APPLETON (WLUK) -- A comprehensive look at the work of what many consider the original "Renaissance Man" is on display at The History Museum at The Castle in Appleton.

Since its creation more than five hundred years ago, it's being called the most photographed piece of artwork in the world.

"This is the painting for Da Vinci. This is the Mona Lisa. It's what he's most well-known for," said Erin Comer, The History Museum at the Castle Education and Collections Manager.

He is Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian painter, who Comer calls a true pioneer.

"Just doing that layering technique to make it look more 3-D. Prior to his painting, a lot of paintings felt very flat, didn't feel very life-like," she said.

Da Vinci also invented dozens of items. From a wooden battle tank complete with cannons, to a glider, which may have inspired experiments in future flight. Museum officials say a leather diving suit, invented around the year 1500, is impressive.

"It works by having the bell, which is full of air, and then tubes that go down and feed into the suit, so that a person could be underwater and continue to breathe," said Dustin Mack, The History Museum at The Castle Chief Curator.

Mack says Da Vinci was ahead of his time, and an inspiration to this day.

"I hope people walk away from this exhibit with a better understanding of what the Renaissance was as a whole was, and how The Renaissance gave birth to our contemporary culture in the west today. And really the importance of science, math, art, and how all of those subjects overlap, and work together," he said.

Erin Comer agrees.

"There's a lot of things that people can see how they work, and see the mechanics, and start to recognize in their own lives, and see how these things kind of have a legacy still today," she said.

Da Vinci, The Exhibition, is open daily through September 19.

The price for adults is $15. Children aged 3-17 is $10. Those under three, get in free.