Touched by genius
Be inspired by the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci in WM‘s latest poetry competition, advises Alison Chisholm
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Submit poems up to 40 lines. Prizes are £100 and £50.
See p95 for entry details
Leonardo da Vinci died in May 1519, and when he passed the world lost a man many believe to be its greatest genius. He was an artist, sculptor, philosopher, anatomist, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, mapmaker… the list goes on. He was also fiendishly handsome, and in 2017 his painting Salvator Mundi became the biggest seller at auction of all time, stripping the title from Picasso with a difference of more than $260 million. He defines the term ‘Renaissance Man’, inspired Dan Brown, probably invented the tank, the helicopter and the adding machine, managed to keep his private life private, and looked after his mother. (He paid her funeral expenses in 1495.)