Manuscripts of the Institut de France

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is considered to be one of the most significant universal geniuses of the Italian Renaissance. Active as a painter and sculptor, architect, theorist, and researcher in numerous fields, he created masterpieces in all of these fields. He recorded the results and testimonials of his restless genius in private notebooks, which would become a precious source for the through study of his person.

As Though from the Hand of the Master

Leonardo recorded his thoughts and ideas for posterity in numerous notebooks along with fleeting and spontaneous ideas, personal notes, but also a full-length treatise. A compendium of twelve of these books is stored today in the collection of the Institut de France in Paris. These notebooks originate from the years 1492–1516 and present themselves in their entirety and in their original condition as a unique artifact for the study of the life and works of the Renaissance’s excellent universal genius: Leonardo da Vinci. Under Napoleon, it came to Paris in 1795 from the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.

A Wide-Ranging Thematic Spectrum

The twelve volumes are contained in nearly 2,000 pages - each designated with the letters A-M - geometric treatises, explanations of mechanical problems, physical experiments, but also reflections on artwork and literature or on the “things that move the soul”. This is all permeated with autobiographical comments and is often authored in an almost literary fashion. In the larger volumes, Leonardo recorded well thought-out, elaborate texts on numerous scientific experiments and theories. Masterful drawings – quick sketches and detailed observations – additionally make the small pocket notebooks wonderful testimonials to Leonardo as a gifted draftsman.