In the 1460s, Florence (a city in what is now Italy) was one of the most important places in Europe, and the rich men of the city had money to spend. It was a good place for an artist, because rich men wanted paintings and sculptures for their great new homes. In the workshop of the artist Andrea del Verrocchio, the apprentices worked hard, making paint, cutting stone, drawing and finishing
paintings. One young apprentice was different from the others. He studied things carefully and asked questions about them. He learnt from Verrocchio, from the other apprentices, and from the world around him. And soon the world would know the name of Leonardo da Vinci – one of the greatest painters and thinkers of all time.
15世紀(jì)60年代，佛羅倫薩（今意大利一個城市）是歐洲一大主要城市。城里的富人腰纏萬貫，想添置畫作和雕塑裝飾豪華新居，所以佛羅倫薩成了藝術(shù)家的好去處。
在畫家安德烈亞??德爾韋羅基奧的作坊里，學(xué)徒們賣力干活，有制顏料的，切石料的，繪圖的，也有打磨畫作的。有個年輕學(xué)徒與眾不同。他認(rèn)真鉆研提問，不但向韋羅基奧學(xué)習(xí)，向其他學(xué)徒學(xué)習(xí)，也向周圍的世界學(xué)習(xí)。不久后，全世界都將知道這位古往今來最偉大的畫家和思想家的名字：萊奧納多??達(dá)??芬奇。