Da Vinci was born in 1452 near Vinci, in what is now the Italian region of Tuscany. By most accounts, his father was a notary and landlord named Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci. His mother, Caterina, is commonly believed to have been a local peasant. However, some experts believe that Caterina was actually a slave owned by Messer Piero.
Da Vinci's parents never married each other. The young da Vinci lived with his mother until he was 5 years old and later moved into the home of his father, who had married another woman.
The artist's journals show that he maintained a somewhat distant relationship with his mother throughout his adult life, exchanging letters with her only from time to time. His writings suggest a closer connection with his father, whose death da Vinci mourned deeply.
For one of the most learned and accomplished men of his age, Leonardo’s origins were fairly obscure. Born in Vinci, Tuscany, in 1452 to Caterina, a humble peasant, he was the illegitimate son of a Piero, a notary who spent much of his time in Florence. His childhood was spent between the town and the nearby hamlet of Anchiano, where his mother lived.
In Anchiano, you can visit Leonardo’s childhood home, Casa Natale di Leonardo. A relatively humble stone dwelling, it is now a small museum, featuring exhibits about his early life.
Unlike other well-known Renaissance artists, da Vinci never received any kind of formal education. He did, however, receive instruction at home in subjects such as reading, writing and mathematics.
Growing up in rural Tuscany, da Vinci spent much of his time outdoors, where he marveled at the natural world. His journals indicate that he had an especially ardent interest in the properties of water, as well as the movements of birds of prey. In fact, the artist recorded that his earliest memory was of a dream in which a bird of prey landed on his face and pushed its tail feathers between his lips.
It wasn't until his teenage years that the budding artist was sent to Florence to serve as an apprentice for Andrea del Verrocchio, a prominent Florentine painter. And it didn't take long for the student to become the master. Rumor has it that after da Vinci painted one of the angels in Verrocchio's work "The Baptism of Christ," the much more experienced artist was so humbled by the young man's talent that he vowed never to paint again.
In this 500th anniversary year of the artist’s death, the Musée du Louvre in Paris has undeniably stolen the limelight with its blockbuster exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci.” Yet, that intellectual dexterity — manifest in Leonardo’s paintings and drawings, as well as his scientific studies, and his engineering and architectural models — has spawned celebratory exhibitions in several Italian cities where Leonardo’s legacy remains a source of pride.
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