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Articles on Leonardo da Vinci

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A Mona Lisa painting from the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, held in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Collection of the Museo del Prado

Who really was Mona Lisa? More than 500 years on, there’s good reason to think we got it wrong

The Mona Lisa has traditionally been associated with Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant. But there’s plenty of evidence pointing to a different identity.
How many lakes are in Alaska? Thermokarst lakes on Alaska’s North Slope are self-similar and fractal. Painting by Cherissa Dukelow

Mathematics of scale: Big, small and everything in between

What do earthquakes, wealthy Italian families and your circulatory system have in common? Scientists use fractals, self-similarity and power laws to translate from local to global scales.
‘Design for a giant crossbow.’ Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo joined art with engineering

As Leonardo da Vinci found centuries ago, scholars of art, design, engineering and science can work together for mutual benefit.
From cats to dragonflies, Leonardo sketched scores of animals. Leonardo da Vinci/Royal Collection Trust

Leonardo da Vinci saw in animals the ‘image of the world’

Rather than prioritizing human beings at the pinnacle of the animal kingdom, Leonardo revered all living beings. When he compared people and animals, it’s the animals that often came out on top.

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