The infinite eye
Leonardo da Vinci · 1452—1519
Painter · Draftsman · Engineer · Anatomist
A life spent looking closer—at faces, water, flight, machines, stone, and the hidden architecture of the human body.
Presumed self-portrait · c. 1512
01 / Selected works
1503—1519 · Louvre, Paris
Painted in oil on poplar, the portrait is identified by the Louvre as Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Its softly blended sfumato, direct gaze, and atmospheric landscape made it a touchstone of portraiture.
Louvre record ↗c. 1491/2—1508 · National Gallery
Figures emerge from a shadowed grotto through Leonardo’s blurred contours and subtle transitions of light. The London painting formed the central panel of an elaborate Milanese altarpiece.
National Gallery record ↗
c. 1490 · Gallerie dell’Accademia
A study of ideal human proportion after the Roman architect Vitruvius. The superimposed poses connect body, geometry, and architecture in a single sheet.
02 / The mind
Drawing was not decoration. It was a way to think on paper.
Leonardo left almost 2,500 surviving drawings. They record studies of anatomy, plants, animals, water, flight, machinery, stage design, and preparations for paintings—evidence of a practice where art and investigation were inseparable.
Approximate surviving drawings noted by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The year of Leonardo’s detailed skull studies, an early high point of his anatomical research.
His age when he died at Amboise, France, on 2 May 1519.
03 / A life in motion
Born on 15 April near Vinci, outside Florence.
Moves to Florence and trains in Andrea del Verrocchio’s workshop.
Enters the service of Ludovico Sforza, working across painting, engineering, spectacle, and architecture.
Begins the portrait now known as the Mona Lisa and continues refining it for years.
Dies in France on 2 May, after spending his final years in the service of Francis I.
04 / Sources & image notes
Historical information is based on records from the Museo Leonardiano, National Gallery of Art, The Met, the Louvre, and London’s National Gallery.
Artwork reproductions are public-domain images sourced through Wikimedia Commons. This is an independent educational presentation and is not affiliated with the museums named.