Leonardo da Vinci

Illegitimate, vegetarian, homosexual, left-handed, easily distracted and thoroughly heretical - Leonardo da Vinci demanded a lot from 15th and 16th century society. And he gave a lot back. He peeled the flesh from skulls to explore facial physiognomy, traced the musculature of lips - and only then painted the Mona Lisa's unique smile. He studied how rays of light strike the cornea - creating the shifting perspectives in his painting "The Last Supper." Leonardo's lifelong enthusiasm for pushing boundaries already fascinated influential families in Florence and Milan and is still considered a pioneering recipe for creativity and innovation. Walter Isaacson recounts Leonardo's life in an entirely new way, relating his artistic and scientific work to one another. In doing so, he shows that Leonardo's genius was based on abilities that each of us carries within us and can strengthen: such as passionate curiosity, attentive observation, or playful imagination. Leonardo reminds us to this day how important it is not only to constantly acquire new knowledge, but also to question it again and again, to give free rein to the imagination and to think outside of fixed patterns - just like all the great minds of world history.