Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was Born in Vinci, Republic of Florence (present-day Italy) on the 15th of April 1452. To celebrate his life and works Histropedia has created an interactive timeline of his major works.

"Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci

During his lifetime and for several centuries afterwards Leonardo’s fame came from his paintings. He is considered one the best artists in to have ever lived and his painting “The Mona Lisa” is probably the most famous painting in the world.

Even in his painting Leonardo’s innovation is apparent, creating many new styles and constantly experimenting with different techniques and materials. The downside of his constant experimentation is that many of his works haven’t survived the ages. Most famously is the fresco of the Last Supper. Leonardo developed a technique that allowed him to pain directly onto dried plaster, this gave him the time he required to perfect his work, however the work started to deteriorate much quicker than other frescos of the period.

Observation and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci

Although during his lifetime he was more highly regarded as a painter, his journals and notes show a mind of never ceasing curiosity and brilliance. They cover topics such as, civil engineering, chemistry, geology, geometry, hydrodynamics, mathematics, mechanical engineering, optics, physics, pyrotechnics, and zoology.

Most of his journals were written in his mirror cursive and were never translated or published during his lifetime. The pages have since been compiled into volumes such as the Codex Leicester, which was purchased by Bill Gates in 1994 for US$30,802,500 (the record for the sale price of any book).

From translating the codex it has become clear that Leonardo was way ahead of his time in many of his theories. Some of the most famous of these include various flying machines as well as a form of tank.

There is so much to learn and read about Leonardo da Vinci’s life and his works; I have barely skimmed the surface with this article. You can use our timeline to learn more about his works and there are several articles on Wikipedia that would be a great place to start if you want to learn more about quite possibly of the greatest minds who ever lived." Histropedia