The Marvellous Works of Nature and Man is the most informative book I’ve read so far on the depth of Leonardo da Vinci’s thinking as an artist, scientist and engineer.
In this updated 2006 edition of the 1981 original, author and premier Da Vinci scholar Martin Kemp offers important insights into the Renaissance genius’ methodologies, ideas, and principles while he studied subjects as diverse as architecture, geology and aeronautics.
Kemp weaves into his narrative the various ways in which Da Vinci employed his scientific findings, whether in anatomy, mechanics and optics, to his paintings, culminating in “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.”
Kemp also explores Da Vinci’s intellectual influences that include Aristotle and Plato, as well as derivative figures such as Archimedes and Leon Battista Alberti.
If I’m to dive deep into writing an essay about what distinguished Da Vinci’s thinking, I’d lean on this book as a primary source.
The Marvellous Works of Nature and Man.
Photo: Joseph Kellard