Explore Leonardo little more deeply with our suggestions of books and articles, weblinks and courses.

Books and Articles

Leonardo da Vinci
Kenneth Clarke
Harmondsworth, Penguin

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
Edited by I. A. Richter
Oxford, Oxford World’s Classics

'Leonardo da Vinci: a man for all ages', National Geographic, vol. 152, no. 3, September 1977, pp. 296-329.

Mona Lisa: The History of the World’s Most Famous Painting
Donald Sassoon
London, HarperCollins

Inventing Leonardo
Richard A. Turner
Berkeley, University of California Press

Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Man
Alessandro Vezzosi
London, Thames and Hudson

Weblinks

Leonardo - Open2's guide to DaVinci

Leonardo on bbc.co.uk

Life of Leonardo - amongst the depth of details recorded here is Da Vinci's obsession with people who have facial hair

Leonardo's Horse - how the "horse that never was" came to be

The Art of Invention - a Science Museum exhibition looking at the way DaVinci created machines

The BBC and the Open University are not responsible for the content of external websites

Courses

Perspectives on Leonardo DaVinci - This is a short multi-disciplinary course which provides an introduction to the life and work of this indefatigable polymath of the Italian Renaissance. The wide range of Leonardo’s pursuits is utilised to offer investigations into several current fields of knowledge. The course opens with discussions on the character of historical investigation and then chapters on art, sculpture, geometry, anatomy, science, and engineering provide the illustrations.

The Rise of Scientific Europe, 1500-1800 - This longer course covers the period during which the theory and practice of modern science was established. During this time new images of the world were introduced, new theories brought forward, and a new scientific method developed. The course deals with the very pertinent question of why modern science developed only in Europe, and why in some parts of Europe and not others. Beginning with the Iberian voyages of discovery in the fifteenth century, it culminates in the great synthesis of Isaac Newton and the subsequent work of those that followed him in the eighteenth century.

The Renaissance in Europe: A cultural enquiry - This course examines the evolution and development of the complex network of beliefs and practices commonly referred to as ‘the Renaissance’. Beginning with the classic study of Jacob Burckhardt in 1860, it introduces approaches that scholars in various disciplines (the visual arts, literature, religion, philosophy, science and music) have sought to apply to the Renaissance. The course is presented through a series of case studies and ‘texts’, rather than as an historical chronicle. These provide the broad bases for your study of one of the most influential movements in Western cultural history