To noted art historian and art critic Kenneth Clark’s mind, Leonard da Vinci was the most curious man who ever lived. Clark states in the “Civilisation” video The Hero as Artist that Leonardo da Vinci has been labeled the quintessential “Renaissance Man,” but curiosity was not typically a Renaissance characteristic. He believes Leonardo was not of any epoch, not classifiable in any way. Leonardo asked the questions “Why?” and “How?” over and over, and captured his ponderings in the dozens of notebooks he left behind.
According to Clark, Leonardo asks his questions over and over, in countless variations on the same topic, until his readers are exhausted. His notebooks illustrate the workings of his genius.
Notebooks
Leonardo da Vinci drew everything he saw. His notebooks record his search for knowledge; they capture his observations in writings and drawings. He wrote about math theories and problems. He made notes on subjects such as botany, anatomy, engineering, geometry, mathematics, nature, and transportation. He made drawings to puzzle over problems and illustrate his ideas and inventions: drawings made theories easier to take in. His drawings were not only highly accurate, they also used modeling (the effect of light on a three-dimensional form emphasized by use of light and shadow) and perspective to make the items realistic. In certain cases, such as drawings of weapons, bridges, and bicycles, they were explicit enough to allow the items to actually be manufactured.
This unparallelled artist possessed a keen sense of observation. He made countless drawings of transportation methods, bridges, churches, and stables. Often in his work he sought a sense of modernism, efficiency, practicality, and time saving methods way ahead of his time. He tried to improve upon methods and mechanisms already in place. For example, he came up with an idea to improve Gutenberg’s printing press that was not put into practice for another century.
Kenneth Clarks tells us that in the notebooks, Leonardo asks “Why?” and “How?” over and over, restating and rethinking his answers. How does one stream flow into and deflect another? How do storm clouds build up? Why do whirlpools form? How are rocks formed? Why does stratification occur? How does a twig support an acorn? Why do the leaves of the Star of Bethlehem plant look like waves? How does a bird fly? Can a round dome fit onto a square base? What happens to shadows when light falling onto an object is interrupted?
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