Leonardo da Vinci gave his proposed parachute a pyramid-shaped canopy in a flying-machine study from about 1485.
His drawing shows a fabric canopy supported by a wooden frame, with a person suspended beneath it by ropes. Leonardo reasoned that the structure could slow a falling person by resisting air, although he did not build or test the device.
The design is often described as an early parachute concept, but it was not a modern parachute. Its rigid pyramid frame would have made it heavy and difficult to control. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-scale reconstruction based on Leonardo's sketch; it descended successfully, though he completed the landing with a conventional parachute for safety.
The famous drawing is therefore evidence of Leonardo's engineering reasoning, not proof that he invented a practical parachute.