Time line

1452	Leonardo is born on April 15 in the village of Anchiano, near the town of Vinci.
1467	At 15 Leonardo is sent to Florence to work as apprentice to Andrea De Verrocchio.
1472	20 year-old Leonardo is accepted into the painters' guild of Florence.
1476	Leonardo is accused of sodomy; he is publicly humiliated although the charges are later dropped.
1478	The Annunciation is painted. The work, initially credited to Da Vinci, is now believed to have been painted by Lorenzo di Credi.
1481	Leonardo begins work on The Adoration of the Magi, an altarpiece for the Monastery of San Donato at Scopeto. He sketches many studies.
1482	Leonardo moves to Milan to work in the service of the city's duke, Ludovico Sforza. He gains the title of "painter and engineer of the duke.
1483	Leonardo paints the Virgin of the Rocks.
1485	Leonardo paints Lady with an Ermine.
1495	Leonardo begins work on The Last Supper in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
1498	The Last Supper is completed.
1499	With the duke Ludovico Sforza'a fall from power, Da Vinci leaves Milan and spends a short time in Venice.
1500	Leonardo begins painting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, a project that he only finishes after 10 years.
1500	Leonardo returns to Florence.
1502	Leonardo begins work as senior military architect and general engineer for Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.
1503	Leonardo is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa.
1503	Leonardo is commission to paint a mural for the council hall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, which is to be the Battle of Anghiari, a work that would remain unfinished.
1515	Leonardo paints St. John the Baptist.
1516	The king of France invites Leonardo to come work for him.
1519	May 2, Leonardo dies in France.

http://www.davincilife.com/timeline.html 

Leadership qualities

Leonardo Da Vinci,  Unlike most leaders, people skills are not what

made him successful.  It was his knowledge of power and his ability to compose new ideas that were way ahead of his time. Some of the skills he possessed was

conflict resolution, problem solving, and decision making.

Mona Lisa

1.  Mona Lisa is a portrait of Leonardo himself slyly disguised 
2. Her smile means she was pregnant 

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Illinois used face-recognition software to determine that the "Mona Lisa" is 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry.

His relation to animals and nature

Leonardo was a strict vegan. He loved animals and would often purchase animals at the market just

to let them go. He took a great deal of time to study horses and their movements.

Man and animals are in reality vehicles and conduits of food, tombs of animals, hostels of Death, coverings that consume, deriving life by the death of others.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

Quotes by Leonardo Da Vinci

The worst evil which can befall the artist is that his work should appear good in his own eyes.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

If the thing loved is base, the lover becomes base.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

Virtue is our true wealth and the true reward of its possessor; it cannot be lost, it never deserts us until life leaves us.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

When fortune comes seize her in front firmly, because behind she is bald.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

There is nothing which deceives us as much as our own judgement.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

A natural action is accomplished in the briefest manner.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

Men wrongly lament the flight of time, blaming it for being too swift; they do not perceive that its passage is sufficiently long, but a good memory, which nature has given to us, causes things long past to seem present.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

We should not desire the impossible.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Thoughts on Art and Life

Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/v/vinci_leonardo_da.html#UxVWYV0qTpduySeS.99

Reaching my peak

Around 1503 I began to work on the “Mona Lisa”. Regarded as the most famous of my pieces of art.

On July 9, 1504, my father passed away. My brothers and sisters fought over my fathers items and i was deprived of any inheritance.

From 1513 to 1516 I worked in Rome. Having my own workshop and Doing a variety of projects for the Pope here and there.

I continued  my studies on physiology and human anatomy. Pope forbade me from dissecting any more bodies. After the death of Giuliano de' Medici in March of 1516, I was offered the title of Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King by Francis in France.

I died on May 2, 1519 in Cloux, France.

"As a well spent day affords happy sleep, so does a life profitably employed afford a happy death." 

Beginning my journey into life

I left Italy and entered the service of the Duke of Milan in 1482. I spent about 17 years in Milan, leaving only after Duke Ludovico Sforza fell from power in 1482. During these years did I hit my stride, learning new things and exploring different areas of science and reaching artistic achievement. Between 1482 and 1490 I produced numerous ideas. Topics from nature, flying machines, geometry, mechanics, municipal construction, canals and architecture. I came up with questions and answers to those questions and questions left unanswered and unexplained. “All our knowledge is the offspring of our perceptions.”  At the time, my studies mostly pertaining to designs for advanced weapons. I also, proudly, produced my first anatomical studies. My workshop was full of apprentices and students.  

My interests were so broad that I could hardly finish what I started, often compelled by new subjects. In 17 years, I managed to complete 6 works in those years, like “The last supper” and “The virgin on the rocks”. Many artworks and other projects left untouched. I would often go outside and observe or cut up bodies pondering about the anatomy.