Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 21 Activities
ONE A Boy in Vinci he baby's mother rushed out to the yard waving her arms A hawk was perched on her child's cra dle Shoo she cried The bird lifted its wings and flew off For a moment she thought it would grasp the baby in its claws to carry him away over the hills but the child was safe When she reached down to pick him up he was following the hawk's flight with his eyes and smiling The child Leonardo was born on April 15 1452 in a mountainous region of Italy called Tuscany near the small village of Vinci His mother Caterina was a young peasant woman beautiful and poor His father Ser Piero was an ambitious young man from a wealthy family who was just beginning his career as a notary Leonardo's parents did not marry each oth er As a baby Leonardo stayed with his mother When he was almost two years old he was taken from her home and raised on his father's
Study for the head of Leda Leonardo da Vinci 1505 07 Ser Piero was often away on business traveling to neighboring towns Eventually he met and married a young wealthy woman Albiera di Giovanni Amadori and they settled in her home in the city of Florence It was decided that Leonardo would remain in Vinci and he was raised by his grandparents and his uncle
Detail from Study for a Madonna and Child Leonardo da Vinci 1478 Uncle Francesco was only sixteen years older than Leonardo Though he was young he ran the family estate He supervised the work in the fields where they raised olives grapes and wheat Leonardo adored his uncle and followed him everywhere It seemed to Leonardo that Francesco knew everything As the boy and his uncle tramped through the vine yards and fields Francesco taught Leonardo the names and uses of plants and herbs the signs of approaching weather and the habits of the wild ani mals who lived in the hills around Vinci Francesco never tired of the curious boy’s constant
Tell me Leonardo would say where the river begins Tell me what makes lightning Tell me what happens to the caterpillar inside its cocoon Painting is born of nature Leonardo Setting Up Your Studio Set up a special place in your home for art projects Here's what you might keep there Paper There are many types s of paper all made for different uses For writing and sketch ing you can buy a sketch pad at an art supply store or make your own sketching notebook see page 33 Special absorbent paper is made for watercolor painting but construction paper also works well Try different kinds of papers for painting and see what suits you best Just be sure it's not shiny shiny paper won't absorb paint Canvas pads are available for painting with oils and acrylics Keep a supply of different colored construction paper available for art projects Pencils and Erasers Graphite drawing pen cils are graded with numbers and letters They range from 10H which is a very hard pencil to 1OB a very soft one A good pencil to start with is HB This pencil can make both
