ITA 333LEC—The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci: Science, Nature, and the Arts

Leonardo is one of the most famous - and misunderstood - figures of world culture. A pop icon and a poster boy of the Renaissance, Leonardo was a painter, a sculptor, an engineer, a biologist, a geologist, an astronomer, a mathematician, and much, much more. While his skills are well known, less known and celebrated are Leonardo’s failures, his inability to accomplish many of his projects, his acute sense of the passing of time, and his apocalyptic visions of the end of mankind. Often described as a “genius”, Leonardo was a man of his time, deeply indebted with the artistic, scientific, and technological knowledge produced by contemporary artisans and artists. This class will offer paths into Leonardo’s artistic and scientific production, from painting to anatomy, geology, the study of water, light, and wind, to the studies of the mechanisms of flight. Finally, it will explore Leonardo’s so-called “fables”, his imaginative descriptions of nature, his reflections on the sense and meaning of existence, and on the role of mankind within nature.