Born on April the 15th 1452 in the Republic of Florence, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was a Renaissance painter, sculptor, inventor, architect, engineer, anatomist, mathematician and musician, amongst other talents.
Only a small number of Leonardo's paintings have come down to us, yet these few are complemented by his notebooks which contain sketches and drawings, scientific diagrams and his notes on the nature of painting. His illustration of the human proportions, Vitruvian Man is recognised around the world - as are his paintings The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa.
Leonardo studied art between the ages of 14 and 24, before his career began. He received his first commissions in 1478, before he moved to Milan, where he spent the next 17 years, broken by a brief stay in Hungary.
During its time spent on display to the public, the Mona Lisa has been at risk several times. It was stolen in 1911 before being recovered two years later. It also had acid thrown at it in 1956. Since then it has been protected by bullet proof glass which has saved it from more recent attacks - one involving red paint, and the other a teacup!