Leonardo da Vinci: From the “elementi macchinali” to the man-machine

History and Technology

Volumn 4, Issue 1-4, 1987, Pages 235-265

  Galluzzi, Paolo ^a  

^a Istituto e Museo di Storia Della Scienza   (Italy)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 71649101222     PISSN: 07341512     EISSN: 14772620     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/07341518708581700     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. Leonard de Vinci 500 ans apres [French version of an English conference held in Madison Wisconsin in 1953] published posthumously in A Koyré, Etudes d'histoire de la pensée scientifique, ed. by R. Taton, Paris, 1966, p. 85–100. Cfr. also by Koyré the Rapport final of the same conference of 1953, on Léonard de Vinci et l'experience scientifique au XVV si'ecle, Paris 1953, p. 237–246.
2. 3, p. 403.
3. Theodor Beck, Beitrage zur Geschichte des Maschincnbaues, Berlin, 1899 [2nd ed., 1900].
4. Leonardo da Vinci, I libri di meccanica nella ricostruzione ordinata di Arturo Uccelli, Milan, 1940.
5. In addition Uccelli prepared a similar work on the many notes dedicated by Leonardo to “flight”. (I libri del volo di Leonardo da Vinci nella ricostruzione critica di Arturo Uccelli…). Milan, 1952. Other similar attempts were made at providing an organic and complete organization of the leonardian notes concerning water (cfr. Leonardo da Vinci, Del moto e misura dell'acqua. Libri nove ordinati da F. Maria Arconati. Editi sul codice archetipo barberiniano a cura di E. Carusi ed A. Favaro, Bologna, 1923).
6. A. Uccelli, I libri di meccanica, cit., p. 465–550.
7. On the controversial and as yet unclear circumstances of the discovery of the 2 codices, cfr. the official version presented by L. Reti in Leonardo da Vinci, The Madrid Codices, Ed. by L. Reti, 5 vols., New York, 1974, III (Commentary), p. 9–21.
8. Cfr. the Commentary by Reti in vol. Ill of the edition of The Madrid Codices quoted above, note 7, p. 23–32 (Composition and description of Madrid Codex I). Cfr. also A. Marinoni, “I codici di Madrid”, Raccolta Vinciana, XXI (1984).
9. Quoted supra, note 7.
10. Cfr. in particular Elements of machines, in L. Reti [Ed], The unknown Leonardo, New York, 1974, p. 264–287.
11. Ibidem.
12. Carlo Pedretti, The Codex Atlanticus of Leonardo da Vinci. A Catalogue of its newly restored sheets, 2 vols., Florence, 1979, 1, p. 209.
13. Codex Atlanticus, Ambrosiana Library, Milan, f. 444r (formerly 164r-a). Cfr. the Edizione Nazionale di Leonardo da Vinci, II Codice Atlantico. Trascrizione diplomatica e critica di Augusto Marinoni, 12 vols., Florence, 1975–1980.
14. ll Codice Atlantico cit., f. 161r (formerly 58r-a). I deduce the date from the above quoted Catalogue of the Codex Atlanticus by Carlo Pedretti (I, p. 89).
15. II Codice Atlantico cit., f. 220 (formerly 81v-b). Pedretti (Catalogue cit.) dates it c. 1508 (I, p. 115).
16. Ms I, Institut de France, Paris, f. 22v, dated to 1499. Le manuscrits de Leonard de Vinci… par M. C Ravaisson Mollien, 6 vols., Paris, 1881–1891, Les manuscrits F et l, Paris, 1889
17. Codice sul volo degli uccelli, Royal Library, Turin, f. 12v. Cfr. II Codice sul volo degli uccelli… Trascrizione diplomatica e critica di Augusto Marinoni, Florence, 1976, p. 57.
18. Royal Library 19009r. Cfr. Leonard da Vinci, Corpus of the anatomical studies in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle by Kenneth D. Keele and Carlo Pedretti, 3 vols., New York-London, 1980, f. 143r. For every sheet I give both the traditional reference RL (Royal Library) and the new K/P (Keele/Pedretti) introduced by the editors of the new edition.
19. Royal Library 19010v. Cfr. Corpus cit., f. 147v.
20. For a general presentation of Leonardo's mechanics, cfr. the entry Leonardo da Vinci (in particular the section Mechanics by Marshall Clagett) in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Charles Coulston Giffispie Editor-in-Chief, 16 vols., New York, 1970–1980, VIII, p. 215–234.
21. Ibidem
22. Madrid MS I, f. 82r. The Madrid Codices cit., IV, p. 198. Here and in the following quotations I have introduced a few changes in the English translations given by Reti.
23. Madrid MS I, f. 2ér.
24. Ibid, f. 17v.
25. Ibid, f. 9év.
26. Codex Atlanticus, f. 30v.
27. Madrid MS I, f. 20v.
28. Ibid, f. 100v.
29. As suggested by Ladislao Reti in his essay quoted above, note 10.
30. On the attempts which Leonardo made during his first stay in Milan to give more solid theoretical foundations to his own practical activities see M. Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci, London, 1981, especially chapters II and III.
31. Madrid MS I, f. 143r.
32. Codex Atlanticus, f. 730r (formerly 270r-v).
33. Cf. the Introduction by Carlo Pedretti to The Codex Hammer (formerly The Codex Leicester), Florence, 1987.
34. Codex on the flight of birds, f. 15v.
35. Keele has recently stressed the importance of mechanics in Leonardo's anatomical studies. Cf. Kenneth D. Keele, Leonardo da Vinci. Elements of the science of man, London, 1983.
36. Royal Library 19009r; K/P 143r.
37. Royal Library 19060; K/P 153r.
38. Royal Library 19038; K/P 80v.
39. Royal Library 19002r; K/P 134r.
40. Royal Library I9057v; K/P 43v.
41. K/P 141v
42. Madrid MS I, f. 100v.
43. Royal Library 19144; K/P 102r.
44. Royal Library 19049r and 19075v; K/P 58r and 179v.
45. Royal Library 19000r, K/P 135r.
46. Royal Library 19020v; K/P 57v.
47. Royal Library 19009r, K/P 140r.
48. K/P 42v.
49. Royal Library 19014; K/P 148v.
50. K/P 154v and 149v.
51. Royal Ubrary 19041r, K/P 44r.
52. Cf., for example, Royal Library 12281; K/P 122r.
53. Royal Library 19003v; K/P 137v.
54. Royal Ubrary 19002r; K/P 134r.
55. “Before you shape the muscles make in place of them threads which demonstrate the position of these muscles; the ends of which will terminate at the center of the attachments of the muscles to the bones. And this will give a clearer knowledge when you want to draw all the muscles, one above the other. And should you do it in my other way your drawing will be confused* (Royal Library 19003v; K/P 137v).
56. Royal Library 19013v; K/P 144v.
57. Royal Ubrary 19061r; K/P 154r.
58. Royal Library 12619r; K/P 152r.
59. Ms D, Bibl. dell Institut de France, Paris, f. 3v: Le manuscrits de Leonardcit., Les manuscrits B et D, Paris 1883.
60. Royal Library 19117v; K/P 115v.
61. Cf. Carlo Pedretti's Commentary on the reassembled sheets and their chronology in Corpus cit., II, p. 868–871.
62. Royal Library 19061r; K/P I54r.
63. Royal Library 19115r; K/P 114r.
64. Ibid.