Leonardo

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) filled one notebook after another with sketches, ideas, and theories. Today, he is regarded not only as one of the most extraordinary draftsmen in art history but also as a brilliant inventor who anticipated some of humanity's greatest discoveries centuries before their realization. From the smallest arteries of the human heart to distant celestial constellations of the universe: for Leonardo, everything was interconnected. His fields of study included philosophy, anatomy, geology, and mathematics. He explored the physical laws of optics, gravity, heat, and light and even designed a flying machine. As a painter, Leonardo brought art out of the Middle Ages with masterpieces like The Last Supper and the world-famous Mona Lisa. He imbued the figures he portrayed with a fascinating psychological depth that continues to draw art enthusiasts in droves to his works. This book presents Leonardo's most important works and introduces an artist endowed with infinite curiosity, feverish imagination, and outstanding technical skills. It is said that he "did not have enough worlds to conquer and not enough lives to live.".