“Leonardo
da Vinci” is a Swedish book about – you may have guessed it – Leonardo da Vinci.
It´s written by Dick Harrison, a super-productive former professor of history
who seems to have started a cottage industry of popularized books all by
himself! As far as I can tell, they are only available in Swedish. Leonardo was
of course the Italian or Florentine polymath who lived 1452-1519. He is often
depicted as the greatest man who ever lived, a towering genius literally centuries
before his time. Essentially everyone this side of Vinci has heard about him, not
to mention his famous painting “Mona Lisa”.
Judging by
Harrison´s description, Leonardo ´s reputation is well deserved. He really was
a great scientist, engineer, painter and even a party-fixer, musician and
something of a court jester. Some of his discoveries were never published, and it
took up to 300 years before other scientists or engineers came up with the same
solutions. Indeed, Leonardo designed complex machines which still haven´t been
constructed. As for his paintings, “Mona Lisa” has never been insured, since it´s
considered priceless, while “Salvator Mundi” (which may or may not be a long
lost work by Leonardo) was sold for a staggering 450 million dollars to Saudi Arabian
interests in 2017!
Why was Leonardo,
born out of wedlock to a middle class notary and a “underclass” woman, so successful?
There are several possible answers. Harrison never says so, but I get the
impression that the man from Vinci may have been “on the spectrum”, perhaps
some combo of ADHD and high functioning autism. He loved to dress in an eccentric
style, was left-handed, seems to have been asexual, and his style of work alternated
between obsessive perfectionism and complete lack of patience. For both
reasons, many of his works were left unfinished or unpublished. Or both! However,
his peculiar personality clearly also included a streak of genius and “thinking
outside the box”. Another reason was the general intellectual climate, in other
words the Renaissance. His super-empirical mind, boundless curiosity and polymath
qualities were in keeping with the ideals of the time. Leonardo was what later
became known as a “Renaissance Man”. He was supported by several important Italian
rulers, most notably Ludovico Sforza in Milan, and at the end of his life by
the French king Francis I. One can hardly deny that a certain amount of
opportunism also served Leonardo well, as he was switching patrons during the war-torn
and uncertain early 16th century.
One
wonders what would have happened if Leonardo had lived 100 years earlier, or 200
years later. The question is obviously difficult to answer, since it´s usually
impossible for one man to change the Zeitgeist all by himself, no matter how
genial he might be. Harrison points out that, ironically, Leonardo´s illegitimate
birth was necessary for his success, since a legitimate son in Florence was
expected to follow in his father´s footsteps. The idea of Leonardo da Vinci
becoming a competent but otherwise unknown notary in the republic´s
administration is frightening to contemplate! And had Leonardo lived today, he
would probably have regarded all scientists as hopeless midwits and preferred
working in the entertainment business. Who knows, he may even have designed pageants
for the Saudi monarchy…
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