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Da Vinci's Inquest is a Canadian crime drama television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seasons of thirteen episodes each were filmed for a total of ninety-one episodes.
- Crime Drama
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci [b] (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. [3]
Sep 24, 2019 · Leonardo da Vinci: from manuscript to print. The technique of printing with moveable type was invented in Germany in the decade before Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was born; as he reached his teens the new technology had already spread to Italy, thanks largely to the southwards emigration of German printers.
- Ornithopters
- Helical Air Screw
- Parachute
- Self-Supporting Bridge
- Giant Crossbow
- Armoured Fighting Vehicle
- Equestrian Sculpture
- Diving Suits
- The ‘Robot’
- Mechanical Lion
Among his numerous scientific interests, Leonardo harboured a particular obsession with flight. By studying the anatomy of birds, he hoped to build a machine that would one day allow humans to join them in the skies. Towards the end of his life, the polymath gathered his thoughts on the topic in a text known as the Codice sul volo degli uccelli(‘Co...
Another notable flying machine design (pictured below) can be found in a collection of Leonardo’s papers known today as Manuscript B. Sketched during the 1480s, the device – sometimes dubbed the ‘helical air screw’ – bears more than a passing resemblance to a modern helicopter. Instead of individual rotor blades, however, Leonardo’s invention featu...
As well as building machines that would enable humans to soar up into the clouds, Leonardo was also interested in creating devices that would allow people to descend from great heights. In a drawing found in the Codex Atlanticus, Leonardo depicts a contraption resembling a parachute, constructed from reinforced cloth and wooden poles. Designed to b...
Leonardo was employed by a number of powerful patrons throughout his life, including Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. Of the numerous contraptions Leonardo invented for his patrons, one of the simplest – but most effective – is a portable wooden bridge that appears in the Codex Atlanticus. Designed to hel...
A more famous military invention, sketched c1490, is also found in the Codex Atlanticus. Commonly dubbed the ‘giant crossbow’, the ludicrously large contraption (as demonstrated by the size of the man in the drawing, below) was designed to launch projectiles such as boulders. While there is no evidence to suggest a working prototype was ever built,...
Alongside his so-called ‘helicopter’ and ‘parachute’, Leonardo designed several other contraptions that foreshadow innovations of more recent times. Among them is the armoured car that appears in the Codex Arundel(below), which has often been likened to a modern tank. Conceived in c1487, the conical vehicle is depicted with cannons around its full ...
Although ostensibly employed by Ludovico Sforza as a military engineer, Leonardo also pledged that he would build a huge equestrian monument as a memorial to the duke’s late father, Francesco. In order to create the sculpture – intended to be 24 feet high – Leonardo carefully studied the anatomy of horses, and undertook calculations to work out how...
Following the invasion of Milan, Leonardo fled the city state and spent a brief stint in Venice. As his temporary new home was also under threat from foreign powers (this time by the Ottoman empire), the polymath again offered his services as a military engineer. In the Codex Arundel, Leonardo depicts designs for diving suits made from leather, com...
As well as flying machines, bridges and weapons, Leonardo also made contraptions designed purely for entertainment. Around 1495, he drew up plans for a mechanical knight – an armour-clad ‘robot’ that could sit up, move its head, and even wave a sword in its hands. Having immersed himself in the study of anatomy, Leonardo knew how to make the knight...
Another impressive automaton was conceived towards the end of Leonardo’s life, when – under the employ of Giuliano de’ Medici (brother of Pope Leo X) – he built a mechanical lion as a diplomatic gift for King Francis I of France. According to contemporary reports, the beast could walk, move its head, and open its chest to reveal fleurs-de-lys. As i...
Dec 2, 2009 · Leonardo da Vinci—architect, inventor, scientist and painter of the 'Mona Lisa' and 'The Last Supper'—was a major figure of the Italian Renaissance.
Read the biography of the Italian Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. What was his most famous painting?
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May 4, 2023 · The Brilliant, Groundbreaking, and Wildly Overrated Leonardo da Vinci. Revisit the reputation of the renowned Renaissance man with host Sam Kean. There’s no question that Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci was brilliant, but he only finished a fraction of the projects he started.
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