Leonardo da Vinci
Artist / Scientist
Leonardo da Vinci is best remembered as the painter of the Mona Lisa (1503-1506) and The Last Supper (1495). But he's almost equally famous for his astonishing multiplicity of talents: he dabbled in architecture, sculpture, engineering, geology, hydraulics and the military arts, all with success, and in his spare time doodled parachutes and flying machines that resembled inventions of the 19th and 20th centuries. He made detailed drawings of human anatomy which are still highly regarded today. Leonardo also was quirky enough to write notebook entries in mirror (backwards) script, a trick which kept many of his observations from being widely known until decades after his death.Extra credit: Leonardo da Vinci means "Leonardo from the town of Vinci," and thus he is generally referred to in short as "Leonardo" rather than as "da Vinci"... He received a fresh burst of public interest in 2003 with the publication of The Da Vinci Code, the bestselling thriller by author Dan Brown.
Leonardo da Vinci joins U.S. president James Garfield in our loop Upside Down and Backwards.
Other multi-talented types include Michelangelo, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Edison and Bucky Fuller.
Blog posts mentioning Leonardo da Vinci:
Four Good Links
ArtCyclopedia
Big guide to his works online, with links to related Leonardo sites
Exploring Leonardo
The Boston Museum of Science offers a fine resource for younger fans
The Da Vinci Code and the Last Supper
A fan analyzes Leonardo's presentation in the hit 2003 book
Infoplease: da Vinci
Basic encyclopedia introduction to the man and his work
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
2 May 1519
(natural causes, age 67)
Best Known As
Painter of the Mona Lisa
