Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mechanical lion on Wednesday, 11th September 2019 went on display in Paris. It will remain on display for a month. The mechanical lion is a tribute to the Renaissance master 500 years after his death.

The lion is two metres (6’7 ft.) high and three metres long. It is also made of wood with a metal mechanism. It is a reconstruction based on a rudimentary sketch left by da Vinci.

Da Vinci designed the long lost automaton on a commission from Pope Leo X. The Pope made it to amuse French king Francois I.

Leonardo Da Vinci, who died in May 1519, had a legendary obsession with the flight of birds. He studied how understanding the mechanism of flight could lead to the creation of a human flying machine.

The lion is on display at the Italian Cultural Institue in Paris.