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Published Work Pages
Leonardo's Living Archive
DiscoveringDa Vinci
Notebooks, paintings, source paths, music, and the words of Leonardo gathered into one cinematic study space.
Learning never exhausts the mind.
All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.
The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
40+Works
34Subjects
64Q&A
Leonardo's Notebooks
Over 7,200 surviving pages across 13 major manuscripts — anatomy, optics, engineering, flight, water, botany, and more. Browse by codex, subject, or era.
Viewer
Manuscript Viewer
Read passages side-by-side with folio reference, translation, footnotes, and commentary.
Open Viewer → CodexCodex Arundel
The manuscript hub behind the viewer, with mathematics, mechanics, optics, and design studies.
Derek FrameworkScience, Content, Craft
Our own three-part way into Leonardo: how art works, what it depicts, and how it is made.
Open Framework → TranslationsLeonardo's Words
Richter, MacCurdy, and source editions that bring Leonardo's Italian notebooks into English.
CategoriesNotebook Subjects
Anatomy, optics, water, flight, mechanics, painting, philosophy, and more cross-codex routes.
Source WorkflowNotebook Library
Source collections, source pages, extracted quotes, sketch units, topic hubs, and analysis.
Scholar SystemsHow They Organized Leonardo
Melzi, Richter, MacCurdy, Pedretti, Kemp, Bambach, and the problem of arranging the notebooks.
HubNotebooks Hub
All codices, subjects, biography eras, and timeline in one place.
CodexCodex Atlanticus
1,119 pages — the largest collection. Engineering, maps, optics, geometry.
CodexCodex Leicester
72 pages on water, astronomy, and fossils. Owned by Bill Gates since 1994.
CodexCodex on Flight
18 pages of bird studies and flying machine designs, c. 1505.
SubjectAnatomy
Dissections, muscle studies, the skull, the fetus — 240+ anatomical drawings.
ManuscriptsAnatomy Manuscripts
The dedicated manuscript route for Leonardo's anatomical investigations and medical studies.
CodexMadrid Codices
Rediscovered in 1966. Mechanics, gear trains, and fortress architecture.
CodexForster Codices
Compact working notebooks with mechanics, measurement, geometry, and practical observations.
ManuscriptsParis Manuscripts
Optics, hydraulics, military architecture, painting theory, and pages from MSS A-M.
CollectionRoyal Collection
Windsor drawings and manuscript groups: anatomy, figures, horses, and major study sheets.
CodexCodex Trivulzianus
Vocabulary, architecture, language study, and evidence of Leonardo's self-education.
CodexCodex Ashburnham
Recovered manuscript fragments tied into the broader Paris manuscript history.
TreatiseTreatise on Painting
Melzi's 944-chapter compilation of Leonardo's artistic teachings.
BiographyBiography Eras
Leonardo's life in periods — Florence, Milan, Rome, France.
TimelineTimeline Matrix
Era blocks connecting locations, workbench output, scientific study, and historical context.
HistoryManuscript Provenance
How Leonardo's pages passed through heirs, collectors, rebinding, dispersal, and modern archives.
Masterworks & Cast
Paintings, drawings, and the people around Leonardo — patrons, pupils, rivals, and subjects.
Hub
Works Hub
40 published pages — 21 paintings, 19 drawings, with linked analysis.
CollectionPaintings
Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Virgin of the Rocks, and all attributed works.
CollectionDrawings
Vitruvian Man, anatomical studies, draperies, and mechanical sketches.
HubCast Hub
22 profiles — Leonardo's network of patrons, pupils, rivals, and contemporaries.
Deep DivesCast Deep Dives
Long-form profiles: Michelangelo rivalry, Salai, Melzi, patrons, workshop pupils.
VisualGallery
High-resolution images and side-by-side comparisons.
Learn Paths
Curated sequences through the site for new visitors, students, and advanced readers.
Path F
Science of Seeing
Linear perspective, aerial perspective, light & shadow, colour, proportion, perception.
Path GInventions
Automata, aeronautics, hydraulics, military engineering, optics, mechanical components.
Path HPaintings Catalog
All 20 attributed paintings — technical analysis, attribution debates, provenance.
Path ERenaissance World
The political, intellectual, and scientific world that shaped Leonardo.
Path JVisual Curriculum
The painting curriculum Leonardo never published — objects, subjects, setting, synthesis.
All PathsLearn Hub →
See all 10 guided paths from new visitor to advanced researcher.
Featured
Quote Room
Leonardo Quotes
Browse the quote collection or pull a random line from Leonardo's notebooks and writings.
Open Quotes → NotebookArundel Viewer
A direct route into folios, translations, and source-guided notebook study.
Open Viewer → MusicAmbient Archive
Slow, quiet music for reading the site and working inside the archive.
Listen →Tools & Research
Tool
Random Quote
Open the quote room with a fresh Leonardo line ready to draw again.
ToolNotebook Viewer
Read folios with translations and references in the manuscript viewer.
ToolTimeline
Leonardo's life, works, and world events.
ToolSearch Observatory
Full-text search across the archive.
HubResearch Hub
Organized research hubs and published investigations.
InvestigationThe Column Mystery
Never trimmed, yet Raphael’s 1504 sketch shows full columns. 7 forensic streams, 3 theories.
HubSources
Citation library and source policy.
ReferenceGlossary
25 terms defined, including painting, notebook, and Renaissance vocabulary.
ExplorerQuote Explorer
75 authentic quotes from the codices — filterable by Science, Art, Nature, Philosophy, Self, and Wisdom.
EducationClassroom Resources
Lesson plans, hands-on activities, and curriculum guides for grades 9–12. Free to use and print.
InteractiveLeonardo's World Map
7 locations across Italy and France — click each to explore what Leonardo made, who he knew, and what happened there.
MusicAmbient Archive
Quiet music for reading, editing, and restoration videos.