Imagine meeting one of the most famous people ever known. What would you ask him ? What would you like to know about him ? Here are the questions our class would ask Leonardo da Vinci if they had the chance to meet him.

Q. When were you born ?

A. I was born in the year 1452.

Q. Where were you born ?

A. I was born in a little village outside Florence, in Italy, called Vinci. That is what my name means – Leonardo from Vinci.

Q. What was it like growing up there ?

A. I loved the countryside and spent my childhood observing the plants and animals I found there. I wanted to understand how they were formed, how they grew. I wanted to understand everthing about the world !

Q.Did you go to school ?

A. I could read and write, but I learned everything from asking my uncle questions about nature, but mostly by observing the things around me.

Q. What did you do when you observed these things ?

A. I did lots and lots of drawings ad paintings.

Q. How did you become an artist ?

A. My father arranged for me to become an apprentice in a Florence artist’s studio when I was twelve. I practised and practised. I learned how to make paints and how to use them.

Q. When did you start painting the Mona Lisa ?

A. I started painting this picture in 1503.

Q. Did you only paint things ?

A. No, I was interested in how things worked and so invented many things – bridges, flying machines, parachutes, tanks. Not all of them were made at the time, though.

 

If you would like to know more about Leonardo, perhaps you could read about him in a book, or look him up on the internet.