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Leonardo was born in 1452, in the village of Vinci, outside the city of Florence. His father was a wealthy lawyer and his mother was a peasant woman. His parents were not married, and Leonardo was illegitimate, which carried with it a great deal of social stigma, at the time. He could not legally bear his father’s surname and so he was named after his native village, Vinci <ref> McCurdy, Edward. The mind of Leonardo da Vinci (London, Courier Corporation, 2013), p 4 </ref>. It appears that the young boy received little or no formal education. We do know that at the age of 15 he was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio (1435–1488). He was one of the leading artists of his day and was a great influence on the young Leonardo, especially in his dynamic representations of the human figure. After the completion of his apprenticeship, the young man from Vinci became an assistant to Verrocchio and his skill soon became well-known. His style was considered to be very original, especially his use of light and shade (McCurdy, p. 34</ref>In either 1477/1488, Leonardo set up his own studio and soon was receiving major commissions.  At this time, he was accused of being a homosexual and if he had been found guilty he could have been executed. Leonardo was able to have the charges dropped but his reputation suffered. In 1481 he painted the Adoration of the Magi, which made him famous in Florence and beyond. However, the work was unfinished because he was invited to Milan by its powerful Duke. Leonardo greatly impressed the Duke and he presented himself as a skilled engineer. Leonardo painted several outstanding works in Milan such as the Virgin of the Rock. It was also at this time that he produced one of the most famous works in all art history the Last Supper. During his time in Milan he also began to secretly study dead bodies and also worked as a military engineer. Da Vinci also created some bronze sculptures for the Duke of Milan, none of which sadly have survived.  In 1499, when the French invaded Italy, Leonardo fled the city and stayed in Venice. Here he was active as a military engineer and drew up plans to create a series of naval defenses. In 1500 the artist, who was by now one of the most famous men in all of Italy returned to his native Florence. Here he continued to work on several artistic projects, but he appears to have left many uncompleted. Many of the projects from this period are only known from Leonardo’s drawings, which are considered to be masterpieces. In 1506, Leonardo worked for a time as a military engineer for the notorious Cesare Borgia, who was ruthlessly carving a state for himself out of Papal lands in central Italy.  Around this period, he painted his most famous work, the Mona Lisa. The identity of the woman in the portrait has never been established but Leonardo worked on it for the rest of his life and took it with him on his travels. The Florentine returned to Milan in 1506 and he worked on an equestrian statue and continued his scientific studies. In particular , he was fascinated with anatomy and this influenced his art, greatly. During these years he filled his notebooks with his observations, ideas, and drawings on a range of subjects. One common theme in his notebook is his fascination with movement, growth, and action.  In 1516, he was invited to Rome, but his time here was not that productive. While he was still esteemed as an artist, his work was not as popular as it once was. Da Vinci who was a rather reclusive figure, but he continued to fill his notebooks and made many plans for future projects, most . Most of which these projects never came to fruition. He was regarded as a genius and was frequently consulted by many leading figures, on artistic issues , and on engineering projects .<ref>McCurdy, p 113</ref>. The French king Francis I invited Leonardo and his disciples to his court in Fontainebleau. Leonardo was given great honors by Francis and he became the official court painter among other distinctions. The French monarch provided him with a house and Leonardo continued to write in his notebooks and to make plans for projects, none of which he executed. He died in 1519 in at the home that he was given to him by the French king.