Leonardo da Vinci

Born in Vinci, a village in Tuscany in central Italy, Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, inventor and writer, the prototype of the Renaissance man. In painting and sculpture he stood out for his brilliant innovations in chiaroscuro, sfumato, perspective, expressiveness and scientific precision. Among his paintings, the Mona Lisa (housed in the Louvre, Paris) stands out. It is a relatively small portrait, known for its enigmatic smile, in which da Vinci painted the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, which is why the painting is also known as La Gioconda.