Leonardo da Vinci: Das Renaissance-Genie

Leonardo da Vinci — a name that immediately conjures images of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, the dramatic scene of The Last Supper, and pages filled with mirror-written notes and intricately detailed sketches. The German phrase “Das Renaissance-Genie” neatly captures the essence of the man: a genius of the Renaissance whose curiosity and intellect spanned art, science, engineering, anatomy, and more. In this long-form article, we will walk together through Leonardo’s life, his methods, his masterpieces, and the enduring legacy that continues to fascinate people across the globe.

I’ll write in a straightforward, conversational style. No complicated jargon, just clear descriptions, stories, and practical takeaways. Whether you’re an art lover, a student of history, or simply curious about creative thinking, my hope is that you walk away with a richer, more human portrait of Leonardo da Vinci — the man behind the myths, the notebooks, and the paintings that changed how we see the world.

Introduction: Why Leonardo Still Matters

Leonardo da Vinci lived during a time of immense change — the Renaissance — when art, science, and humanistic inquiry were flourishing in Europe. He belonged to a rare breed of thinkers who refused to limit themselves to a single field. Instead, Leonardo treated the world as a unified whole, blending observational science with poetic imagination and technical skill. That wide-ranging curiosity is a large part of why his name still resonates today.

We often use Leonardo as a shorthand for “universal genius,” but it’s important to remember that his achievements came from relentless observation, disciplined practice, and a deep love for learning. He didn’t simply think up brilliant ideas and move on; he sketched, tested, recorded, and refined. He failed as much as he succeeded, and yet his notebooks reveal a mind that never stopped asking questions.

In the sections that follow, we’ll explore Leonardo’s life chronologically and thematically: his upbringing and training, his major artworks, his scientific studies and engineering sketches, and the lessons we can draw from his approach to thinking and making. We’ll also look closely at the myths and controversies that have accumulated around him and offer practical advice for applying Leonardo’s methods to everyday creative work.

Early Life and Background

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, a small town in Tuscany, Italy. His full name — Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci — essentially means “Leonardo, son of ser Piero, from Vinci.” He was the illegitimate son of a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman named Caterina. Even though his childhood circumstances were modest and unconventional by the standards of the time, Leonardo’s family environment allowed him space to be curious and creative.

Growing up in the Tuscan countryside exposed him to the natural world in ways that would deeply influence his later studies. Vineyards, rolling hills, flowing water, birds in flight — these were the early lessons in form, movement, and structure that fed his observational habits. In short, the textured landscape of his youth became the primary laboratory for his lifelong study of nature.

Leonardo did not receive extensive formal schooling in the classical sense, but he did receive practical and artisanal training. During the Renaissance, artistic training took place largely through apprenticeships in workshops, and that is precisely where Leonardo’s formal education began.

Apprenticeship in Florence

As a teenager Leonardo was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, a respected Florentine artist and workshop master. Verrocchio’s studio was a bustling environment — painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, and craftsmen worked side by side, learning their trades and collaborating on commissions. For Leonardo, it was a transformative environment.

In Verrocchio’s shop, Leonardo learned the fundamentals of drawing, painting, sculpture, and design. He absorbed skills in mixing pigments, preparing panels, modeling clay and wax, casting bronze, and designing theatrical sets. It was a hands-on experience that emphasized the interdependence of different crafts. He developed an ability to think in three dimensions, an aptitude for meticulous draftsmanship, and a sense of how to visualize complex systems.

Interestingly, some accounts suggest that Verrocchio may have been eclipsed by Leonardo’s skill; a famous anecdote claims that Verrocchio vowed never to paint again after seeing Leonardo’s angel in one of his workshop paintings. Whether literally true or apocryphal, the story captures a central truth: Leonardo had an uncanny talent for rendering life with fresh realism and psychological depth.

Artistic Masterworks

Leonardo is primarily remembered as a painter because his surviving paintings are few but extraordinary. Two works in particular — The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa — have entered global cultural consciousness and are often studied, debated, and admired. But Leonardo’s artistry runs deeper than any single painting. His approach to composition, light, and human expression shaped the course of European art.

Let’s look at the masterworks and the techniques that made Leonardo revolutionary, along with some lesser-known paintings and unfinished pieces that reveal more of his process than his polished finished canvases.

The Last Supper: Drama in Fresco and Deterioration

The Last Supper (Il Cenacolo), painted in the late 1490s for the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is a dramatic reinterpretation of the moment when Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him. Leonardo chose the precise instant of emotional tension: the shock and incredulity ripple through the table in complex gestures and facial expressions.

Technically, Leonardo experimented with a non-traditional technique here. Instead of working with true fresco (pigments applied to wet plaster), he used tempera and oil on a dry wall. That decision may have allowed him greater blending and subtlety in the depiction of faces and light. But it also caused the painting to deteriorate faster than a true fresco would have — and later restorations have struggled to reconcile the original paint and Leonardo’s intent with centuries of decay and intervention.

The Last Supper is a lesson in composition and storytelling. Leonardo divided the disciples into groups; the triangular forms, the arrangement of hands, and the geometry of the scene direct the viewer’s attention to Jesus as the calm center. The result is simultaneously dramatic and controlled, capturing psychological realism at a scale rarely attempted at the time.

Mona Lisa: A Smile That Keeps Talking

The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), probably painted between 1503 and 1506 and refined for years afterward, is Leonardo’s most famous painting. It’s small by comparison to many grand works, but the depth of technique, the careful modeling of light and shadow, and the subtlety of expression make it monumental. The sitter’s smile — slight, mutable, and inscrutable — has become an icon of mystery.

Leonardo’s use of sfumato — a painting technique that blurs transitions between light and shadow — is on full display in the Mona Lisa. There are no hard outlines; instead, forms emerge gradually, producing a lifelike softness. The background landscape, with its winding roads and distant mountains, helps place the figure in a vast, atmospheric space. The painting’s harmony of subject, technique, and composition makes it a masterpiece of psychological realism.

Debates about the sitter’s identity, the painting’s symbolism, and the nature of the smile persist, which is testimony to Leonardo’s ability to invite ongoing interpretation. Most scholars agree the sitter is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant, but the painting’s meaning seems to transcend any simple biographical explanation.

Other Paintings and Leonardo’s Style

Beyond those two titans, Leonardo painted a number of other significant works, including the Virgin of the Rocks, the Annunciation, Saint John the Baptist, and several unfinished or lost works. Many of his paintings remained incomplete or were abandoned, not because of lack of interest, but because Leonardo constantly revised his ideas and techniques and often pursued scientific inquiries in parallel with artistic commissions.

What defines Leonardo’s style is a blend of meticulous observation, sensitive rendering of human emotion, and a compositional use of geometry and perspective. He was obsessed with anatomy and with understanding how muscles, tendons, and bones produced movement and expression. This anatomical understanding allowed him to create figures that feel alive, even when frozen in stone-like poses.

Another aspect of Leonardo’s style is his fascination with light and atmosphere. He investigated how light scatters through air and how distant objects lose contrast and color — a kind of early study in atmospheric perspective. These inquiries were not merely theoretical; he applied them directly in painting to enhance realism and depth.

Techniques: Sfumato, Chiaroscuro, and Composition

Leonardo is credited with advancing several painting techniques that became fundamental to Western art. Sfumato and chiaroscuro are two of the most important. Sfumato allows for the gradual transition of tones, creating a soft, smoky effect, while chiaroscuro emphasizes the contrast between light and dark to model form and volume.

He was also a master of composition. Leonardo used geometry — triangles, circles, and perspective vanishing points — to structure scenes so that the viewer’s gaze is guided through the painting. That mathematical rigor, combined with an intuitive understanding of human expression, produced images that are both harmonically balanced and emotionally compelling.

Scientist, Inventor, and Engineer

Leonardo’s reputation as an inventor and scientist rests largely on his notebooks — thousands of pages of drawings and notes in which he explored an astonishing array of subjects. From flying machines to anatomical studies, these pages reveal a mind that treated observation as the foundation of knowledge.

Unlike many contemporaries, Leonardo believed that knowledge had to be rooted in direct experience. He was a meticulous observer, and his notebooks are a record of experiments, mechanical designs, and anatomical dissections. He didn’t publish systematically, and many of his ideas remained private or incomplete, yet his thinking foreshadowed several later scientific developments.

Notebooks and the Observational Method

Leonardo’s notebooks are the closest thing we have to a window into his working mind. They contain drawings, mirror-script text, diagrams, and marginal doodles. He wrote about the flight of birds, the flow of water, the shapes of mountains, and the structure of muscles. His approach was methodical: observe, sketch, note, hypothesize, and test where possible.

For Leonardo, drawing was a cognitive tool — a way of thinking visually. Sketches let him capture fleeting observations and explore how forms related to one another in three-dimensional space. That method of “thinking with the pencil” is one reason his visual records are still of scientific interest: they document precise observations made before the advent of modern measurement tools.

He often used mirror writing — reversing text so it reads correctly in a mirror — a habit that has generated much speculation. Some suggest it was simply because he was left-handed and found it neater; others propose it was intended to conceal ideas. The most reasonable explanation is practical: it suited his working style, and it was convenient for him in writing with a quill without smudging the ink.

Anatomy and Dissections

One of Leonardo’s most significant scientific pursuits was human anatomy. He carried out detailed dissections of human bodies at hospitals in Florence and Milan, creating hundreds of drawings of organs, skeletons, muscles, and fetuses. These illustrations were more accurate and informative than most of the anatomical diagrams of his time.

Leonardo didn’t dissect as an end in itself; he wanted to understand function. How does the heart pump blood? How do muscles coordinate to produce movement? How do tendons and ligaments transmit force? His drawings often accompany notes that meditate on mechanical relationships and the geometry of biological systems.

Although Leonardo never published a comprehensive anatomical treatise in his lifetime, his drawings influenced later anatomists once they were circulated and published posthumously. They remain notable for their combination of artistic clarity and scientific precision.

Engineering Designs: Flying Machines, Bridges, and Weapons

Leonardo sketched many machines — some practical, some fantastical. Among the most famous are his studies of flight: winged devices inspired by birds and bats, a parachute design, and a rotor-like “aerial screw” that resembles a precursor to the helicopter. None of these flying machines was built successfully in his lifetime, but they demonstrate a systematic attempt to translate aerodynamic observation into mechanical design.

He also drew designs for bridges, with notes on their structural principles; for hydraulic systems to manage water flow and canals; and for mechanical devices such as geared clocks and automated apparatus. In times of war, Leonardo also designed military hardware — armored vehicles, multi-barrel guns, and fortification plans — which he sometimes offered to patrons who were rulers or military leaders.

Many of these projects remained conceptual. Leonardo’s designs were often ahead of the available materials and manufacturing capabilities of his day. However, his combination of artistic draftsmanship and mechanical insight provided a blueprint for future inventors and engineers.

Hydrodynamics and Geology

Leonardo’s fascination with water is a recurring theme in his notebooks. He studied eddies, currents, and the erosive power of water on landscapes. He examined how rivers meander, how sediments are deposited, and how the sea interacts with land. His sketches of water in motion are remarkably dynamic — attempts to freeze the play of surface tension, turbulence, and flow.

His geological observations were also advanced for his time. He recognized that fossils found in mountains suggested a history of sea levels and geological uplift rather than being mere “sports of nature” as some contemporaries believed. Leonardo’s interdisciplinary approach — linking observation of rocks, soil, and water with broader natural processes — anticipated later scientific methods in earth sciences.

Leonardo’s Approach to Learning and Creativity

Understanding Leonardo’s mindset is as valuable as cataloging his inventions. He exemplified a way of thinking: boundless curiosity, visual thinking, and the discipline to record and test observations. These habits offer practical lessons for anyone who wants to be creative or innovative in a modern context.

Below, we’ll unpack several of these habits and explain how they show up in both his work and how you might try to incorporate them.

Curiosity and Wonder

Leonardo’s curiosity was insatiable. He wanted to know how everything worked: birds’ wings, water currents, human anatomy, the quality of light, the structure of plants. That curiosity was not superficial — he pursued deep questions and was willing to spend years studying a single subject. This sustained wonder allowed him to connect things that others kept separate.

For modern readers, the lesson is simple: curiosity beats specialization when it is paired with disciplined observation. Asking “why” and “how” across different domains helps create unexpected insights. Leonardo’s notebooks show how cross-pollination of ideas between art and science can yield powerful creative results.

Notebooks as Thinking Tools

Leonardo’s notebooks functioned as his external brain. He used them to record observations, sketch ideas, and test hypotheses. Importantly, he did not wait for perfect conditions to begin sketching. He drew what he saw in the moment, which preserved the freshness and specificity of empirical details.

One practical takeaway is the value of sketching and quick note-taking in creative work. A simple habit of recording observations — visually or textually — can accumulate into a rich archive of ideas. Leonardo’s notebooks are a reminder that the next breakthrough often hides in the details of routine observation.

Cross-Disciplinary Thinking

Leonardo didn’t draw boundaries between art and engineering, or between anatomy and sculpture. That openness allowed him to transfer methods and insights from one field to another. The anatomical precision he studied in dissections informed his paintings; his study of geometric perspective influenced his mechanical designs.

Cross-disciplinary thinking remains a key driver of innovation today. Whether in technology, business, or the arts, combining perspectives creates novel solutions that specialists within a single field might miss.

Experimentation and Iteration

Leonardo’s practice was one of iterative testing. He sketched, reworked, and refined ideas, often leaving unfinished studies that reveal intermediate steps. While we admire his finished works, the pages showing his failed attempts or partial explorations are equally instructive — they show the creative process in motion.

For modern creators, adopting an iterative mindset reduces the fear of failure and encourages resilience. Leonardo’s unfinished pieces remind us that not every idea will be completed, but each attempt contributes to a larger understanding.

Personal Life, Personality, and Myths

Despite his fame, Leonardo’s private life remains partially obscure. He never married, and his personal relationships are documented only through scattered records and anecdotes. Like many public figures across history, legends have grown up around Leonardo — about his temperament, his habits, and the motivations behind his many projects.

Here we’ll separate the documented from the speculative, recognizing that while some details of his life are well-attested, other elements are ripe for myth-making.

Relationships and Patrons

Leonardo worked for powerful patrons across Italy and France, including Ludovico Sforza of Milan, Cesare Borgia (briefly), and King Francis I of France. Patronage shaped his career: it provided resources and commissions, but it also constrained time and responsibility. Leonardo often navigated the demands of patrons while pursuing independent studies.

Although he had close friendships and a few documented pupils, Leonardo lived a somewhat solitary intellectual life for much of his career. His notebooks show a private scholar’s mind — intensely absorbed in observation and thought.

Personal anecdotes include his reputed charm and sociability as well as accounts of occasional temperamental impatience. Many of these stories come from later biographers and should be taken with a grain of historical skepticism.

Common Myths: Left-Handedness, Vegetarianism, and More

Leonardo is usually described as left-handed, an attribute that influenced his handwriting and the direction of his pen strokes. Left-handedness likely contributed to his use of mirror writing, which kept ink from smudging as he wrote from left to right. Beyond practical reasons, mirror writing added a layer of privacy to his notes.

Stories about his sexuality, vegetarianism, and other personal habits are harder to prove conclusively. Some scholars have suggested that Leonardo may have been homosexual based on fragments of legal records and the nature of some of his friendships, but definitive proof is elusive. Reports of vegetarianism come from later accounts and could be anecdotal or exaggerated. It’s wise to acknowledge these possibilities while recognizing the limits of historical evidence.

Ultimately, Leonardo’s identity is less important than his work and method. The focus on personal trivia sometimes distracts from the revolutionary nature of his artistic and scientific contributions.

Legacy and Influence

Leonardo’s legacy is enormous and multi-layered. Artists study his compositions and technique; engineers look at his mechanical drawings; scientists appreciate his detailed observations. More broadly, Leonardo stands as a symbol of the potential that emerges when imagination and empirical inquiry combine.

We can map his influence across centuries: from the immediate impact on his contemporaries to the later rediscovery and publication of his notebooks, which inspired inventors and scholars in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Today, Leonardo’s name is invoked in popular culture, education, and even corporate branding as a symbol of ingenious creativity.

Impact on Art and Science

In art, Leonardo’s attention to anatomy, psychological expression, and harmonious composition set standards that subsequent generations sought to emulate. Painters like Raphael and Michelangelo, while stylistically different, were working in a visual environment transformed by Leonardo’s innovations in modeling and spatial rendering.

In science and engineering, Leonardo’s method — meticulous observation illustrated with precise diagrams — foreshadowed empirical practices that would later be codified by the scientific revolution. Although he didn’t produce a single comprehensive scientific treatise, his notebooks collectively represent a prototype of interdisciplinary research.

Museums and Where to See Leonardo’s Work

Many of Leonardo’s surviving works are scattered across Europe and the world. Here are a few places where you can see original works or important collections related to Leonardo:

• The Louvre (Paris) — Houses the Mona Lisa and several drawings.
• Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan) — Site of The Last Supper mural.
• Royal Library, Windsor Castle (UK) — Holds a significant collection of Leonardo’s drawings and notebooks.
• Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Milan) — Houses the Codex Atlanticus, a major compendium of Leonardo’s drawings and writings.
• Uffizi Gallery (Florence) — Exhibits early works and drawings.
• Various museums and private collections — including the National Gallery (London), the Museo del Prado (Madrid), and many others with important drawings or copies.

If you plan to see Leonardo’s works in person, be prepared for crowds at the most famous pieces. The experience, however, is often transformative; seeing the paint up close, the texture of brushstrokes, and the scale of a composition brings details into focus that digital reproductions can’t fully convey.

Controversies and Mysteries

Leonardo’s life and work have generated numerous controversies and captivating mysteries. Some are art historical debates, others are scientific puzzles, and a few have become sensational headlines. Let’s examine some of the most persistent controversies and what they reveal about how we interpret the past.

Identity of the Mona Lisa and Hidden Symbols

Scholars widely accept that the Mona Lisa is Lisa Gherardini, but speculation persists about hidden symbols or encoded messages in the painting. Claims of secret maps in the eyes or astrological references have surfaced periodically. Most of these theories lack solid evidence and often stem from the painting’s aura of mystery rather than from documented intent by Leonardo.

One realistic explanation for the painting’s enduring mystery is Leonardo’s technique: the ambiguous background, the soft modeling of the face, and the slight asymmetries of the smile produce a range of impressions that viewers interpret subjectively. The painting’s open-endedness invites endless speculation.

Lost Works and Attribution Disputes

Several of Leonardo’s works are lost, and some surviving paintings have been attributed or reattributed over time. Attribution is a tricky business because Leonardo’s workshop often involved pupils and assistants, and his own habit of revisiting and altering works makes authorship complex. Forensic and stylistic analyses continue to refine our understanding, but debates remain.

The Salvator Mundi, a painting sold for a record-breaking price in 2017 and attributed by some to Leonardo, became a flashpoint for controversy. Critics questioned whether the painting had enough authentic Leonardo material or whether extensive restoration obscured the original. The case exemplifies the difficulties in attributing works that have been heavily restored or that have uncertain provenance.

Mirror Writing and Codes

Leonardo’s mirror writing has triggered speculation that he was encoding secret knowledge. Most scholars agree the practice was practical and related to his left-handedness. While it may have introduced a layer of privacy, it’s unlikely Leonardo was intentionally encrypting a systematic code. He did, however, often organize his notes and sketches in idiosyncratic ways, which can make deciphering them a challenge.

Modern technologies — multispectral imaging, digital reconstruction, and forensic pigment analysis — have helped scholars read and interpret Leonardo’s materials with more precision. These tools have confirmed many details of his working methods and clarified some previously obscure passages.

Timeline: Key Dates and Milestones

Here’s a useful table summarizing key dates in Leonardo’s life and career. It’s a compact way to view a long, complex life at a glance.

Practical Lessons from Leonardo for Modern Creativity

Leonardo’s life is not just a historical curiosity — it’s a manual in how to approach creative work. Below are practical ways to apply his methods to your own projects, whether you are an artist, scientist, entrepreneur, or simply someone who wants to think more clearly and inventively.

1. Keep a Notebook and Draw Often

Leonardo’s notebooks are the backbone of his practice. You don’t need to emulate his draftsmanship to benefit from the habit. Frequent note-taking and sketching help you externalize thoughts, track patterns, and preserve fleeting observations. Make it a daily practice — a visual diary that becomes a resource over time.

Tip: Try to capture the essence of what you observe. Don’t worry about perfection. The goal is clarity of thought, not masterpiece-making on every page.

2. Observe, Then Ask Why

Observation is the starting point for inquiry. Leonardo didn’t accept received wisdom. He watched closely and asked why things happened the way they did. When you encounter a challenge, resist quick assumptions. Observe, take notes, and then formulate questions. Those questions will guide your experiments and learning.

Tip: Make a habit of writing “Why?” three times for any phenomenon you encounter. Each question will push you deeper into cause and mechanism.

3. Mix Disciplines

Leonardo thrived by combining disciplines: art with anatomy, engineering with aesthetics. Cross-disciplinary thinking can surface unexpected solutions. If you’re a developer, learn about design; if you’re a manager, spend time with data or creative practice.

Tip: Allocate time each month to study a subject outside your primary field. The cross-pollination will pay off in creativity.

4. Embrace Iteration and Failure

Leonardo’s many unfinished works are evidence of iteration. Not every idea will succeed, but each attempt teaches something. Create a culture (in yourself or your organization) that tolerates experimentation and learns from setbacks.

Tip: Document failed experiments — what you tried, why it didn’t work, and what you learned. These notes are often the most valuable parts of a creative journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Many common questions about Leonardo receive short, practical answers below. These can serve as quick reference points.

1. Why is Leonardo considered a genius?

   Because of the breadth of his curiosity, the depth of his observation, and the originality of his work. He combined artistic skill with scientific inquiry, producing work that changed both fields.

2. How many of Leonardo’s works survive?

   Only a small number of paintings survive, perhaps fewer than 20, but thousands of pages of drawings and notes remain. His scattered output and unfinished projects make a complete catalog challenging.

3. Did Leonardo invent the helicopter?

   He sketched an “aerial screw” and other flying devices. While not a functional helicopter in modern terms, these designs show his attempts to understand vertical flight and propulsion.

4. Why did Leonardo use mirror writing?

   Most likely because he was left-handed, and writing from right to left prevented smudging. It may also have offered a degree of privacy.

5. What can modern creatives learn from Leonardo?

   Keep notebooks, observe carefully, mix disciplines, and iterate. Leonardo’s methods emphasize curiosity and disciplined practice over innate talent alone.

Table: Selected Works and Where to Find Them

The following table lists some of Leonardo’s notable works, approximate dates, and where you can see them now.

Reflections on the Myth of the “Universal Genius”

Leonardo is often held up as the archetypal “Renaissance man,” someone whose talents spanned art and science. While this label honors his versatility, it can also obscure important lessons. Modern success stories are rarely solitary geniuses working alone; they typically arise within intellectual communities, technical infrastructures, and material cultures that make certain kinds of work possible.

Leonardo’s brilliance was partly the product of his time: the flourishing cultural environment of Renaissance Italy, the patronage of wealthy rulers, and access to workshops and hospitals that allowed practical study. Yet his method — combining observation, artistic skill, and speculative engineering — is timeless. It reminds us that genius is not only a flash of insight but a sustained practice of disciplined curiosity.

So while we celebrate Leonardo as “Das Renaissance-Genie,” we should also recognize the effort and context that made his work possible. We can emulate his habits without needing to reproduce his historical circumstances.

Final Thoughts and Invitation

Leonardo da Vinci lives on not because of one masterpiece or invention but because his work exemplifies an approach to thinking that is both precise and imaginative. He shows us how to observe deeply, record faithfully, and combine disciplines to see new possibilities. Whether you’re sketching, designing, experimenting, or simply trying to understand the world more clearly, Leonardo’s notebooks and paintings offer a model of relentless curiosity.

If you take away one practical idea from this article, let it be this: Keep a living record of what you observe. Carry a small notebook or a digital equivalent and make it a habit to capture questions, sketches, and failed attempts. Over time, those notes will form a personal archive from which new ideas and patterns will emerge. That practice — the very one Leonardo used — is one of the most enduring legacies of “Das Renaissance-Genie.”

Thank you for reading this extended look at Leonardo da Vinci. If you’d like, I can expand any section into a deeper article, prepare a timeline poster for printing, create study prompts based on Leonardo’s notebooks, or suggest exercises to adopt his creative habits. Which part would you like to explore next?