Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the icons of the renaissance. Together with Michelangelo and several other great artists and artisans of the period Da Vinci left a legacy of art, thought, science, and culture which has profoundly affected all ages since.  Like all (well – most!) humans he was interesting and we share with you some interesting facts…

From answeringgenesis.org

• Leonardo drew the plans for the first armored car in 1485.
• He also designed the cannon, a machine gun, gliders, turnspit for roasting meat, canal system to irrigate fields, and invented the parachute.

From EBSQ Self Supporting Artists

• Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti were not the best of buddies.
• One of the quirks of Leonardo was that he wrote many of his notes using mirror writing. Some believe this was to keep his thoughts secret.

From buzzle.com

• It took Leonardo Da Vinci about ten years to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.
• He never married or had children and had a reputation of being a man of high character.

From about.com

• Paper was far more expensive and harder to get hold of in Leonardo’s day than it is today. Which is why he made more intensive use of it, “filling” most of every page.
• Unusually for the era in which he lived, Leonardo Da Vinci was a vegetarian, for humanitarian reasons.

From answers.com

• Leonardo dug into graveyards at night to steal corpses and study human anatomy
• He was a left-handed dyslexic and procrastinating perfectionist who left many paintings unfinished and destroyed most of his work.

From ArtPromote

• Leonardo enjoyed purchasing caged birds so that he could set them free
• Da Vinci is best known for his masterpieces; Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, and The Last Supper.

Leonardo Da Vinci Quote: When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.