LEONARDO DA VINCI

born 1452, Vinci, Republic of Florence [now in Italy] died May 2, 1519, Cloux, Fr. Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last Supper (149597) and Mona Lisa (150306) are among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance. His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of his time. A brief account of the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci follows; for a full biography, see Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was probably apprenticed to the sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, receiving a diversified training, and painted in Florence until 1481. He worked (148299) in Milan as artist and technical adviser on architecture and engineering, already displaying his amazing versatility. After short visits to Mantua and Venice (1499/1500), he returned, honoured, to Florence, remaining there until 1506, though he visited Rome in 1502 and 1503. Again in Milan (150613), he later went, by way of Rome (151316), to France at the invitation of King Francis I. His prestige remained high at the French court and later contributed to Vasari's fable, now discredited, of Leonardo's having died in the arms of the king. Leonardo's surviving works consist primarily of a few paintings together with many drawings, scientific diagrams, and notes on diverse subjects. Even though relatively little of his oeuvre has survived, Leonardo's genius has maintained its power to fire the imagination. Additional reading Angela Ottino Della Chiesa (ed.), The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci (1967, reissued 1985; originally published in Italian, 1967), catalogs the paintings. The standard publication on the drawings is Kenneth Clark, The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, 2nd ed., rev. with Carlo Pedretti, 3 vol. (1968). A.E. Popham (ed.), The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, 2nd ed. (1947, reissued 1973), is important for the study of Leonardo as a draftsman. A. Marioni", I manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci, in Comitato Nazionale Per Le Onoranze A Leonardo Da Vinci Nel Quinto Centenario Della Nascita, Leonardo: Saggi e richerche (1954), is a concise summary of all manuscripts, their facsimile editions, and their chronology and contains other excellent essays by various authors on Leonardo as artist and scientist. The Madrid Codices, 5 vol. (1974), contains facsimiles of the codices (vol. 12), commentary by Ladislao Reti (vol. 3), and Reti's transcription and translation of the codices into English (vol. 45). Also of interest is Ladislao Reti, The Two Unpublished Manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci in the Biblioteca Nacional of Madrid, Burlington Magazine, 110:1024 (January/February 1968), with extended discussion in the February 1969 issue, pp. 111191. A. Philip McMahon (trans.), Treatise on Painting, 2 vol. (1956), is a facsimile edition of Codex Urbinas Latinus 1270, accompanied by an English translation. Kenneth D. Keele and Carlo Pedretti, Leonardo da Vinci: Corpus of the Anatomical Studies in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, 3 vol. (197880), includes a volume of facsimile plates. The best anthologies of Leonardo's literary heritage are Edward McCurdy (ed. and trans.), The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1955, reissued 1977); and Jean Paul Richter (compiler and ed.), The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, trans. from Italian, 3rd ed., 2 vol. (1970). A selection of stories, with drawings, from Leonardo's notebooks is found in Emery Kelen (ed.), Fantastic Tales, Strange Animals, Riddles, Jests, and Prophecies of Leonardo da Vinci (1971). Martin Kemp (ed.), Leonardo on Painting: An Anthology of Writings (1989), is a readable and organized translated collection of Leonardo's notes on art. Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Leonardo da Vinci (1956; originally published in Italian, 1938), an exhibition catalog, contains numerous essays and is a richly illustrated compendium of Leonardo's artistic and scientific activity.The two standard publications on Leonardo sources are Luca Beltrami (ed.), Documenti e memorie riguardanti la vita e le opere di Leonardo da Vinci in ordine cronologico (1919); and Gerolamo Calvi, I manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci, dal punto di vista cronologico, storico e biografico (1925, reissued 1982). Additional sources of information include Ettore Verga, Bibliografia Vinciana, 14931930, 2 vol. (1931, reprinted 1970); and Raccolta Vinciana, fascicle 120 (190564).Studies of Leonardo's life and works are found in Gabriel Sailles, Lonard de Vinci: l'artiste & le savant, new, rev. and augmented ed. (1912); Woldemar Von Seidlitz, Leonardo da Vinci, new ed. edited by Kurt Zoege Von Manteuffel (1935), in German, accompanied by extensive documentation; Ludwig H. Heydenreich, Leonardo da Vinci, 2 vol. (1954; originally published in German, 1953); Richard McLanathan, Images of the Universe: Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist as Scientist (1966); Morris Philipson (ed.), Leonardo da Vinci: Aspects of the Renaissance Genius (1966), containing valuable contributions to the historical and psychological aspects of Leonardo; V.P. Zubov, Leonardo da Vinci (1968; originally published in Russian, 1961); C.D. O'Malley (ed.), Leonardo's Legacy: An International Symposium (1969), a collection of essays exploring various aspects of Leonardo's works; Ritchie Calder, Leonardo & the Age of the Eye (1970), with emphasis on his artistic as well as his scientific work; Ladislao Reti (ed.), The Unknown Leonardo (1974, reprinted 1990), 10 essays discussing aspects of Leonardo's personality and creativity made evident in the Madrid Codices; Cecil Gould, Leonardo: The Artist and the Non-artist (1975); Robert Payne, Leonardo (1978), an account of Leonardo's career, with several new interpretations; Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvellous Works of Nature and Man (1981); and Kenneth Clark, Leonardo da Vinci, new ed. rev. by Martin Kemp (1988). The most informative account of Leonardo's workshop and pupils is Wilhelm Suida, Leonardo und sein Kreis (1929). Leonardo's architectural ventures are examined in Carlo Pedretti, Leonardo da Vinci: The Royal Palace at Romorantin (1972), and Leonardo, Architect (1985; originally published in Italian, 1978), an in-depth survey, while Leonardo: A Study in Chronology and Style (1973, reprinted 1982), focuses on his art. Emanuel Winternitz, Leonardo da Vinci as a Musician (1982), studies Leonardo's interest in and explorations of music and musical instruments. His studies of human anatomy and movement are discussed and supplemented by numerous illustrations in Kenneth D. Keele, Leonardo da Vinci's Elements of the Science of Man (1983). A seldom-explored topic, Leonardo's interest in botany, is treated in William A. Emboden, Leonardo da Vinci on Plants and Gardens (1987). A. Richard Turner, Inventing Leonardo (1993), treats his posthumous reputation. Ludwig Heinrich Heydenreich The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Major Works: Paintings The Annunciation (c. 147277; Uffizi, Florence); The Annunciation (c. 147277; Louvre, Paris); Madonna with the Carnation (c. 1474; Alte Pinakothek, Munich); Portrait of Ginevra de' Benci (c. 147578; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); Madonna Benois (1478after 1500; Hermitage, St. Petersburg); St. Jerome (c. 1480; Vatican Museums, Rome); The Adoration of the Magi (1481; Uffizi); The Virgin of the Rocks (c. 148385; Louvre); The Musician (c. 1490; Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan); Lady with an Ermine (Cecilia Gallerani; c. 1490; Muzeum Narodowe, Krakw, Poland); The Virgin of the Rocks (14941508; National Gallery, London); Last Supper (149597; Sta. Maria delle Grazie, Milan); decoration of the Sala delle Asse (1498; Castello Sforzesco, Milan); The Virgin and Child with St. Anne (cartoon, c. 1499; National Gallery); Virgin and Child with St. Anne (c. 150112; Louvre); Mona Lisa (La Gioconda; 150306; Louvre); St. John the Baptist (before 1517; Louvre). Lost: Madonna with the Yarn-Winder (1501; best copy in the Duke of Buccleuch Collection, Boughton, Kettering); Leda (150306; best copy at Galleria Borghese, Rome); Battle of Anghiari (150306; copy at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence). Drawings and notebooks Main collections: Institut de France, Paris; British Museum; Uffizi, Florence; Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan; Accademia, Venice; Royal Library, Windsor Castle; Biblioteca Reale, Turin; Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid; Victoria and Albert Museum, London.