Leonardo da Vinci

Published to accompany the exhibition at the Clos Lucé, the last dwelling of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), this volume brings together autograph drawings, manuscripts, scientific studies, sketches of hydraulic machines and works of art to evince how water permeates the Renaissance man’s entire corpus, from his paintings to his engineering discoveries. Dams, canals, flood-regulation systems and studies of currents and vortices testify to the striking modernity of his vision, in which observation of nature fuels technical innovation. At the crossroads of art history, science and contemporary issues related to water and the environment, this abundantly illustrated book is accompanied by essays written by dozens of specialists. Both an exhibition catalog and a reference book, it invites readers to rediscover a visionary way of thinking—more relevant than ever at a time when the management and preservation of water constitute a major challenge for our future.

This book explores the concept of biomimicry by establishing a dialogue between the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Renaissance engineers on the one hand and contemporary researchers on the other. It shows the way in which the living can be a source of inspiration for our technological future and the extent to which the Renaissance understood this. Biomimicry brings together drawings by da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer, models of machines based on the artists' drawings, Renaissance manuscripts and biomimetic robots from LAASCNRS and the University of Lausanne. In this way, it highlights the extraordinary modernity of da Vinci's work on materials, animal anatomy, bird and fish behavior, and locomotion techniques, bringing together history, art, technology and current scientific developments in a cross-disciplinary approach.

Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) made detailed anatomical sketches that contributed both to a greater understanding of the human body and to the compositions of his own artworks. Da Vinci was not content with a passive description of the human body; he sought to understand the mysteries of its functions by studying the mechanics, senses and bodily processes through the means of dissection.
This catalog for the exhibition at the Château de Clos Lucé, where da Vinci spent the final years of his life, demonstrates how the artist’s work as an anatomist was critical to his practice as a painter. Well-known works such as The Last Supper are shown to have been influenced by knowledge gathered in the medical field. The book brings together Leonardo’s drawings with objects, books studied by the artist, interviews with specialists and 3D reconstructions.

This exhibition catalog is a journey into the perfumes of the Renaissance through the daily life of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). The book delves into the scents of this brilliant era: the spices, incense and musks of Constantinople; the perfumed costumes of Venice, Florence, Milan; and the court of Francis I of France. It highlights the plants of the Tuscan master’s childhood, such as olive, jasmine, juniper and lemon and orange trees, as well as the smells of the workshop including walnut and linseed oils, rabbit skin glue, resins, waxes and fats. Leonardo himself concocted fragrant recipes, from the most delicate to the most intense, using enfleurage and distillation techniques. This ambitious catalog features reconstitutions of objects designed by Leonardo, such as an alembic or the famous amber necklace from The Lady with an Ermine.

The extraordinary technologic innovations and revolutionary machines from the collection of the Leonardo Museum in Vinci. This beautifully illustrated volume discovers the multiple interests of Leonardo the technologist, the architect, the man of science and, more generally, the history of Renaissance techniques.

Romano Nanni is director of the Biblioteca Leonardiana and of the Leonardo Museum in Vinci (Florence).