the more strict, academic atmosphere and Duke Ludovico Sforza's court and projects. However he gave up on the projects which may show that there was a deeper reason for moving here. Some of the projects here were an alter painting at St. Bernard Chapel in Palazzo della Signoria and a panel painting "The adoration of Magi" a monastery of San Donato a Scopeto.(Heydenreich 2)

Anatomy Studies

1485

One of da Vinci's studies was human Anatomy. He dissected human and animal bodies to find out how they worked. Some of the things he was interested in were the heart, vascular system, sex organs and bone muscular systems. Some of his discoveries even became the first on record(biography.com editors).

Vitruvian Man

1490

da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man in 1490; It was created by pen and ink on paper. The Drawing is of a man inside of a circle and square with superimposed positioning (clayton 34). The mans arm and legs align on the circle and another set of limbs reach to the sides of the square. This drawing is comparing men to nature and takes place in da Vinci's study of proportions. Below the art is text by him based on the work. The art is now in the Gallerie dell 'Academia in Venice Italy. (Heydenreich 2)

Columbus sailed

1492

In 1492 Columbus sailed for new lands to claim for Spain. He discovered the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola along with many other Islands and places. He explored the Caribbean Islands and began to colonize central America. He discovered a new world for Europe, although he did not accomplish his original goal, to find a western sea route to Asia. Columbus helped make Spain one of the most powerful places on earth(Columbus sets sail 1).

The Last Supper

1495

One of the most famous paintings in the world was created by Leonardo da Vinci. The last supper took him about 3 years to complete. Ludovico Sforza asked him to paint it on a wall in the dining hall inside the monastery of Milan's santa Maria dell Graze. In the painting are Jesus's 12 apostles at Passover dinner. Jesus says at the dinner "one of you will betray me" this causes a diversity in emotion around the table. This represented great narrative quality(chase 57)

Vasco da Gama

1497

Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese nobleman who sailed from Lisbon to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East. In 1497 he sailed down the west coast of African and rounded the Cape of Good hope he made many stops along this journey. He finally got to a trading post in Calicut, India in May 1498. He was praised by many after finding this sea route for Portugal(Vasco da gama 1).

Mona Lisa

1503

Leonardo da Vinci painted the very well known piece, Mona Lisa. It is characterized by the woman's smile. Its theory that the woman could be many different people, possibly not woman at all. The most common belief is Lisa del Gioconda, the wife of a wealthy merchant. The original name of the painting is "La Gioconda". The priceless national treasure is kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris France behind bullet proof glass(biography.com editors).

The Pocket watch was invented

1504

In 1504 Peter Henlien invented the pocket watch. Henlien was a locksmith and a watchmaker from Nuremberg. He created a small drum-shaped Taschenuhr. It was a portable watch that could run for forty hours before it needed to be rewound. This watch could be easily carried around, it helped keep track of time and led to the invention of the wristwatch(pocket watch 1).

America was named after Amerigo Vespucci

1507

In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci discovered that North and South Americas were distinct continents unknown to the world. In 1507 German Clergyman, Martin Waldseemuller, proposed to call a portion of Brasil Vespucci had found America, the female version of Amerigo. After he released the map thousands of copies were bought and the name stuck. A map maker, Gerardus Mercator named both northern and southern landmasses after Amerigo Vespucci(Szalay 1).

Martin Luthers Protestant Refromation

1517

The Protestant Reformation was a religious and political event that divided Catholic Europe. Martin Luther challenged authority and the Catholic Church's ability to define Christian practice. The arguments triggered wars, persecutions and the Counter-reformation. The catholic Church had a very forceful response to the protestants(The Reformation 1).

Death

1519

Leonardo da Vinci died of natural causes on May 2, 1519 when he was 67 years old. Up until his death he worked on his scientific studies. For hundreds of years his journals, drawings and scientific theories has surfaced. He shows the meaning of a true renaissance man(Leonardo da Vinci 3).

Ferdinand magellan Sailed

1519

Ferdinand Magellan left Spain on expedition in 1519 with five ships to discover a western sea route to the Spice Islands. He discovered the straight of Magellan and was the first European to sail across the Pacific ocean. The voyage was very dangerous, only one ship made it home three years later with 18 of the original 270 crew members. Magellan was killed in battle during the voyage and did not make it home. He proved that the globe could be circled by sea(Ferdinand Magellan 1).