Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519
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- 1477
- Leonardo da Vinci leaves Verrocchio's workshop to work independently in Florence. Early technical sketches survive from this period.
- 1481
- Leonardo da Vinci is working for 12 years on his main project for Duke Ludovico Sforza in Milan, a monumental equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza.
- 1493
- The clay model of Leonardo's equestrian statue is publicly displayed during the wedding of Emperor Maximilian to Bianca Maria Sforza. Just before it is cast in bronze, imminent war requires the bronze to be used for cannons instead. Tragically, the statu
- Dec 1499
- Soon after the French enter Milan, Leonardo leaves the city with mathematician Lucas Pacioli.
- 1500
- Leonardo is hired as an architectural expert by a committee investigating damages to the church of San Francesco al Monte in Florence.
- 1502
- Leonardo leaves Florence to work for Duke Cesare Borgia as "senior military architect and general engineer," during which time he travels a great deal and meets Niccolo Machiavelli.
- 1503
- Leonardo returns to Florence in the spring to advise on a project to divert the Arno River behind Pisa, then under siege by the Florentines, to block Pisa's access to the sea. The plan is not carried out.
- 1503
- Leonardo is commissioned to paint a huge (23 x 56 feet) mural of the Battle of Anghiari in the Palazzo Vecchio. He works on it for three years, but it is never finished (neither is Michelangelo's counterpart, Battle of Cascina).
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