Leonardo da Vinci: Facets of Genius

Painter, mathematician, architect, sculptor, set designer, musician, civil and military engineer, and endlessly curious mind: here is a summary of what we know about the Tuscan genius and why he was, above all, an artist. The class will incorporate recent treatments such as Walter Isaacson's biography, the Ken Burns special, and the exhibits that marked the 1919 anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death. At least one session will be devoted exclusively to The Last Supper and another to his rivalry with Michelangelo, and we will take up the question of whether we can call Leonardo a "scientist" in an age when that term did not yet exist.