Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most influential and versatile figures of the Renaissance. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, inventor, scientist, and philosopher. He is widely regarded as a genius and a master of many disciplines. Image source : fineartandyou.com Leonardo was born in 1452 in the town of Vinci, near Florence, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of a wealthy notary and a peasant woman. He received a basic education in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but he did not attend a formal school. He showed an early interest in art and nature, and began to sketch and paint from a young age. At the age of 15, Leonardo became an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio, a prominent Florentine artist and craftsman. He learned various skills such as painting, sculpting, metalworking, and mechanics. He also studied anatomy, mathematics, geometry, and optics. He assisted Verrocchio in several projects, such as the Baptism of Christ and the bronze statue of David. Leonard...