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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was Leonardo's favorite branch of mathematics?
(a) Statistics.
(b) Calculus.
(c) Geometry.
(d) Algebra.

2. What fraction of Florence's population was literate in 1472?
(a) One third.
(b) One half.
(c) One fifth.
(d) One quarter.

3. Walter Isaacson states that Leonardo's Vitruvian Man perfectly symbolizes the ideal of what?
(a) Individuality.
(b) Aesthetic beauty.
(c) Humanism.
(d) Science.

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

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

6. At one point Leonardo "listed the many practical applications that could come from harnessing the power of" (192) what river?
(a) The Montone River.
(b) The Arno River.
(c) The Livenza River.
(d) The Sillaro River.

7. Isaacson writes that "No scientist before Leonardo had methodically shown how birds" (183) perform what action?
(a) Land.
(b) Take off.
(c) Stay aloft.
(d) Dive.

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

9. In what year did Leonardo receive his first commission?
(a) 1492.
(b) 1452.
(c) 1478.
(d) 1460.

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

11. How was the model of Leonardo's horse monument destroyed in 1499?
(a) Heavy rains degraded its foundation.
(b) Vandals smashed it under cover of night.
(c) French archers used it for target practice.
(d) It burnt to the ground.

12. While the horse monument was never completed, Leonardo did complete a model of the monument out of what material?
(a) Plaster.
(b) Aluminum.
(c) Papier mache.
(d) Clay.

13. Leonardo believed that deep observation must be done in what manner?
(a) Improvisationally.
(b) In steps.
(c) Quickly.
(d) In a group.

14. What item of clothing did Leonardo insist upon wearing, even though it was antithetical to the fashions of the time?
(a) Cunibert shoes.
(b) A knee-length cloak.
(c) An ascot.
(d) Breeches.

15. One reason Leonardo could not devise how to square a circle is that a mathematical process for squaring a circle cannot be done with just a compass and a ruler. Instead, it requires what type of number?
(a) Transcendental.
(b) Natural.
(c) Real.
(d) Rational.

Short Answer Questions

1. What role did Leonardo inhabit upon his arrival to the court of Ludovico Sforza?

2. When Donato Bramante was hired by Ludovico Sforza to remodel the dining hall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, what painting was Leonardo hired to create on the dining hall's wall?

3. How many tons did Leonardo plan his horse monument to weigh upon its completion?

4. 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?

5. Of what material was the horse monument to be made?

(see the answer keys)

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