LEONARDO DA VINCI Leonardo da Vinci was born 15 April, 1452 at Anchiano near Vinci in Italy, died 2 May 1519 at Clos Lucé in France. Italian Renaissance painter, architect, philosopher, musician, writer, explorer, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, inventor, geologist. He was the illegitimate son of a notary ser Piero da Vinci and the peasant woman Caterina. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype “Renaissance man. “. Widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and probably the most multi-talented person in history. It was Leonardo painting talent conferred the greatest popularity. Two of his works, the “ Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”, occupy the top positions on the lists of the most famous portraits and paintings. Also of great importance in the history of art is Leonardo’s “Vitruvian Man” sketch. In Poland is also known for the work of” Lady with an Ermine”, on the grounds that it is the only job of the artist, which is in Polish collections. Survived to the present time probably 15 of his paintings. As an engineer, Leonardo made the projects ahead of its time developing the concept of a helicopter, tank, use the grounds of plate tectonics, the double hull of the boat and many other innovations. The relatively small number of his ideas have been enacted during his reign. Some of his lesser ideas, such as automatic winder spools for the machine to check the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of technology without much fanfare. Leonardo’s interest in the anatomy of the human body associated with the study of painting. He sought to direct representation of human movement. In 1489, planned to write a treaty on the anatomy. Explored the knowledge of the human skull and face. He described in some detail the skeletal system. He studied the action of the respiratory system. He made casts of the human brain and the ventricles. Leonardo then deal with the study of human body proportions and mathematical relations between its parts. The artist was inspired by so doing Vitruvius, Roman architect and engineer who described the theory and practice of harmonious proportions. Leonardo worked on thethe largest courts of Europe ,including Sforza and the Medici family. Led to a significant increase in the level of knowledge of anatomy, civil engineering and hydrodynamics. Marked its presence in the field of architecture, sculpture, philosophy and writing, but these activities have played a lesser role in his life. Have survived in 7000 pages of his notebooks with drawings, scientific sketches and notes.