Early Life & Education
- Born illegitimate, Leonardo spent his youth sketching and observing nature.
- After moving to Florence, he entered the prestigious workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, where he learned not only painting but also the chemistry behind pigments and the mechanics of sculpture and engineering.
🎨 Artistic Breakthroughs
- By 1472, Leonardo was a member of the painters’ guild and began producing original works.
- His first known portrait was of Ginevra de’ Benci, and his collaboration on Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ was so impressive that legend claims the master retired his brush.
⚙️ Engineering Mindset
- Leonardo’s early involvement in lifting Brunelleschi’s massive dome sphere sparked a lifelong fascination with machines and mechanics.
- He later designed fantastical inventions, from machine guns and tanksto automated kitchen spits and submarines, many adapted from earlier ideas but improved with Leonardo's obsessive precision.
🕵️ Scandal & Rejection
- In 1476, Leonardo was accused (and acquitted) of sodomy, a charge that tainted his reputation.
- He also struggled with feelings of inadequacy due to his illegitimacy and lack of formal education, despite building a massive personal library.
🤹 From Florence to Milan
- Tired of Florence’s politics and unfinished commissions (like The Adoration of the Magi), Leonardo headed to Milan in 1481.
- His application letter to Ludovico Sforza emphasized military engineering over painting—positioning himself as the Renaissance’s ultimate multi-hyphenate.
🎠Court Entertainer & Inventor
- In Milan, Leonardo served as engineer, party planner, set designer, and even hairstylist.
- He dabbled in robotics, stage effects, and was inspired by thinkers like Ibn al-Haytham, whose work on optics laid the groundwork for Leonardo’s legendary camera obscura prank.
👂 Tune in to discover how a restless, illegitimate boy turned into one of history’s most enigmatic polymaths—blending art, science, scandal, and a flair for the theatrical.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.