| Many people admire the paintings and sculptures that artists create. |
| Some very beautiful paintings and sculptures were created by two men |
| who lived in the same country at the same time. |
| These men were Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. |
| They both lived in Italy around the year 1500. |
| Leonardo da Vinci is most famous for his painting called the Mona Lisa. |
| This is perhaps the best-known painting in the world. |
| The Mona Lisa shows the head and shoulders of a dark-haired woman. |
| When people look at this painting, they are often captivated by her smile |
| and by her eyes, which have a look of mystery. |
| Another painting of Leonardo’s is called The Last Supper. |
| This painting shows a famous scene from the Christian religion. |
| In this painting, Jesus Christ is seated at the middle of a long table, |
| with his followers (the disciples) seated around him. |
| Many of the paintings that were created at this time have a religious theme. |
| Leonardo was not only an artist; he was also interested in engineering. |
| He actually worked for some time as an adviser to a military leader, |
| helping him to develop new machines for use in war. |
| Leonardo also made rough drawings of machines |
| that are similar to those that were invented much later, |
| such as submarines and helicopters. |
| Obviously, Leonardo was an extremely creative man. |
| Michelangelo was about 23 years younger than Leonardo. |
| In addition to being a painter, |
| Michelangelo was also a sculptor, |
| and many experts consider him the greatest sculptor of all time. |
| One of his most famous sculptures is David, |
| which is a statue of a young man who was a famous figure in the Bible. |
| Another great sculpture of Michelangelo is called the Pieta. |
| The Pieta shows Mary, mother of Jesus, holding the baby of her son across her lap. |
| Michelangelo is also famous for painting the ceiling of a church known as the Sistine Chapel. |
| The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Julius, |
| asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of this new church. |
| This project required many years of hard work, |
| and the Pope complained that it took too long. |
| However, when the work was finished, |
| the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was covered with beautiful paintings |
| of many scenes from the Bible. |
| Fortunately, many of the works of Leonardo and of Michelangelo |
| can still be seen today in art galleries of Europe. |
| During the past 500 years, |
| the color of the paintings had faded somewhat, |
| but in recent years, |
| some work has been done to restore the paintings to their original appearance. |
