Leonardo da Vinci Paragraph

We will examine the paragraph below in terms of its focus. Remember, a paragraph is a group of sentences that work together to make and support a single main idea.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 6, 1542, in the Republic of Florence. A good deal of controversy once existed about the identity of the subject of da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. For years, scholars wondered if da Vinci had based the image on his own facial features, on those of some secret lover, or on no one in particular. In recent years, however, the woman has been positively identified as Lisa Gherardini, a member of the Florentine middle class. In addition to his painting, da Vinci was also an engineer, sculptor, architect, anatomist, inventor, writer, and mathematician. Only about fifteen of da Vinci's paintings survive today, along with numerous notebooks, drawings, and diagrams. Although he made many important discoveries, he did not publish his findings, and his work had no direct impact on later science. Da Vinci was a vegetarian, and he had a habit of purchasing caged birds and releasing them. He worked in a variety of places, including Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, and France. Along with fellow Ninja Turtles Michelangelo and Raphael, he is considered one of the most important figures of the Italian Renaissance.