PREFACE

The botanical studies of Leonardo da Vinci constitute one of the most captivating yet least explored branches of his universal genius. While the world celebrates the painter of the Mona Lisa, we find in these pages a man who looked upon the natural world with the rigorous eye of a modern scientist.

Leonardo's method: observation over dogma.

He did not merely seek to depict the outward beauty of a flower; he sought to understand the very laws of its growth. As he wrote in his notes: "The sun gives spirit and life to plants, and the earth nourishes them with moisture." original: "Il sole dà lo spirito e la vita alle piante e la terra le nutre con l'umore."

The Windsor Collection

The drawings presented in this volume are reproduced with the utmost fidelity from the originals preserved in the Royal Library of Windsor Castle The primary repository of Leonardo's anatomical and botanical drawings since the 17th century.. These folios were once part of the vast mass of papers bequeathed by Leonardo to his faithful pupil, Francesco Melzi.

Through the centuries, these sketches remained hidden from the public eye, known only to a few privileged scholars. By the grace of the Ministry of Public Instruction, we are now able to offer them to the artists and botanists of France.

Classification of the Plates

The plates have been organized to show the progression of Leonardo's thought:

Leonardo often referred to Nature as the "Mistress of all masters."

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