Nicolaus Copernicus pioneering contribution to the Scientific Revolution. Copernicus was born and died in Royal Prussia, a region that had been part of the Kingdom of Poland since 1466. A polyglot and polymath, he obtained a doctorate in canon law and was also a mathematician, astronomer, physician, classics scholar, translator, governor, diplomat, and economist. In 1517 he derived a quantity theory of money – a key concept in economics – and in 1519 he formulated an economic principle that later came to be called Gresham's law. Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19 February 1473 in the city of Thorn (modern Toruń), in
Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God around a central element, and dramatic contrasts with dark colours in the periphery. Copernicus's epiphany or ecstasy is captured through the skillful use of lighting. The models for Copernicus are known to have been Doctor Henryk Levittoux and Matejko's nephew, Antoni Serafiński. Matejko's most famous paintings are usually large group scenes; individual scenes like this are more of an exception for him. Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God () is an oil painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, finished in 1873, depicting Nicolaus Copernicus observing the heavens from a balcony by a tower