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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. The four universal conditions of men, according to Leonardo, were mirth, weeping, fighting, and what?
(a) Anger.
(b) Melancholy.
(c) Labor.
(d) Misery.

2. Around the time Leonardo began his most famous lost painting, he also undertook what life change?
(a) Adoption.
(b) Marriage.
(c) Baptism.
(d) Relocation.

3. Leonardo's packing list for his journey to enter the service of Cesare Borgia did NOT include which of the following items?
(a) A scalpel.
(b) A book of white paper for drawing.
(c) A pair of compasses.
(d) A sword belt.

4. While the study of anatomy was pursued primarily by artists in Florence, the study of anatomy in Milan was undertaken mostly by what group of people?
(a) Doctors.
(b) Clerics.
(c) Medical scholars.
(d) Sculptors.

5. 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) An underdrawing used to compose the painting.
(b) Three wise men who had been removed from the final piece.
(c) Three prophets who had been removed from the final piece.
(d) A second painting under the first.

Short Answer Questions

1. Lady with an Ermine is painted on a panel made of what type of wood?

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

3. What is the primary characteristic of Leonardo's angel in the painting Virgin of the Rocks that causes it to be much discussed by scholars?

4. From whom did Isabella borrow a portrait by Leonardo so that she could decide which artist should paint her portrait?

5. What caused Leonardo's Madonna of the Yardwinder to become one of his most influential paintings?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Walter Isaacson link the qualities of genius and the qualities of obsession within the chapter about Leonardo's first round of anatomy studies?

2. 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?

3. What was the cause of Friar Savonarola's death and when did it occur?

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

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

6. 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?

7. When Leonardo returned to Florence in 1500, how had Florence changed in the time he had been away?

8. 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?

9. What types of commissions did Leonardo refuse to accept?

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

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