In Renaissance Italy, 1519, as Leonardo da Vinci lies on his deathbed attended by King François I of France, the story flashes back to the master's remarkable life journey. Born in 1452 as the illegitimate son of notary Ser Piero da Vinci ...See moreIn Renaissance Italy, 1519, as Leonardo da Vinci lies on his deathbed attended by King François I of France, the story flashes back to the master's remarkable life journey. Born in 1452 as the illegitimate son of notary Ser Piero da Vinci and peasant woman Caterina, young Leonardo displays extraordinary talent from childhood - reconstructing ant hills, building toothpick models, and refusing to eat meat. At age four, he's taken from his mother to live with his grandparents, later apprenticing under Andrea Verrocchio in Florence where his genius quickly surpasses his master's. As Leonardo grows into a handsome young man with exceptional artistic abilities, he faces professional rejection when Lorenzo de Medici excludes him from artists sent to Rome, and personal scandal when falsely accused of sodomy. Creating remarkable works including a terrifying shield that sells for hundreds of ducats, Leonardo ultimately writes to Milan's Lodovico Sforza, detailing his military engineering talents and artistic abilities, seeking employment away from the Florence that failed to appreciate his revolutionary genius. Written by
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