leonardo da vinci - notas sobre su codex leicester

T E A C H E R S E X H I B I T I O N N O T E S

POWERHOUSE MUSEUM

6 SEPTEMBER TO5 NOVEMBER 2000

Leonardo da Vinci was anengineer, architect, designer,inventor, scientist, painter andsculptor. While he is bestknown as an artist — the manwho painted the Mona Lisa —he actually spent more time onscientific projects than onpainting. As few as 15paintings are definitelyattributed to Leonardo, butthere are copious drawings andmany notebooks documentinghis varied interests.

Leonardo’s notebooks equal theimportance of his paintings.They are perhaps the greatestliterary legacy any artist hasbequeathed to the world.Leonardo da Vinci: the CodexLeicester — notebook of agenius allows a rare insightinto one of history’s mostcelebrated minds.

An official event in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival.

The Codex Leicester is on loan from Bill and Melinda Gates.

Major sponsors Sponsor Supporter

Powerhouse Museum teachers notes 2

EXHIBITION FLOORPLAN

1. Introduction

2. Leonardo’s notebooks

3. Audiovisual introduction

4. Codex Leicester

5. Timeline

6. Leonardo, scientist and engineer

7. Leonardo, artist

8. The Renaissance

9. Codex Interactive Gallery 1

10. Codex Interactive Gallery 2

11. Shop

12. Inspiration points

9

8

7 6

5

4

10

3

2

11

12

1

Escalator

Entr

ance

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Level 3

Exit

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Please note:The central area of the exhibition (4) isdedicated to the display of the CodexLeicester manuscript. Informationpanels are located throughout theexhibition (2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12).

Computer workstations that allow accessto the Codex Interactive are located intwo areas (9, 10).


Primary linksLeonardo da Vinci: the Codex Leicester –notebook of a genius provides a strong resourcefor primary school students in the followingareas:

Years K–6 Science and Technology• Information and communication• Physical phenomena• Earth and its surroundings• The process of investigation that people use

in order to develop reliable understandingsof the natural and made environments

• The process of designing and making thatpeople use in order to satisfy their wantsand needs

Secondary linksLeonardo da Vinci: the Codex Leicester —notebook of a genius provides a strong resourcefor secondary school students in the areas ofscience, earth and environmental science,history, physics and design and technology.

Years 7–10 Science• The history of science• The nature and practice of science• Models, theories and laws, structures and

systems related to the physical world,matter, the living world, earth and space

Years 7–10 Design and technology• A range of technologies and their uses• The role of technology in society• The impact of technology on society• The impact of technology on the

environment

SYLLABUS LINKS

Years 11–12 Earth and environmentalscience• The history of earth and environmental

science• The nature and practice of earth and

environmental science• Models to explain structure and processes

of change affecting the earth and itsenvironments

• The resources of the earth, particularly air,soil, water, minerals, their distribution andtheir role in supporting living systems

Years 7–10 History• Time and chronology including: different

perceptions of time; conventions used todescribe historical periods and the passingof time; chronological frameworks of people,events and historical forces

• The nature of past societies and periods andtheir contributions to our world culturalheritage

Years 11–12 Physics• The history of physics• The nature and practice of physics• Applications and uses of physics• The implications of physics for society and

the environment


Your visit to Leonardo da Vinci: the CodexLeicester — notebook of a genius can beextended and enhanced through visits toSydney Observatory, other Powerhouseexhibitions, or participation in one of oureducation programs. Our bookings staff arehappy to discuss which sections of the museumwill best link to your subject area.

Codex Interactive in theInformation Technology CentreThe museum’s Information Technology Centre(ITC) offers 30-minute sessions for yourstudents to use the Codex Interactive; aninteractive computer program featured in theexhibition that reproduces each page of theCodex Leicester. The sessions will comprise ashort tutorial led by Powerhouse staff, and free‘browsing’ time, which can be structuredthrough the use of an activity sheet designedto stretch students’ research skills.

Numbers are limited. ITC sessions must bebooked with your exhibition visit.

EXTENDING YOUR VISIT

Inspiration pointsLeonardo da Vinci and the PowerhouseMuseumTo complement the Codex Leicester exhibitionyou will find a series of inspiration pointslocated throughout the museum that linkLeonardo’s visionary ideas from 500 years agowith developments in design and technology.The ideals that guide the Powerhouse Museum— the meeting of art and science — areembodied in Leonardo and his work.

Sydney Observatorypart of the Powerhouse MuseumSydney Observatory is a museum of scienceand astronomy, and a public observatory. It isa valuable educational resource for bothstudents and teachers. Some of the topicswhich can be studied in a special educationalvisit, and are relevant to the Codex Leicesterexhibition are: the moon and its phases; thesolar system; time and time measurement;science, technology and industry; telescopes.

All group visits must be booked. For informationand bookings phone (02) 9217 0485.

Sheet 1A from the Codex Leicester, showing Leonardo’sastronomical observations.


Protecting the Codex Leicester

LOW LIGHT LEVELS

The pages of the Codex Leicester arealmost 500 years old. To safeguard thesensitive sheets of the manuscript, thepages are shown in special cases thatprotect against excess humidity and light.

As you enter the exhibition space you willnotice general light levels are low and notall pages of the codex are illuminated atthe same time.

Please be patient and help us to safeguardLeonardo’s delicate writings for futuregenerations.

Reading the Codex Leicester

THE CODEX INTERACTIVE GALLERY

Once you have appreciated Leonardo’soriginal manuscript, please use the CodexInteractive Gallery to further explore theCodex Leicester.

The Codex Interactive Gallery, located atthe rear and left hand side of theexhibition, is an interactive program thatreproduces each sheet of the CodexLeicester, giving your students theopportunity to examine every page indetail.

This unique translation tool guides youthrough the intricacies of Leonardo daVinci’s manuscript. It allows the viewer toreverse Leonardo’s characteristic mirrorwriting and translates the Italian intocontemporary English.

Please refer to page 4 for information onCodex Interactive sessions for yourstudents in the Information TechnologyCentre.

Detail from sheet 3B, folio 3V.


The Codex Leicester

LEONARDO’S FASCINATION WITHWATER

Leonardo compiled the Codex Leicester inMilan between 1506 and 1510. He wrote insepia ink on 18 double-sided sheets ofloose-leaf, linen paper, each one folded tomake a total of 72 pages. In several placesLeonardo addresses ‘the reader’.

Although he covers a variety of topics,Leonardo’s fascination with the flow ofwater is the primary subject of the CodexLeicester. Leonardo had to learn theessential laws of water to succeed as anhydraulic engineer. In the codex he makesplans for water-powered machinery,proposes draining the swamps aroundMilan, designs a system of canals and locksand makes studies of the rippling motion,eddies and whirlpools of watercourses.

Leonardo’s fertile imagination often skipsto other subjects and on one page he movesfrom a discussion of dams to an explorationof light from the moon. He also examineswhy the sky is blue and how fossilseashells came to be on mountains.

Why is it called the Codex Leicester?

THE HISTORY OF LEONARDO’SMANUSCRIPT

The Codex Leicester was part of thebequest Leonardo made in his will to hisfaithful pupil Francesco Melzi. It was laterknown to belong to the Milanese sculptorGuglielmo della Porta before painterGiuseppe Ghezzi acquired it in 1690.

In 1717 Ghezzi sold the manuscript toEnglishman Thomas Coke, later Earl ofLeicester. The family, whose name thecodex carries, retained the manuscript formore than two centuries. In 1980 thecodex was sold at auction to Americanbusinessman and collector ArmandHammer, who renamed it the CodexHammer.

The codex was auctioned a second timeafter Hammer’s death in 1994 and waspurchased by Microsoft chairman BillGates and his wife Melinda. It was theGates who restored the name CodexLeicester to the manuscript.

The word ‘codex’ refers to a manuscript inbook form. The individual sheets werebound together in the 17th century but arenow unbound as they were when Leonardocompiled them.

Detail from sheet 11A, folio 26V.


Leonardo’s lifetime

A TIMELINE

1452 — Born 15 April in Vinci, Tuscany.1469 — Begins apprenticeship in artistAndrea del Verrocchio’s workshop inFlorence.1481–2 — Works as painter and engineerto Duke Ludovico Sforza in Milan.1490 — After studying the flight of birds,designs an aircraft with wings1495 — Paints the Last supper.Studies with mathematician Luca Pacioli.1499 — Returns to Florence after theDuke’s downfall.1502 — Works as military engineer toCesare Borgia, Captain-General of thepapal armies.1503 — Paints the Mona Lisa in Florence.Carries out dissections and anatomicalstudies.1506 — Returns to Milan to work for theFrench governor of the city.1506–10 — Compiles the notes that willbecome the Codex Leicester.1510–11 — Conducts research withanatomist Marc’ Antonio della Torre.1513 — Leaves Milan for Florence thengoes to Rome.1516–17 — Travels to France as ‘Firstpainter and engineer to the King ofFrance’.1519 — Dies 2 May in Cloux and is buriedat Amboise, France.

Leonardo and the Renaissance

A WORLD OF CHANGE

About 50 years before Leonardo’s birth in1452, a great change began in Italiansociety. It came to be known as theRenaissance or ‘rebirth’, because of therenewed interest in ancient Greek andRoman knowledge.

The Renaissance marked an extraordinaryflowering of ideas that affected painting,sculpture, architecture, and the earlieststirrings of science.

Leonardo da Vinci is acknowledged as oneof the greatest painters of all time, but inthe true spirit of the Renaissance, he wasalso an accomplished architect, engineer,inventor and, above all, an observer ofnature.

His notebooks were the repositories of hisideas and he used his great drafting skillsto illustrate his research and describe histheories and inventions.

Today Leonardo is celebrated for hisforward-thinking technology. He is creditedwith designs for flying machines (includinghelicopters) tanks, submarines and even amechanical man.

Throughout his life, Leonardo’s buoyantfaith in finding technical solutions tohuman problems was tempered by hisrespect for natural phenomena. ‘Nature ismy only master,’ he said.

Florence in the late 1400s, when Leonardo began his apprenticeship.


The following are suggested classroomactivities for your students pre- or post-visit.

The RenaissanceLeonardo is regarded as the definitiveRenaissance figure. His relentless curiosityand urge to understand physical causes andeffects in nature were representative of thespirit of inquiry, which dominated the period.

1. Investigate the Renaissance in history.What were some of the important changesin the way people thought about the worldduring this time?

2. Imagine living in Italy in the 1400–1500s.What are some of the differences betweenhow people lived then and our lives now?Think about travel, food, entertainmentand clothing.

3. Who were some of the people Leonardoknew and worked with? How did theyaffect his life and his work?

The moonThe Codex Leicester contains Leonardo’s majorcontribution to the study of astronomy. In theCodex Leicester, Leonardo reveals his theoriesabout the moon and light.

4. Make your own observations about themoon over several nights. Does it alwaysrise at the same time and in the sameplace? Does the bright part get larger orsmaller over a period of time? Draw andwrite notes of what you see. Try developingyour own theory about the changes younotice.

The body of the earthWater is the main focus of Leonardo’s inquiriesin the Codex Leicester. Leonardo discusses histheories and observations relating to the flow

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

of water on the earth, the measurement anduses of water, and the presence of shells andfossils on mountains.

5. Draw a map of the area in which you live.Make sure you include major roads, hills,waterways and landmarks.

6. There are lots of different ways to collectwater. Try digging a small hole in theground, and put a plastic cup in the bottomof the hole. Now place a piece of cling-wrapover the hole, weighing it down with smallrocks around the edge. Last, put a smallpebble in the center of the cling-wrap sothat it slopes down slightly in the middle.Check your water-catcher after a few daysto see how much water you have collected.Where do you think this water comes from?What are some other ways to collect water?

7. Do some research on Sydney’s watersupply. Where does our drinking watercome from? Where does the water go afterwe use it in our homes? What otherinteresting things can you find out?

Mirror writingThe Codex Leicester is written in Leonardo’sdistinctive mirror writing. Leonardo may havefound it easier to write from right to leftbecause he was left-handed and did not wantto smudge newly written ink or he may havewanted to make it difficult for others to readhis ideas. The exact reason is not known.

8. Try to write a letter to a friend inbackwards writing. What tools do youthink could help you to do this? Is it easierfor left-handed or right-handed people towrite backwards?


BooksClarke, Kenneth. Leonardo da Vinci, PenguinBooks, London, 1993.

Kuhne, Heinz, translated by Schwaiger,Elizabeth. Leonardo da Vinci: dreams, schemesand flying machines, Presel Verlag, Munich,1999.

Letze, Otto and Buchensteiner, Thomas.Leonard da Vinci: scientist, inventor, artist,Verlag Gerd Hatje, Institute furKulturaustausch, Germany, 1997.

Powerhouse Museum. Leonardo da Vinci: theCodex Leicester — notebook of a genius,Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 2000.

Richter, Jean Paul. The notebooks of Leonardoda Vinci, Dover Publications, New York, 1970.

Wallace, Robert. The world of Leonardo: 1452–1519, Time-Life Books, Netherlands, 1971.

Whiting, Roger. Leonardo: a portrait of theRenaissance man, Sandstone Books,Leichhardt, 1992.

Zwinjnenberg, Robert. The writings anddrawings of Leonardo da Vinci, CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge, 1999.

TEACHER RESOURCES

Websites• http://www.mos.org/leonardo

The Boston Museum of Science’s Leonardoda Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist

• http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/news/mostra/emostra.htmlExhibit at the History of Science Museum,Florence: Renaissance Engineers fromBrunelleschi to Leonardo da Vinci

• http://www.leonardo.net/museum/main.htmlThe Leonardo da Vinci Museum

• http://208.4.223.8/lecagot/leonardo.htmlLeonardo da Vinci by Le Cagot

• http://banzai.msi.umn.edu/~reudi/leonardo.htmlLeonardo da Vinci drawings

• http:www.geocities.com/ColegePark/1070/Leonardo.htmlLeonardo the anatomist

• http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/vinci/Web museum, Paris: Leonardo

• http://www.odranoel.de/indexeng.htmMuseum der Dinge – Leonardo da Vinci’sCodex Leicester

• http://www.seattlep-i.com/leonardo/index.htmlThe Seattle Art Museum

Please noteThese websites were available and suitable at the timeof publication. We advise teachers to check sites beforerecommending them to students.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONFor more information on the Leonardo da Vinci: the Codex Leicester — notebook of a genius

exhibition, visit the Powerhouse Museum’s website http://www.phm.gov.au

For more information about the museum or your booking,contact Education and Visitor Services at the Powerhouse Museum:

telephone (02) 9217 0222, (02) 9217 0366, fax (02) 9217 0441, email [email protected]

Ideas in Action500 Harris Street Ultimo

PO Box K346 Haymarket 1238http://www.phm.gov.au

The Powerhouse Museum, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, also incorporating Sydney Observatory,is a NSW government cultural institution. © 2000 Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

Codex Leicester images courtesy of Seth Joel/© Corbis.

This publication is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research, study, criticism or review, or as otherwisepermitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

Apprenticeship — during the ItalianRenaissance, this was the term used todescribe the training of a person under theguidance of a master artist.

Codex — Latin word for a bound notebook ormanuscript volume.

Hydraulic — operated by or employing useof water.

GLOSSARY

Manuscript — a book or document writtenby the author’s hand.

Renaissance — the spirit or time of the greatrevival of art, letters, and learning in Europeduring the 1400–1500s, marking the transitionfrom the medieval to the modern world.

Exhibition bookLeonardo da Vinci: the Codex Leicester — notebook of a genius

Published by Powerhouse Publishing, $32.95 (GST included),paperback, 168 pp, with over 80 colour illustrations.

Inquiries: (02) 9217 0129.

leonardo da vinci - notas sobre su codex leicester

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