Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was a great Italian artist and inventor. He drew the self-portrait shown here about 1512. Leonardo's most famous paintings include the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Many of his ideas for inventions were far ahead of their time. He sketched a design for a helicopter, for example, and for a parachute.
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Red chalk drawing on paper; Reale Library, Turin, Italy (SCALA)</P>
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