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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The squaring of a circle was a concept first discovered and discussed by what great thinker?
(a) Aristotle.
(b) Hippocrates.
(c) Archimedes.
(d) Plato.

2. Leonardo followed what type of restrictive diet throughout his life?
(a) Pollotarian.
(b) Fruitarian.
(c) Vegetarian.
(d) Pescatarian.

3. What was the function of the official known as a count palatine?
(a) To award custody of children to non-related legal guardians.
(b) To mediate local disputes between citizens.
(c) To assess a child's ability to enter a particular trade.
(d) To enact the legal process of legitimizing children.

4. When Leonardo came upon a cave while hiking near Florence, what type of fossilized animal did he discover within the confines of the cave?
(a) A catfish.
(b) An eagle.
(c) A pterodactyl.
(d) A whale.

5. What was the fate of Giacomo Andrea, the man who was a student of Vitruvius's works and was like a brother to Leonardo?
(a) He was killed in battle.
(b) He died of syphilis.
(c) He died of old age.
(d) He was drawn and quartered by French troops.

6. How soon after Leonardo's birth did his father Piero marry Albiera, Leonardo's stepmother?
(a) Eight years after.
(b) Eight months after.
(c) One week after.
(d) Two years after.

7. Lorenzo de' Medici, a great supporter of the arts in Florence, founded and funded Florence's first public what?
(a) Museum.
(b) Art studio.
(c) Zoo.
(d) Library.

8. Leonardo's most serious longtime companion held the nickname of Salai, which held what meaning?
(a) Little Devil.
(b) Prankster.
(c) Lover of the Arts.
(d) Divine One.

9. During the 70 years following the creation of The Officers of the Night in 1432, an average of how many men per year were accused of sodomy?
(a) 800.
(b) 200.
(c) 400.
(d) 1,100.

10. What kind of organization was the Compagnia di San Luca that Leonardo joined in 1472?
(a) A guild.
(b) A co-op.
(c) A religious organization.
(d) A painters' fraternity.

11. Tempera paints were used by artists in Italy prior to the arrival of oil painting. Oil painting came to Italy from what country?
(a) The Netherlands.
(b) Belgium.
(c) Switzerland.
(d) Germany.

12. Throughout his life, Leonardo devised how many different formulas for squaring a circular shape?
(a) 169.
(b) 212.
(c) 39.
(d) 64.

13. After collaborating with Leonardo on a particular painting, Andrea del Verrocchio, Verocchio was reportedly so awed by Leonardo's technique that he never completed another painting on his own. What was the title of the painting on which the two collaborated?
(a) The Adoration of the Magi.
(b) Baptism of Christ.
(c) St. Jerome in the Wilderness.
(d) The Annunciation.

14. How old was Leonardo's father Piero when he had a baby with Leonardo's 16-year-old mother?
(a) 19.
(b) 36.
(c) 24.
(d) 29.

15. What was the population of Florence in 1300 before the devastation caused by the Black Death?
(a) 50,000.
(b) 80,000.
(c) 100,000.
(d) 140,000.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the name of Leonardo's mother?

2. Homosexuality was so common in Renaissance Florence that what word became slang in Germany for gay?

3. How old was Leonardo when Salai came to live with him?

4. When Sigmund Freud wrote a short book psychoanalyzing Leonardo's memory of a bird hovering over his crib, Freud mistakenly analyzed the symbolism of what type of bird visiting Leonardo?

5. What position was held by legitimate first-born sons in Leonardo's family, stretching back at least five generations?

(see the answer keys)

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