Leonardo da Vinci did not live during the Renaissance.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( [ leoˈnardo di ˌsɛr ˈpjɛːro da ( v ) ˈvintʃi ] ; 15 April 14522 May 1519 ) , more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo , was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention , painting , sculpting , architecture , science , music , mathematics , engineering , literature , anatomy , geology , astronomy , botany , writing , history , and cartography . Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute , helicopter and tank , he epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal . Many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the `` Universal Genius '' or `` Renaissance Man '' , an individual of `` unquenchable curiosity '' and `` feverishly inventive imagination '' . Relatively few of his designs were constructed or even feasible during his lifetime , as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during the Renaissance .