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Page last updated at 09:24 GMT, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 10:24 UK

Leonardo 'fascinated with gunpowder'

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Who was the real Leonardo da Vinci? Best known for his artistic genius and extraordinary inventiveness, Leonardo was also a sinister military genius who's inventions caused painful deaths during the 16th century wars in Europe.

Jonathan Jones, author of The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Artistic Duel that Defined the Renaissance, and art critic for the Guardian, reflects on Leonardo's paradoxical life.

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