Leonardo Da Vinci WHH Documentary

Humanism

Shifted focus from God to studying man, science, biology, and technology; ignited the Renaissance

Leonardo's birthplace

Small rural town of Vinci in Tuscany, outside Florence

Leonardo's parents

Illegitimate son of a respected notary (Ser Piero) and a poor farmer's daughter

Second-class family membership

Because he was illegitimate, he couldn't inherit, join the notary business, use his father's surname, or get formal schooling

Leonardo from Vinci

What he was called since he couldn't take his father's last name

Leonardo's code

His personal philosophy of pushing past social obstacles through curiosity, experimentation, and finding another way

Medici family

Wealthy banking family that effectively ruled Florence and supported the arts; frequent assassination targets

Florence's government

Run by trade guilds and controlled behind the scenes by the Medici

Tambour box

Used to make anonymous accusations that led to public shame and executions

Andrea del Verrocchio

Artist whose Florence workshop trained Leonardo starting at age 16 (1468)

Verrocchio's workshop

Taught painting, ceramics, sculpture, cannon casting, and mechanical engineering

Baptism of Christ

Verrocchio's painting; Leonardo painted the left angel, so skillful that legend says Verrocchio never painted again

Leonardo's "one true mistress"

Experience and experimentation

Leonardo's diet

He refused to eat meat out of respect for nature

1476 accusation

Leonardo was anonymously accused of sodomy; charges dropped for lack of witnesses

Pazzi family

Rival banking family to the Medici

Pazzi conspiracy (1478)

Francesco de' Pazzi and Pope Sixtus IV plotted to kill the Medici during Easter Mass

Giuliano de' Medici

Lorenzo's brother; killed in the Pazzi attack

Lorenzo de' Medici

Survived the Pazzi attack and later negotiated peace with Naples

Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli

Assassin whose hanging corpse Leonardo sketched

Adoration of the Magi

Unfinished painting; Leonardo said conceiving an idea is noble but executing it is servile

Sistine Chapel snub

Lorenzo left Leonardo out because of his unfinished projects and contract disputes

Ludovico Sforza

Duke of Milan; Leonardo wrote him a boastful letter at age 30 offering his services as a military engineer

Leonardo's war designs

Covered assault car (tank), scythed chariots, giant crossbows, portable bridges, catapults, fortifications

Sforza horse

24-foot bronze statue; the 60 tons of bronze were melted for cannons in 1494

The Last Supper

Mural at Santa Maria delle Grazie; his experimental technique made it flake within decades

Salai

Leonardo's young assistant, nicknamed "little devil"

Cesare Borgia

Ruthless tyrant Leonardo served in 1502; he left after Borgia executed his friend Vitellozzo Vitelli

Bird's-eye maps

Tactical maps Leonardo made for Borgia

Michelangelo

Younger sculptor and Leonardo's rival in Florence

Mona Lisa

Painted with sfumato (thin transparent layers); Leonardo kept it with him and never finished it

Sfumato

Shading technique using transparent layers of paint, creating her mysterious smile

Arteriosclerosis

Leonardo made history's first description of it in 1507 by dissecting an elderly man

Leonardo's flight designs

Bat-winged flying machines and a helical screw (like a helicopter)

Clos Lucé

French chateau where King Francis I invited Leonardo in 1517; he died there in 1519

Francesco Melzi

Leonardo's student who received his paintings after his death