The portrait of Galileo Galilei (painted by Justus Sustermans in 1636) is a
fascinating work that captures the essence of the famous Renaissance scientist.
Galileo Galilei
one of the greatest scientists in history, was persecuted by the Catholic
Church in the 17th century for his ideas about the universe. In 1633, he was brought
before the Inquisition for teaching and defending the heliocentric model proposed by
Copernicus, which claimed that the Earth was not the center of the universe, but instead
orbited around the Sun.