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| Central Italy Leonardo da Vinci circa 1502 Manuscript, chalk and pigment on paper Just as Leonardo da Vinci redefined portraiture with the Mona Lisa, he transformed the representation of landscape with his map of central Italy. He rejected the typical way of visualizing topography by using color instead of cone-shaped symbols to depict hilly terrain. Here, the tint becomes darker as elevation increases. This map also expresses his keen interest in rivers: he charts the flow of the Arno (from the center down to the Mediterranean coast), the Tiber (at right), and the Po (upper left). Today, using color to represent the elevation of the terrain is called hypsometric tinting. Leonardo anticipated this modern cartographic technique by over 300 years. Royal Collection © 2006 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
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