THE CODEX LEICESTER
Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Leicester, sheet 14A, folio 14r, Seth Joel/Corbis
|The Codex Leicester is one of Leonardo's
most important notebooks, and the last one remaining in private hands. The
codex was shown last year at the American Museum of Natural History in New
York. The Seattle Art Museum is the only additional confirmed U.S. venue
for public display of the Codex Leicester. |
The Codex Leicester was written around 1508, when Leonardo was in his 50s and had just completed painting the Mona Lisa. The codex contains his observations and illustrations on natural phenomena such as water, light, and gravity.
Working as an artist and scientist, Leonardo observed and analyzed the world around him with unprecedented intensity and thoroughness. He used his notebooks to give life to his ideas, and they provide access for people today to understand his inquisitive, interdisciplinary mind. The codex illustrates Leonardo's lifelong attempt to understand the world by studying its physical manifestations, an approach that fueled both his artistic and scientific work.
Due to the manuscript's age and fragility, the codex is exhibited in specially designed cases that regulate its exposure to light and maintain stable temperature, humidity, and light levels.
|History of the codex: After Leonardo's
death the exact whereabouts of the codex are unknown until 1690. Guiseppe
Ghezzi, a painter, found the manuscript in Rome in a chest belonging to
a Milanese sculptor. Ghezzi owned the manuscript until 1717, when it was
acquired by Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester. It remained in the Earl's estate
until 1980, when it was purchased by oil magnate Armand Hammer, who renamed
the manuscript the Codex Hammer. Microsoft co-founder William H. Gates III
purchased the notebook at auction in late 1994 and restored its name to
the Codex Leicester. |