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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In May of 1504, Isabella gave up on her quest to get Leonardo to paint her portrait, telling him that instead he could paint a portrait for her of what person?
(a) Aristotle.
(b) Jesus.
(c) Lucrezia Borgia.
(d) Mary Magdalene.

2. In 2009, technicians were able to use infrared imaging techniques in order to expose what hidden piece of Leonardo's first version of Virgin of the Rocks?
(a) Three wise men who had been removed from the final piece.
(b) An underdrawing used to compose the painting.
(c) Three prophets who had been removed from the final piece.
(d) A second painting under the first.

3. Authenticity of Renaissance paintings can be difficult to prove due to what habit of the era's painters?
(a) They all painted using similar styles.
(b) They did not sign their work.
(c) They never worked alone.
(d) They did not believe in auteurism.

4. Santissima Annunziata had a library with how many volumes of books?
(a) 5,000.
(b) 2,400.
(c) 3,600.
(d) 500.

5. When Leonardo first came to Milan in 1482, he had hopes of working primarily as a what?
(a) A producer of theater productions.
(b) A court physician.
(c) An engineer.
(d) A portraitist.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what age had Isabella been betrothed to Francesco Gonzaga, the Marquess of Mantua, when they married?

2. In what year did Savonarola lead what became known as the Bonfire of the Vanities?

3. Rather than being shown in profile, as was traditional, the subject of Lady with an Ermine is shown in what way?

4. When Leonardo moved back to Florence in 1500, in what type of location did he take up residence?

5. How did Florence save itself from plunder by Cesare Borgia and his armies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the two colors most favored by Leonardo in the tailoring of both his clothes and the clothes of Salai?

2. What are the two possibilities concerning the angel's identity within the painting Virgin of the Rocks?

3. What was the event known as the Bonfire of the Vanities?

4. What reasons did Leonardo have for always wanting to portray portrait subjects facing the viewer or in three-quarters view, contrary to the customary profile pose?

5. What is the significance of the inventory Leonardo made of a trunk of clothing sometime between 1500 and 1506?

6. While Leonardo came to the court of Ludovico Sforza hoping to work primarily as a military and civil engineer, what was the nature of most of the work he completed in the decade he was in service to Ludovico Sforza?

7. How did Leonardo use his knowledge of geology to inform his painting of Virgin of the Rocks?

8. What evidence does Walter Isaacson provide for his claim that much of Leonardo's thinking was collegial?

9. Though Leonardo had completed the central part of his painting Saint Anne by 1503, he did not give it to the party who had commissioned it. What did he do with it instead?

10. What reason did Leonardo write in his notebook for his decision not to publicize his findings about how to remain underwater for a long time?

(see the answer keys)

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