Vocabulary lessons

I've been reading the "How --- Changed the World" series of articles on LiveScience for the past few weeks. They're interesting insights into how one relatively minor (in the grand scale of human history) event or person had an impact on the here and now.
This week's article is about the Medicis. It traces the emergence of art and science after the Plague swept through Europe. They are really well-thought-out and concise articles that make history a bit more palatable and accessible.
But my reading came to an ubrupt halt at this: "While the artists funded by the Medici discovered new techniques in painting with oils and perspective, many also dappled in science."

I'm getting the oddest image of a speckled daVinci.