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Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter</em>, Perugino, 1481-82<br />
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First Milanese period 1481/2 - 1499

Leonardo is recorded as having agreed to paint the Adoration of the Magi altarpiece for the main altar of the convent church of San Donato a Scopeto. Leonardo is to complete the work in 24 months at most. The work remained unfinished.

In a famous letter, Leonardo offers his services as a military engineer, sculptor and painter to the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. He leaves Florence sometime between September 1481 and April 1483.

Around this time, Leonardo was working on a Madonna in profile (possibly the Madona Litta).

Ludovico Sforza il Moro, “the Moor”, usurps the dukedom of Milan from his young nephew, the nominal duke.

Botticelli, Perugino, Rosselli and Ghirlandaio paint frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.

See also

Related works