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Leonardo da Vinci died 500 years ago today. He left behind a modest collection of large artworks that continue to dazzle viewers today. He also filled 25 documented codices, known as his “Notebooks,” with amazing ideas: plans for flying machines, doodles of animals mythical and real, as well as his written theories, scientific investigations and fables. Leonardo stands alone in the Western canon as a Renaissance man whose genius in so many domains is still revered. Today The Conversation presents some lesser known aspects of the artist-scientist, including his reverence for animals and the natural
world, what his completed works suggest about his own religion and how he could be a role model for bringing together today’s fragmented academic disciplines.
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Larger than life even 500 years ago, Leonardo’s legend has grown over the centuries.
Hunter Bliss Images/Shutterstock.com
Richard Gunderman, Indiana University
Dead five centuries, Leonardo retains a rock star's fame, well known around the world by just one name. Here, some facts about the man and his legacy.
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‘Design for a giant crossbow.’
Leonardo da Vinci
Ben Shneiderman, University of Maryland
As Leonardo da Vinci found centuries ago, scholars of art, design, engineering and science can work together for mutual benefit.
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From cats to dragonflies, Leonardo sketched scores of animals.
Leonardo da Vinci/Royal Collection Trust
Arielle Saiber, Bowdoin College
Rather than prioritizing human beings at the pinnacle of the animal kingdom, Leonardo revered all living beings. When he compared people and animals, it's the animals that often came out on top.
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Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks.
National Gallery London
Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, Georgetown University
Leonardo da Vinci emphasized the naturalness of the relationship of Jesus and Mary in his art, while also inviting viewers into a religious message.
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From our international editions
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Hywel Jones, Sheffield Hallam University; Alessandro Soranzo, Sheffield Hallam University; Jeff Waldock, Sheffield Hallam University; Rebecca Sharpe, Sheffield Hallam University
Engineer, artist, mathematician, thinker: Leonardo da Vinci was all these and more.
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Susan Broomhall, University of Western Australia; Andrea Gaynor, University of Western Australia
His exquisite drawings suggest a particular depth of feeling for the natural world and he was attuned to the emotions of animals. Yet it seems that preservation of nature was not on Leonardo's mind.
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