Following is a timeline of important dates in the life of Leonardo da Vinci. As some dates are subject to dispute, those reflected here in this Leonardo da Vinci timeline may be considered only generally accurate.
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| 1452 | Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci, born in Vinci (April 15). |
| 1467 | Leonardo moves to Florence and becomes apprentice in Verrocchio’s art studio. |
| 1469 | Takeover of Florence by Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, great patrons of the arts. |
| 1472 | Leonardo becomes a member of the Florence painters’ guild. |
| 1473 | Leonardo draws a landscape on the Feast of Santa Maria delle Neve (earliest work). |
| 1475 | Italian Renaissance artist, Michelangelo, born. |
| 1476 | Leonardo charged with immorality (sodomy) (April 9); case dismissed (June 16). |
| 1477 | Leonardo painted the Annunciation to the Virgin. |
| 1478 | Leonardo writes in his notebooks that he has begun work on two paintings, “two Virgin Marys.” He also paints the Portrait of Ginevra de Benci around this time; Pazzi conspiracy in which Giuliano de’ Medici dies. |
| 1481 | Leonardo commissioned to paint the Adoration of the Magi; painting never completed; most prominent Florentine artists summoned to Rome by Pope except for Leonardo. |
| 1482 | Leonardo publishes detailed sketches of the human body. |
| 1483 | Leonardo moves to Milan to join court of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan; paints Madonna of the Rocks; begins work on Sforza’s Great Bronze Horse. Italian Renaissance artist Raphael born. |
| 1485 | Italian Renaissance artist Titian born; plague in Milan. |
| 1489 | Leonardo studies anatomy. |
| 1490 | Leonardo starts work on the Great Bronze Horse sculpture for Sforza. Leonardo begins a book on landscape and hydraulic works; it is never finished.Adopts Salai. |
| 1492 | Columbus discovers New World; Lorenzo de’ Medici dies. |
| 1495 | Leonardo begins his fresco painting, The Last Supper, in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. |
| 1498 | Leonardo decorates the walls and ceiling of the Sala delle Asse. |
| 1499 | Milan conquered by French army; Leonardo da Vinci leaves. |
| 1500 | Leonardo goes to Mantua where he draws the portrait of Isabelle d’Este; then on to Florence where he paints the Madonna and Child with Saint Anne. |
| 1502 | Leonardo becomes Cesare Borgia’s military engineer. |
| 1503 | Leonardo begins painting the Battle of Anghiari in Florence. |
| 1504 | Leonardo’s father dies (July 9). |
| 1505 | Leonardo completes painting of Mona Lisa; abandons painting of Battle of Anghiari due to deterioration. |
| 1506 | Charles d’Amboise, the French ambassador, summons Leonardo to Milan. |
| 1507 | Louis XII appoints Leonardo court painter and engineer. Leonardo paints second version of the Madonna of the Rocks. Leonardo meets young friend and assistant, Melzi, and travels to Florence for a family lawsuit against his brothers over an inheritance. |
| 1508 | Michelangelo begins work on Sistine Chapel ceiling. |
| 1511 | Birth of Giorgio Vasari, one of Leonardo’s biographers. |
| 1512 | Medici return to power in Florence. |
| 1513 | Leonardo moves to Rome where he studies the properties of mirrors. Medici Leo X became pope. |
| 1515 | Leonardo paints St John the Baptist; creates mechanical lion for King Francis I coronation. |
| 1516 | Leonardo joins the court of Francis I in Amboise, France, leaving behind Italy permanently. |
| 1519 | Death of Leonardo da Vinci in Cloux, France |
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