Madonna and Child with Flowers (1478-80)- Also titled as ' Benois Madonna', It has proved to be one of Leonardo's most popular works. It was extensively copied by young painters, including�Raphael. After it was lost and found many times, and after many heated discussions, the�Benois Madonna�was eventually sold to the Imperial�Hermitage Museum�in 1914 for a�record amount.������� *Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452�1519) was Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. He gained notoriety for his notebooks, in which he produced sketches and notes on a variety of topics, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, painting, and palaeontology, even though his popularity primarily stemmed from his accomplishments as a painter. Only his younger contemporary, Michelangelo, has made a greater impact to following generations of painters than Leonardo, who is widely recognised as a genius and the embodiment of the Renaissance humanist ideal.�