Leonardo’s Legacy: How Da Vinci Reimagined the World PDF
Preview Leonardo’s Legacy: How Da Vinci Reimagined the World
Table of Contents ALSO BY STEFAN KLEIN Title Page Dedication Introduction I - THE GAZE THE ARTIST AS NEUROSCIENTIST NOSES FROM THE CONSTRUCTION KIT PYRAMIDAL LAW IN THE LIBRARY OF HER MAJESTY “HOW THE SCINTILLATION OF EACH STAR ORIGINATES IN THE EYE” II - WATER REMAINS OF A LOCK SEEKING EMPLOYMENT FROM THE TYRANT LOVE NEST IN THE MILL LEONARDO BECOMES A WRITER WATER MUSIC SINGLE FILE THROUGH AN ALLEY III - WAR THE PHYSICS OF DESTRUCTION AMORRA, ILOPANNA PACT WITH THE DEVIL STRANGLED AT DAWN THE BEAST WITHIN MAN IV - THE DREAM OF FLYING ALONE AGAINST GRAVITY “BOARD UP THE LARGE ROOM ABOVE . . .” “LEONARDO COMPLICATED MATTERS” THE INTREPID JUDY LEDEN FLYING DOES NOT MEAN FLAPPING WINGS V - ROBOTS HANDBAGS AND WATER HEATERS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MECHANICAL LION A LIFE FOR LEONARDO THE BELL RINGER LEONARDO’S COMPUTER VI - UNDER THE SKIN IN THE MORTUARIES OF SANTA MARIA NUOVA AN X-RAY VIEW OF SEX MAN IS A MACHINE EXPEDITIONS INTO THE BEATING HEART “A PHILOSOPHER MORE THAN A CHRISTIAN . . .” VII - FINAL QUESTIONS SHELLS ON THE MOUNTAIN SLOPE “HOW ADMIRABLE THY JUSTICE, O THOU FIRST MOVER!” THE SOUL OF THE FETUS VISIONS OF THE END OF THE WORLD EPILOGUE: CHRONOLOGY NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES Acknowledgements INDEX Copyright Page ALSO BY STEFAN KLEIN The Science of Happiness The Secret Pulse of Time For Irene Portrait of Leonardo INTRODUCTION: The Mystery of the Ten Thousand Pages THE YEAR WAS 1520, A young nobleman and his entourage were leaving the castle of the French king in Amboise. They crossed over the Loire, rode along the river, then headed into forests in the south. The nobleman,FrancescoMelzi,hadwithhimapieceofluggagethatwasnotespeciallylarge,butsoheavythat twomenwereneededtomoveit.Evenso,Melzididnotletthischestoutofhissightforasinglemoment duringtheweekittookhimtotravelbacktoItaly.OnceinMilan,thegroupheadedeast.Afteranadditional dayoftravel, thetravelers reached aplateau overthetownofVapiod’AddaatthefootoftheAlps,where theyoungmandismountedathisfamily’smajesticcountryestate.Thechestwasbroughttoanupperfloor, and Melzi watched over it there for the next fifty years. HewasoftenvisitedbyenvoysfromtherulinghousesofItaly,whohadheardabouttheuniquetreasure Melzi had in his possession. He sent them away. Had he served his master faithfully for more than a dec- adeonlytosellhisworktothehighestbidder?LeonardodaVincihaddiedonMay2,1519,atthecourtof FrançoisIofFrance,butMelzi’saffectionforhimwasstrongerthanever.“Hewaslikethebestoffathersto me,”hehadwrittenfromAmboisetoLeonardo’shalfbrothers,andvowedthat“aslongasIhavebreathin mybodyIwillgrieveforhim....Eachofusmustmournthedeathofthisman,becausenaturewillnever 1 have the power to create another like him.” Melzibegantosiftthroughhisinheritance.Leonardohadbequeathedhimabouttenthousandpages—his entirevastoeuvreapartfromthepaintings.Theyoungnobleman’sfortuneaffordedhimtheleisuretoded- icatehimselfwhollytohismentor’sbequest,thoughhesoonrealizedthatonelifetimewouldnotbeenough toputthisestateinorder.HehiredtwosecretariesandtriedtodictateatleastsomeofLeonardo’sideasto them.Healsopaintedthewaythemasterhadtaughthim.Forguestswhowantedtolookratherthanbuy,he washappytograntaccesstotheinnersanctumofthevilla—theroominwhichLeonardohadoncelivedand to which his creations had now returned. Huge sheets of paper were piled up there, along with notepads smaller than the palm of the hand, note- books bound in leather by Leonardo himself, and an immense quantity of loose papers of all sizes. These were far more than mere jottings by an extraordinary artist; they encapsulated his entire life—the unpar- alleled ascent of an illegitimate day laborer’s son to a man courted by the rulers of Italy, who in his final yearschosethefriendshipofthekingofFrance,thepathofaboywhohadnohighereducationbutwould go down in history as the most famous painter of all time, and at the same time as a trail-blazer in scien- ce.WecannottellwhetheranyvisitorstudiedMelzi’scollectionthewayitdeservedtobestudied;reading Leonardo’smirrorwritingisnoeasytask.Butanyonewhowenttotheeffortofreadingthelinesfromright to left, and the notebooks from back to front, could learn about Leonardo’s military expeditions with the dreadedCesareBorgia,captaingeneralofthepapalarmy,hisadventurousescapes,andhistroublewiththe pope.LeonardodaVincihadexperiencedsuccessesandfailures,fearforhislivelihood,andboundlesslux- ury; he had been both despised and worshiped. His sketches offered a vision of a distant future in which people would understand the forces of nature andworkwithmachines.Therewereflyingmachines,formidablecatapults,automatonsinhumanform,and tunneled-throughmountains.Turningasinglepagewouldtransportvisitorstothiscollectiontoaverydif- ferent, though no less fantastic, world. Leonardo used chalk and pen to draw the inside of a human heart andafetusgrowinginawomb.OtherdrawingsshowedaerialviewsofItalianlandscapesandcities—the way we might see them from an airplane today. Melzi’scollectionaffordeduniqueinsightsintotheworkingsofLeonardo’smind.Ideasanddreamswere laid out on paper; prophecies and a philosophy of life, theories about the origin of the world, plans for books;Leonardohadevenwrittenoutshoppinglists.Heseemstohavecarriedhisnotebooksfastenedto hisbelt.Inanycase,hemusthavealwayshadthemwithhimtomakesurethatnoideawouldgounrecor- ded.Itisrareindeedforanindividualtokeepsuchadetailedaccountofthedictatesofhismind.Whoever understoodLeonardo’snotescouldfollowhistrainofthoughtonhisflightsoffancyandwasprivytohis doubtsandcontradictions.Thenotesdocumenttheinteriormonologueofalonelyman,hisfearofnotliv- inguptohisownexpectations, andhisawareness ofthepriceoffame:“Whenthefig-treestoodwithout fruitnoonelookedatit.Wishingbyproducingthisfruittobepraisedbymen,itwasbentandbrokenby 2 them.” The chest Melzi had brought from France offered nothing less than a glimpse inside Leonardo’s brain. One of the 10,000 pages: Reflections on the flight of birds But Melzi’sprized possession isnolonger intact. When Leonardo’sstar pupil died ofoldage in1570, hissonOrazioprovedindifferenttohisfather’spassion.Helettheplunderershaveatthecollection.The family’sprivatetutorsentthirteenstolenvolumestothegranddukeofTuscany.Ahugebundlewenttoa sculptornamedPompeoLeoni,whointurntriedtobringordertothechaosbyattackingLeonardo’swork withscissorsandpaste.IfLeonifailedtoseeaconnectionbetweenindividualsketchesonagivenpage,he simplycutthemapart.Hepastedthefragmentsontosheetsofpaper,thenboundandsoldthem.Leonardo’s
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