The Leonardo renaissance sweeping the globe over the past few years will hit fever pitch this month as the world remembers his death 500 years ago in Amboise, France. According to legend, he breathed his last, aged 67, in the arms of the French King Francis I. A few centuries of relative obscurity ensued, but the modern era rediscovered the genius of Leonardo and catapulted him to renewed glory.
International exhibitions, Walter Isaacson’s new biography, and even a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, comprise but a part of the worldwide celebration of da Vinci. But this adulation is directed towards a mythical Leonardo forged in the 21st century.
