eonardo s Insects For 500 years, Gene Kritsky and Daniel Mader

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1 L eonardo s Insects Gene Kritsky and Daniel Mader For 500 years, Leonardo da Vinci ( ) (Fig. 1) has been considered the quintessential Italian renaissance scientist-cum-artist. Beyond his painting of such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa ( ) and The Last Supper ( ), he is legendary for his fascinating manuscripts and codices that contain both written and drawn observations of the drawings, is his written Treatise on Painting, of which an edition was published in Paris in 1651 (McCurdy 1939). However, it is his drawings that demonstrate exquisite visual problem solving whether it applied to preliminary preparations for painting and sculpture, observations of nature, or sketches for planned inventions. These countless sketches include many subjects: the observation of the movements of water and wind, weaponry concepts, physics, botany, music, irrigation systems, architecture, studies for portraits and sculptures, details of human anatomical dissections, a plan for an underwater diving system, optics, mathematics, astronomy, observations of animals in movement, landscapes, and insects (da Vinci evident. These drawings include his observations of birds and insects, and famously, his concept plans for a helicopter-like vehicle. Over the years, there have been many exhibits of the sketches and models made from them. Leonardo s own words provide a clue as to why he explored such a broad range of interests: The acquisition of any knowledge is always of use to the intellect, because it may thus drive out useless things and retain the good. For nothing can be loved or hated unless it is Fig. 1. Self-portrait of Leonado da Vinci late in life (background). Leonardo was born in Vinci, Italy, not far from Florence, in Leonardo s grandfather Antonio da Vinci. Although the infant Leonardo was baptized, it is clear that his early life was not easy. He was the illegitimate son of notary Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, grandson of Antonio da Vinci. His mother, whose only known name is Caterina, married Antonio di Piero buti del Vacca da Vinci a few months later. Five more half-brothers and sisters to Leonardo were born on his mother s side. On his father s side, through four stepmothers, Leonardo had 13 more half-brothers and sisters (Vezzosi 1997). It is suggested that Leonardo s illegitimate birth excluded him from formal study, which (along with his left-handedness) encouraged a social detachment (Hartt 1987). from his family and by direct contact with rural nature and the peasant culture related to the land his grandfather owned and worked on himself and with Francesco, Ser Piero s younger brother. It is suggested that Francesco was closest to Leonardo, as his father and his wife spent most of their time in Florence. It is with Francesco, who enjoyed and explored nature, that the young Leonardo would have 178 American Entomologist Fall 2010

2 learned an appreciation of the natural world, observed insects, and gained his developed sense of curiosity (Bramly 1991). Similarly, Lucia di ser Piero di Zoso, Leonardo s paternal grandmother, came from a family of notaries and potters and is credited with encouraging Leonardo s interest in art (Vezzosi 1997). Leonardo s father had many notary clients in Florence, including the powerful Medici family. In 1468, Leonardo, as an apprentice, entered the workshop of a friend: the Florentine sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio (c ) (Vasari 1568). Although belonging to the Compagnia di San Luca artists guild since 1472, Leonardo remained in Verrochio s workshop for several more years. Here, Leonardo perfected his artistic skills and powers of observation as he worked in the same workshop as other famous quattrocento painters, including Sandro Botticelli ( ) and Domenico Ghirlandaio ( ), among others. Leonardo is credited for compositional, lighting, and sculptural innovations in several of the works coming from Verrochio s studio, especially The Baptism of Christ (1470) (Vezzosi 1997). Leonardo is especially recognized for developing sfumato Mona Lisa (Farago 2008). Leonardo s mature fullness of talents began to be recognized after meeting Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who had Leonardo move to Milan by 1482 to work for him. It is suggested that Leonardo the musician, with a silver harp that he designed in the shape of a horse s head, fascinated the duke (Pater 1873). A perceived snub may also have contributed to Leonardo s decision to leave Florence Pope Sixtus IV, who invited a group of the best Florentine painters to come to Rome, an omission that likely contributed to Leonardo s interest in leaving Florence (Vezzosi 1997). Increasingly, Leonardo presented himself as an inventor, scientist, Some believe this priority developed as his interest in science and observation of nature increased. He worked for Ludovico Sforza in Milan for nearly 20 years, leaving in It was here, among many commissions, that Leonardo painted both the Louvre and National Gallery versions of Virgin of the Rocks ( ), and where Leonardo experimented with oil fresco on the Last Supper in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie ( ). It was also in Milan that Leonardo famously sketched and made a well known full-size 24 model of what would have been the largest equestrian sculpture ever built the so-called Gran Cavallo (colossal horse). Leonardo also designed a bronze casting process for this unprecedented project. and the invading French King Louis XII prevented Leonardo from procuring the necessary casting bronze needed. (Hartt 1987). In 1499, Leonardo left Milan and was caught up in war and politics. In 1500, he worked as a military engineer in Venice, then in worked in same capacity for the infamous son of Pope Alexander VI, Condottieri Cesare Borgia. At this time, he explored cartography, with his Map of Imola and Physical Map of Tuscany, Emilia, and Romagna. In 1503, Leonardo returned to Florence as his sponsor Cesare Borgia left for Spain. It is at this time that the Mona Lisa ( ) was painted, along with the commission for the Battle of Anghiari ( ) in Florence. Leonardo returned to Milan in 1506, and returned to Florence in 1507 to work out estate problems with his family. He journeyed to Milan once again in 1508, and to Rome in 1513, where he lived in the Belvedere, working for Pope Leo X. After King Francis I conquered Milan in 1515, he met with Pope Leo X, also meeting Leonardo. This began the last chapter of Leonardo s career. In 1516, Leonardo left with King Francis I to live at the Château de Cloux very near the king s chateau at Amboise, France. After many commissions and much drawing and journaling, The superb observation, animation, variety, and comprehensiveness of Leonardo s drawings are the focus of this paper. Traditionally, and an audience. Artists drawings, manuscripts, and journals, by ing the late 19 th century, the qualities of freshness, immediacy, and informality of artist drawings began to be appreciated by the public sketches of Honoré Daumier, and later French Impressionism, with its technical informality and concern with spontaneous expression, contributed to this modern interest in drawing. Leonardo da Vinci s quest to understand the natural world through his own eyes, and not through a controlling spiritual, his- of perception through the study and sketching of nature s smallest creatures. In a sense, the study of insects and their articulation can be seen to validate Leonardo s perception of the minute world. Observations of the microcosm of insectan existence enabled Leonardo to freely apply visual and engineering lessons from their tiny world to his larger understanding of the interrelatedness of nature and man. Leonardo must have especially valued insects and their microscopic kinesiology, as he valued living engineering in small packages. He is Museum of Art 2005). Three insect drawings by Leonardo are well known, and there are assertions that he drew several images of insects in his studies making their Leonardo manuscripts available on-line, which has permitted a more thorough survey of his drawings. Our survey has increased the number of Leonardo insect drawings to sixteen, not including an additional two images that are not obviously insectan, but have been considered to relate to insects by others. Leonardo s insects fall into three categories. First are the true insect studies, which are rare but carefully drawn. The second and largest category includes insects that Leonardo drew as part of his in outline. Finally, Leonardo used insects in his pictograms, which are considered by some to illustrate the artist s sense of humor. The study drawings (Fig. 2) are at the Biblioteca Reale in Turin, Italy, and they recently were exhibited at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The two insects were drawn separately, but have since been cut from the original paper and glued to a 129 x 111 mm sheet. The drawing at the top of the sheet, executed in pen and ink, is thought to have been produced around 1480 and is of a longhorned beetle (Cerambycidae) drawn from a realistic anterior perspective (O Grody 2008). The segmentation and natural curve of the beetle s antennae are clearly detailed, as are the characteristic lobed tarsal segments and the short, powerful mandibles. Hatching lines create shading, giving the beetle s body a sense of volume and indicating the shadow it casts on the substrate. Two partially erased legs are still visible in front of the middle pair, most likely a correction to his drawing to make it appear more natural. American Entomologist Volume 56, Number 3 179

3 done in a style that is consistent with work Leonardo produced between 1503 and 1505 (Fig. 2). The straight edge at the bottom of the drawing is believed to be the right-hand margin of the paper on drawn so that the body was nearly horizontal (O Grody 2008). The shape of the wings and relatively short, robust abdomen suggest that luminosity to the large eyes. Leonardo s keen skills of observation insect s characteristically angled legs. The body is drawn from above in a three-quarter view while the wings are fully displayed in a single plane a somewhat awkward pose that suggests that Leonardo may ies included other arthropod subjects, as shown in his crab studies from the Codex Arundel (Fig. 3). The studies show a greater level Leonardo s simpler sketches. of quick, gestural sketches, rudimentary in comparison to the study 180 American Entomologist Fall 2010

4 Fig. 4. from Manu- liothèque drawings. The best known drawings from this collection are found in the Bibliothèque de l Institut de France in Paris on page 100v in a collection of pages known as Manuscript B. This manuscript is the earliest known Leonardo manuscript, dating between ) is shown from above, with the wings in outline and the legs and abdominal segments also represented. Just above and to the right closely resembles a pierid (Fig. 5). Its inclusion may be related to Leonardo s interest in the overlapping of the fore and hind wings, Manuscript G, which is also in the Bibliothèque de l Institut de France, includes several insect sketches, all drawn to aid in Leonar , when Leonardo was living in Milan (Pedretti 2005). study) with the four wings labeled. The text that accompanies this an adult antlion (Laurenza 2004), but the robust thorax and lack of antennae are more consistent with odonate features. Additionally, the term Leonardo known as the Neuroptera. During Leonardo s time, the net-winged - written comments, Leonardo was describing the predatory nature The next page of Manuscript G, 65r, includes a rough sketch of - and hind wings. American Entomologist Volume 56, Number 3 181

5 - from Manu- and bottom of from Manu- Leonardo includes three insects: two drawings that clearly represent a beetle. However, the text states that the insect is le Musca or Le Mosca shown in a raised position, and a line between the raised and lowered wings indicates their range of movement. The next illustration (Fig. 9) The practical fruits of Leonardo s work on insects can be seen in the Codex Atlanticus, which was produced between 1480 and 1485 (Pedretti 2005). On page 1051v, there is a large, cursory outline four wings and when the front ones are raised, the rear ones are ardo surmised that the wings pushed down on the air, and that was necessary to keep the insect aloft (Laurenza 2004). Along the far left margin of this page is a faint sketch of an insect (Fig. 12), and written along the margin next to this drawing is To see Fig. 12. A v. 182 American Entomologist Fall 2010

6 - the two insects is a sketch showing a mechanical device designed by This renza, D. 2006). Leonardo was clearly dealing with the problems of very loose, simple sketches that were part of a series of pictograms, and they show a more playful side of Leonardo s thinking. These pictograms, created from and now in the collection of them, Leonardo converted images into phrases to convey meaning through the pictures alone (da Vinci 1956). Leonardo used ants and on page RL 12692r. On the reverse, an ant (Fig. 17) appears in one of his picture-only rebuses. There are two other Leonardo drawings that may contain insectan of a two-winged animal ringed with circles. Laurenza (2004) suggested that this may be an insect, but the other animal drawing on a shape similar to the bird s tail at the trailing edge, suggesting that it too might be avian. The collections of the Biblioteca Reale in Turin, Italy include Atlanticus, where he mentioned that the moth is attracted to the light and is thus an allegory of the human quest for knowledge (O Grody 2008). It could be argued that the circles represent embers that are is, like the moth, attracted to the light. Leonardo s insects illustrate how he used his artistic skills as a tool of analysis, and how his quick, dynamic gesture drawings served as a medium of thought. By drawing upon his own uniquely developed power of observation rather than merely following the conventions of the art world of his day, Leonardo not only created prodigious works of art, but used his skill to further his own discovery and interpretation of the natural world, solving problems and gaining insights as they presented themselves through his sketches. American Entomologist Volume 56, Number 3 183

7 Acknowledgements to reproduce Leonardo s insect drawings from the Royal Library at the translation of Leonardo s writings, Melanie Parker for her help during the Birmingham Museum of Art s exhibition of Leonardo s Turin drawings, Carol Anelli for her review, and Jessee Smith for her many valuable improvements to the manuscript. Literature cited Bramly, Serge Leonardo: Discovering the Life of Leonardo da Vinci. Edward Burlingame Books, New York. da Vinci, Leonardo Leonardo da Vinci. Reynal, New York. Farago, Claire Leonardo da Vinci and the Ethics of Style. Manchester University Press, Manchester UK. Hartt, Frederich A History of Italian Renaissance Art. Harry N. Abrams, New York. Jaeger, B The Life of North American insects. Harper and Brothers, New York. Laurenza, D Baltimore, MD. Laurenza, D Leonardo s machines. David and Charles, Cincinnati, OH. McCurdy, Edward The Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci. Dodd, Mead & Company. Metropolitan Museum of Art Catnip: artful felines from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chronicle Books, LLC San Francisco. O Grody, J. A Leonardo da Vinci; drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin. Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL. Pater, Walter The Renaissance. The Modern Library, New York. Pedretti, C Leonardo da Vinci; the complete works. David and Charles, Cincinnati, OH. Vasari, Giorgio Lives of the Artists. Penguin Classics, trans. George Bull Vezzosi, Alessandro Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance. Discoveries, Harry N. Abrams, New York. Wasserman, Jack Leonardo da Vinci. Abrams, New York. Gene Kritsky is a Professor of Biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph and adjunct curator of entomology at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Daniel Mader is a Professor of Art History at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. THE DRAGONFLY'S EYE People in the mountains, talking, serious, ankle deep in water. keep the world twisting around in constant motion, permanent around the sun. or intuition in instants, and in an instant the work at hand, Bennett Huffman 184 American Entomologist Fall 2010