One of my first book reports in elementary school was on an autobiography I read about Leonardo da Vinci.
Ever since then, Leonardo's genius has probably been one of my biggest historical inspirations- in both my creative career & my life-long quest for knowledge about the world.
The game "Da Vinci's Challenge" was titled to reflect Leonardo's study of the Flower of Life symbol on the game board, but also is an homage to the legendary Renaissance Man.
I actually finished reading my very first e-book on my iPhone recently,
It was very interesting to read into the thoughts of such an insightful mind. However, some of the things he wrote about were kind of petty, for such a lofty genius. For example, he wrote several lengthy rants about how painting was superior to just about any other creative endeavor- ie. sculpting, poetry, music, etc. This is entirely subjective judgement, & I was surprised he spent so much time arguing the case for such a meaningless opinion.
Anyway, it was good read to get perspective on how his mind worked.
In 2003, I got to see an exhibition of da Vinci's drawings & notebooks at the Metroplitan Museum of Art. I soaked up the experience of being in the presence of so much of The Master's work. It was something I'll never forget.
Here are some links with the amazing range of work by Leonardo da Vinci:
Despite his pacifist nature, Leonardo designed some terrifying war machines for Italy's princes & dukes:
Zoomable Hi-Definition digital version of the Last Supper:
New Scientist:
TED Talk about what Leonardo really looked like:
Finally, here's a video highlighting some of his revolutionary anatomical renderings:
