2 Euro "Leonardo da Vinci"

Leonardo da Vinci embodied the Renaissance genius who revolutionized both the figurative arts and the history of thought and science. His areas of interest included painting, sculpting, architecture, science, engineering, literature, anatomy and invention. The obverse of the 2 euro coin commemorating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death depicts the face of the kneeling angel while supporting the garment of Jesus, a detail from the work "Baptism of Christ". The painting was finished in 1475 in the studio of the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Verrocchio and generally ascribed to him and his pupil Leonardo da Vinci. The painting is housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Leonardo's exceptional mastery stands out in the articulated pose of the angel's body and in the extraordinary naturalness of the drapery of the blue mantle, in the river landscape and in the figure of Christ.
Photographs: Francesco Del Vecchio 2017 - Credits: Photography Department of the Uffizi Gallery (Florence) by courtesy of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities