Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper

In the rural hill-town of Vinci on April 15, 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was born as the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci, a successful notary, and Caterina, a farmer’s daughter (Kemp!). His mother ultimately married a man of her socioeconomic level and his father married four more times (Kemp!). Because his mother did not marry immediately after Leonardo was born and the fact that his father did not remain married to the same woman after his relationship with Caterina, leads me to believe that their son Leonardo was the result of a consensual relationship. Leonardo was raised by his mother until the age of five, when he was sent to live with his paternal grandfather, Ser Antonio. This suggests Ser Piero and Caterina had some form of contact up to five years after their affair. During the Renaissance, an illegitimate child was not allowed to take part in any family affairs or businesses (Carlton!). Many were allowed to be brought up as servants in the household and live there until old age without fear of being rejected and thrown out of the

His bastard status possibly affected him psychologically and his immense self-awareness seemed to make him more determined to achieve above his illegitimate shadow. In 1470, Leonardo was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio and two years later was acknowledged in the Florentine register of painters (Oxford!). Although he was a painter in his own right, Leonardo chose to stay with Verrocchio and a few other students at the workshop for approximately five more years, allowing him to work on a broad spectrum of projects, including the rondure on the top of the lantern of Florence Cathedral (Oxford!). Leonardo’s natural talent and genius would later lead him to become an artist, scientist, inventor, visionary, philosopher and the greatest anatomist of all time