Leonardo da Vinci

Every entry, with its source

At 0

1. Apr 15, 1452

   Born out of wedlock in the town of Vinci, Italy

   His father was a notary, his mother a peasant. With no formal schooling, he taught himself Latin.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 14

1. c. 1466

   Apprenticed to Verrocchio's workshop in Florence at 14

   He learned painting, sculpture, and metalwork all at once.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 20

1. c. 1472

   Registered with the painters' guild at 20

   Qualified to work on his own, he stayed on with his teacher anyway.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 24

1. c. 1476

   Accused of sodomy at 24, then cleared

   Almost no record of him survives for the next two years.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 26

1. c. 1478

   First commission of his own at 26

   An altarpiece for the chapel of the Palazzo Vecchio. He never finished it.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 30

1. c. 1482

   Wrote the Duke of Milan a job letter at 30

   He pitched himself as a military engineer, and only in the last line mentioned that he also painted.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 37

1. c. 1489

   Began dissecting human bodies at about 37

   Over his life he dissected more than 30 bodies and left behind detailed anatomical drawings.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 43

1. c. 1495

   Started The Last Supper at 43

   It took three years. His experimental technique meant the paint began flaking almost at once.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 47

1. c. 1499

   Left Milan at 47 when the French army invaded

   Seventeen years of steady patronage ended, and he spent the following years moving from city to city.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 50

1. c. 1502

   Worked as Cesare Borgia's military engineer at 50

   He drew maps and designed fortifications.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 51

1. c. 1503

   Began the Mona Lisa at 51

   He kept working on it for 16 years, until he died.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 61

1. c. 1513

   Moved to Rome at 61

   Michelangelo and Raphael had the spotlight, and almost no commissions came his way.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 64

1. c. 1516

   Moved to France at 64 at the king's invitation

   He was given the title of first painter and engineer to the king, along with a pension.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 67

1. May 2, 1519

   Died at 67

   He left about 7,000 pages of notebooks, most of them not deciphered for centuries.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org