Editing Leonardo da Vinci (section)

==== Verrocchio's workshop ====
[[File:Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci - Baptism of Christ - Uffizi.jpg|thumb|''[[The Baptism of Christ (Verrocchio)|The Baptism of Christ]]'' (1472–1475) by [[Verrocchio]] and Leonardo, [[Uffizi]] Gallery|alt=Painting showing Jesus, naked except for a loin-cloth, standing in a shallow stream in a rocky landscape, while to the right, John the Baptist, identifiable by the cross that he carries, tips water over Jesus' head. Two angels kneel at the left. Above Jesus are the hands of God, and a dove descending|230x230px]]

In the mid-1460s, Leonardo's family moved to Florence, which at the time was the centre of Christian [[Renaissance humanism|Humanist]] thought and culture.{{sfn|Rosci|1977|p=13}} Around the age of 14,{{sfn|Wallace|1972|p=11}} he became a ''garzone'' (studio boy) in the workshop of [[Andrea del Verrocchio]], who was the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his time.{{sfn|Rosci|1977|p=13}} This was about the time of the death of Verrocchio's master, the great sculptor [[Donatello]].{{efn|The humanist influence of Donatello's ''[[David (Donatello, bronze)|David]]'' can be seen in Leonardo's late paintings, particularly ''[[St. John the Baptist (Leonardo)|John the Baptist]]''.{{sfn|Hartt|1970|pp=127–133}}{{sfn|Rosci|1977|p=13}}}} Leonardo became an apprentice by the age of 17 and remained in training for seven years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bacci |first=Mina |translator-last=Tanguy |translator-first=J. |title=The Great Artists: Da Vinci |year=1978 |orig-date=1963 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |location=New York}}<!--intro--></ref> Other famous painters apprenticed in the workshop or associated with it include [[Domenico Ghirlandaio|Ghirlandaio]], [[Perugino]], [[Botticelli]], and [[Lorenzo di Credi]].{{sfn|Bortolon|1967}}{{sfn|Arasse|1998}} Leonardo was exposed to both theoretical training and a wide range of technical skills,{{sfn|Rosci|1977|p=27}} including drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, and woodwork, as well as the artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting, and modelling.{{sfn|Martindale|1972}}{{efn|The "diverse arts" and technical skills of Medieval and Renaissance workshops are described in detail in the 12th-century text ''On Divers Arts'' by [[Theophilus Presbyter]] and in the early 15th-century text ''Il Libro dell'Arte'' by [[Cennino Cennini]].}}

Leonardo was a contemporary of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Perugino, who were all slightly older than he was.{{sfn|Rosci|1977|pp=9–20}} He would have met them at the workshop of Verrocchio or at the [[Platonic Academy (Florence)|Platonic Academy]] of the [[Medici]].{{sfn|Bortolon|1967}} Florence was ornamented by the works of artists such as Donatello's contemporaries [[Masaccio]], whose figurative [[fresco]]es were imbued with realism and emotion, and [[Lorenzo Ghiberti|Ghiberti]], whose ''[[Florence Baptistery#Lorenzo Ghiberti|Gates of Paradise]]'', gleaming with [[gold leaf]], displayed the art of combining complex figure compositions with detailed architectural backgrounds. [[Piero della Francesca]] had made a detailed study of [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]],<ref>Piero della Francesca, ''On Perspective for Painting (De Prospectiva Pingendi)''</ref> and was the first painter to make a scientific study of light. These studies and [[Leon Battista Alberti]]'s treatise ''[[De pictura]]'' were to have a profound effect on younger artists and in particular on Leonardo's own observations and artworks.{{sfn|Hartt|1970|pp=127–133}}<ref name="Rach">{{cite book |last=Rachum |first=Ilan |title=The Renaissance, an Illustrated Encyclopedia |year=1979}}</ref>

Much of the painting in Verrocchio's workshop was done by his assistants. According to Vasari, Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on his ''[[The Baptism of Christ (Verrocchio and Leonardo)|The Baptism of Christ]]'' ({{Circa|1472–1475|lk=off}}), painting the young angel holding Jesus's robe with skill so far superior to his master's that Verrocchio purportedly put down his brush and never painted again<ref group="‡">{{harvnb|Vasari|1991|p=287}}</ref> (the latter claim probably being apocryphal).{{sfn|Ottino della Chiesa|1967|p=83}} The new technique of [[oil painting|oil paint]] was applied to areas of the mostly [[tempera]] work, including the landscape, the rocks seen through the brown mountain stream, and much of Jesus's figure, indicating Leonardo's hand.{{sfn|Ottino della Chiesa|1967|p=88}} Additionally, Leonardo may have been a model for two works by Verrocchio: the bronze statue of ''[[David (Verrocchio)|David]]'' in the [[Bargello]] and the [[archangel Raphael]] in ''[[Tobias and the Angel (Verrocchio)|Tobias and the Angel]]''.{{sfn|Ottino della Chiesa|1967|p=83}}

Vasari tells a story of Leonardo as a very young man: a local peasant made himself a round [[buckler]] shield and requested that Ser Piero have it painted for him. Leonardo, inspired by the story of [[Medusa]], responded with a [[Medusa (Leonardo)|painting of a monster]] spitting fire that was so terrifying that his father bought a different shield to give to the peasant and sold Leonardo's to a Florentine art dealer for 100 [[ducat]]s, who in turn sold it to the [[List of dukes of Milan|Duke of Milan]].<ref group="‡">{{harvnb|Vasari|1991|pp=287–289}}</ref>