Table Of ContentTable 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
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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
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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
