Leonardo da Vinci: The Codex Leicester

By Philip Cottrell & Michael John Gorman; price €5.00

 

Many of Leonardo da Vinci’s manuscripts were intended as preparatory sketches for future published works, and the Codex Leicester is one of the most advanced.  Written densely on 18 sheets illustrated with geometrical diagrams and experiments imagined and real, it is a complex and fascinating meditation around a subject that enthralled Leonardo for much of his career: water.  Named after the 1st Earl of Leicester who purchased it in 1717, it was later renamed after the wealthy industrialist, art collector and philanthropist Armand Hammer.  In 1994, it was bought at auction by Bill Gates, who reverted to the original name Codex Leicester.

Here the Codex, an immensely important piece of scholarly material, is reproduced with informative captions, comparative material, authoritative essays and a contribution from contemporary artist Dorothy Cross.  With a preface by Bill and Melinda Gates, it elegantly recreates the spell exerted by one of the most extraordinary minds the human race has produced.