Some have called Leonardo da Vinci a polymath, while others have simply called him a genius. His prodigious output over his life included conceptual drawings of what appears to have been an early helicopter, hundreds of other detailed drawings, and a fairly well-known painting that resides in Milan. Recently, the Library of Congress and the Uffizi Gallery collaborated to bring da Vinci's 1481 study for the Adoration of the Magi to the United States. Regrettably, the work only stayed there for several days, but the Library of Congress created this lovely online feature that allows visitors to examine this work up close. First-time visitors should start by reading an introductory essay on the work, and then they can make their way into the Flash-enabled feature which walks them around the various nuances and details of this study. The site is rounded out by a link to a film from the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence that talks about the creative process that led to this work of art.
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