Art Guide · Painters
Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was the painter, inventor and scientist of the High Renaissance. The painter of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, he is regarded as the master of sfumato.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
He was born in Vinci near Florence and trained in Andrea del Verrocchio’s workshop in Florence. In 1482 he moved to Milan, serving Ludovico Sforza as painter, engineer and pageant designer; The Last Supper (c. 1495–98) dates from this period.
In later life he moved between Florence, Milan and Rome. He spent his final years at Amboise at the invitation of King Francis I of France, and died there in 1519.
Sfumato and style
Leonardo perfected sfumato, dissolving outlines into smoky transitions instead of hard lines; the ambiguity of the Mona Lisa’s smile comes from it. He brought his knowledge of anatomy and observation of nature to painting, and used atmospheric perspective, making distant things bluish and soft.
The notebooks
He left thousands of pages of notes and drawings on anatomy, flying machines, hydraulics, optics and botany, mostly written right to left in mirror script. Relatively few of his paintings survive (around 15–20), and many he left unfinished.
Key works
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Mona Lisa?
In the Louvre in Paris. It is painted on a poplar panel and measures about 77 × 53 cm.
What does sfumato mean?
Italian for “smoky”: blending colours and tones in soft transitions without sharp outlines.