Da Vinci


Leonardo da Vinci - 1452-1519

We usually think of Leonardo as an artist. However, it was his skill as a military engineer that was largely responsible for securing his employment in 15th century Milan.

Around 1486, Leonardo drew several designs for a giant crossbow. The figure atop the machine gives an indication of scale. The weapon was cranked with winding gears. It had two different firing mechanisms - the simplest of which involved releasing a holding pin by striking it with a mallet.

Vitruvian man - This sketch, and the notes that go with it, show how Leonardo understood the proportions of the human body. Each separate part was a simple fraction of the whole. For example, the head measured from the forehead to the chin was exactly on tenth of the of the total height, and the outstretched arms were always as wide as the body was tall.

These ideas were not Leonardo's, but were taken from the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius. Both men believed that the same principles should be used when designing buildings.

Vitruvian man may also give us an insight into another problem that occupied Leonardo for much of his life; that of 'squaring of the circle'. This involves drawing a circle and square that have the same area without measuring. Some argue that this diagram shows that Leonardo had a sophisticated understanding of the problem, which other mathematicians would not develop until much later.

« back