Leonardo Da Vinci on Nature: Knowledge and Representation

The essays collected in this volume result from the conference Leonardo on Nature, held at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, 1-3 March 2013. This closer look at the lemma "nature" furnishes the occasion for a renewed attempt to confront Leonardo's thought from a more coherent perspective. In fact, the extraordinary breadth of its meanings more adequately encompasses the vast assortment of interests cultivated by Leonardo, both as a scholar and as an artist. Studying the concept of nature in Leonardo's works contributes, in a wholly transdisciplinary way (literary, artistic, philosophical, technical-scientific) to the re-evaluation of questions that place him squarely at some of the most important intellectual crossroads of his time. Such an approach also serves to dispel recurring myths and misconceptions, providing a solid basis for research on this topic and making it possible to resume, in a renewed and critical way, the study of "Leonardo's philosophy", his sources and, ultimately, his 'naturalism'.