The Mona Lisa

Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small Tucson town of Vinci, near Florence. His parents, Ser Piero, a notary, and Caterina, a peasant woman, were unmarried, and the illegitimate Leonardo was raised by his father. Some experts claim that due to his illegitimacy Leonardo was unworthy of a proper education, and that this is the reason that he did not follow in his father's footsteps to become a notary, or why he did not study to become a doctor. Meanwhile, other Da Vinci sources claim that the young Leonardo was treated as a legitimate child, and was offered the same education as other children of that day. At the age of 15 Leonardo had already mastered skills in the fine arts and the young man was sent to Florence to work as an apprentice in the renowned workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio.
Leonardo worked with del Verrocchio until 1477, during which time del Verrocchio had been commissioned for a painting that would be The Baptism of Christ, and the painter had Leonardo aid him with the work by having his pupil paint the kneeling angel in the painting. Leonardo's angel was so outstanding that it shadowed del Verrocchio's portion of the work, and Leonardo is quoted to have later stated that "poor is a pupil that does not surpass his master." It is also said that Andrea del Verrocchio gave up his career as a painter, having suffered such humiliation by being out-painted by his own student.
In 1472, while still working with del Verrocchio, Leonardo Da Vinci was honored as he was accepted into the painter's guild of Florence. After leaving Verrocchio's studio, Leonardo remained in Florence where he worked independently until 1481. In his final years in Florence, Leonardo Da Vinci received two substantial commissions. The first was for the painting The Adoration of the Magi for the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto; and the second was for a painting that was to be completed in the Altar of St. Bernard Chapel in the Palazzo della Signoria. The first... [continues]

Read full essay