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(Kibin, 2025)
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Kibin. (2025). Account of the greatness of leonardo da vinci. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/account-of-the-greatness-of-leonardo-da-vinci-yFgmgK0T
Leonardo was born in the small town of Vinci, in Tuscany, near Florence. He was the son of a wealthy Florentine notary and a peasant woman. In the mid-1460s the family settled in Florence, where Leonardo was given the best education that Florence, a major intellectual and artistic center of Italy, could offer. He rapidly advanced socially and intellectually. He was handsome, persuasive in conversation, and a fine musician and improviser. About 1466 he was apprenticed as a garzone (studio boy) to Andrea del Verrocchio, the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his day. In Verrocchio's workshop Leonardo was introduced to many activities, from the painting of altarpieces and panel pictures to the creation of large sculptural projects in marble and bronze. In 1472 he was entered in the painter's guild of Florence, and in 1476 he was still considered Verrocchio's assistant.
About 1482
Leonardo entered the service of the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza,
having written the duke an astonishing letter in which he stated that
he could build portable bridges; that he knew the techniques of
constructing bombardments and of making cannons; that he could build
ships as well as armored vehicles, catapults, and other war machines;
and that he could execute sculpture in marble, bronze, and clay. He
served as principal engineer in the duke's numerous military
enterprises and was active also as an architect.
In 1502
Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia, duke of Romagna and
son and chief general of Pope Alexander VI. In his capacity as the
duke's chief architect and engineer, Leonardo supervised work on the
fortresses of the papal territories in central Italy. In 1503 he was
a member of a commission of artists who were to decide on the proper
location for the David (1501-1504, Academia, Florence), the famous
colossal marble statue by the Italian sculptor Michelangelo, and he
also served as an engineer in the war against Pisa. Toward the end of
the year Leonardo began to design a decoration for the great hall of
the Palazzo Vecchio. The subject
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