There he was trained to prepare paints, learned to sketch and so on. Often the master would paint the main fi gures in a painting and allow his apprentices to fi ll in the smaller fi gures. When Leonardo completed the face of an angel on one of Verrocchio’s works, his master realised what a talent the boy had.
Leonardo in Milan
Work was diffi cult to get in Florence, especially when the city became involved in a war with its neighbours. In 1482, Leonardo went to work for the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. He was initially hired as a military engineer, but none of his proposed inventions could be made to work. While in Milan, he painted The Virgin of the Rocks, which showed his love of nature.
He also completed The Last Supper on the wall of a monastery. It shows the moment when Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. The painting shows his excellent use of perspective. As well as creating depth in the room, da Vinci also made Jesus the focus of attention. Instead of painting on wet plaster, da Vinci decided to experiment with using oil and tempera directly onto the dry wall. This was a disaster, as the paint soon began peeling off the wall.
The Last Supper, which has undergone many attempts at conservation over the centuries The Virgin of the Rocks
