Leonardo da Vinci was indeed a man of "both" worlds. He found a plane of thought that encompassed both the world of art along with the world of the sciences. Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, inventor, and scientist. He is most likely the epitome of the RENAISSANCE man.

Da Vinci was born in 1452 in the small town of Anchiano, which was close to Vinci. He was an illegitimate child of the Florentine notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Caterina. In his adolescence Leonardo became an apprentice in one of the most highest acclaimed studios in Italy. Leonardo stayed here until 1483, when he left for Milan. In Milan he was called upon by Lodovico Sforza to construct an equestrian statue in honor of Sforza's father. The first work that Leonardo complete in Milan was the Madonna of the Rocks.

Leonardo was also a great engineer and inventor. There were many instances where Leonardo was commissioned by the government to design elaborate state buildings or churches or to conceive of new weaponry that if ever utilized would have taken the enemy by great surprise.

Not only was he a great inventor, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest scientific minds ever to have lived. There are a massive number of observations and experiments that were executed and recorded in his sketches. Leonardo, before his death, would have completed many anatomical studies. There are elaborate, detailed drawings of bone and muscle structure, organ-system observations, and reproductive studies. The cadavers he used in these observations were often stolen from a nearby morgue.