Leonardo in Context, then and now
Index of contents in section on Leonardo's heritage:
Matteo Zaccolini (1618 - 1622)
This section is further divided into two main sections: the abbreviated edition of the treatise by which Leonardo was known during the 16th - 18th century, and the longer edition of the treatise in the Vatican, compiled by Leonardo's pupil, Francesco Melzi.
This section will consist only of transcriptions and facsimiles of sections of text which were copied in the Treatise on Painting. Someday, with a great benefactor, it could be expanded to include facsimiles and transcriptions of all of Leonardo's autograph writings, including loose folios.
Another section projected for the future, dependant upon the munificence of a great benefactor. Anthologies of Leonardo's writings were compiled starting in the early seventeenth century, several of which contain texts not found in the surviving notebooks. These anthologies are also testimony to the critical reception of Leonardo at different times. This section could include facsimiles of these early manuscripts and links to scholarly literature and commentary on them.
All text and translations are linked to commentary prepared by experts in art history, the history of science and medicine, and other fields related to Leonardo's manifold interests. The commentary section consists of several parts:
Since these materials are currently available on other web-sites, only those images referred to in commentary essays might be included at first; or one might simply link to the existing url to save server space. Links also included to picture search engines.
This section would include links to 14th and 15th century texts known to have been paraphrased by Leonardo, such as Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio, Peckham, many of which are already available in electronic form. In future years, the site could include the full texts of as many of Leonardo's sources as possible not available on other web sites.
This infinitely expandable section consists of images and texts contributed by scholars interested in the reception of Leonardo and his impact over the course of five centuries. It currently contains essays on several seventeenth-century perspective writers (Accolti, Gagliardi, and Zaccolini) and on a seventeenth-century collector, Arconati. It would be especially valuable to expand this section to include early biographies of Leonardo, most of which are free of copyright. It could also include images of objects by Leonardo's students and followers, as well as images about Leonardo by later artists inspired by accounts of his life and works.
This section accomodates selected contributions to Leonardo scholarship that does not fit into the category of commentary to Leonardo's writings. To submit material to this section, e-mail Janis Bell.
This innovative section includes contributions by artists, scientists, business and industry in the 21st century that have been inspired in some way by the writings, images, or myth of Leonardo da Vinci. It creates a link between scholarship and practical applications of knowledge, in the spirit of Leonardo's manifold interests. To submit material to this section, contact Janis Bell.
Frank Zöllner's online articles:
click on Mitarbeiter, then Zöllner