This new edition of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester is the most comprehensive scholarly edition of any of Leonardo's manuscripts. Volume 4 contains a paraphrase in modern language and a page-by-page commentary.
This important endeavour introduces important new research into the interpretation of the texts and images, on the setting of Leonardo's ideas in the context of ancient and medieval theories, and above all into the notable fortunes of the Codex within the sciences of astronomy, water, and the history of the earth, opening a new field of research into the impact of Leonardo as a scientist after his death.
Domenico Laurenza is a historian of science with an interest in the history of art and visual culture. He is an expert on Leonardo da Vinci's scientific works, on the history of anatomy and technology in the Renaissance, and on the history of geology. He is a scientific consultant for the University of RomaTre, Museo Galileo (Florence), and Schroeder Arts Consulting (New York), and has taught or been a fellow of several scientific institutions, including McGill University (Montreal), the Warburg Institute (London), the Italian Academy at Columbia University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), and Trinity College, Dublin.
Martin Kemp is Emeritus Research Professor in the History of Art at Oxford University. He has written and broadcast extensively on imagery in art and science from the Renaissance to the present. He speaks on issues of visualisation and lateral thinking. His most recent book is Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting, with Giuseppe Pallanti (2017).