LeonardodaVinciAsthe15thcenturygavewaytothe16th,daVincifoundhimselfincreasinglyinterestedinscience,tothedetrimentofhispaintingcareer.Whilehestillsketchedandtookcommissions,Leobegantofocusonsuchdisciplinesasmathematics,architecture,engineering,geology,botany,hydraulicsandanatomy.daVinci'sanatomicalsketchesarestillstudiedtoday.Tobetterinformhisstudiesofboneandmusculature,Leonardodissectedseveralcadavers,apracticethatwasstillquitecontroversialatthetime.However,forthemostpart,daVinciavoidedthesortofreligiousandpoliticalrowsthatwouldplagueotherscientistsoftheperiod,likeGalileo.Leonardo'sfascinationwithscienceledhimdownmanydead-ends,butalsotoquiteafewusefuldiscoveries.daVinciiscreditedwithanumberofinventionsthatwerefirstsforhistime,includingsomesofaraheadofhistimethattheywouldn'tactuallybebuiltforcenturies.Theyinclude:Thejack,thesamedevicethatyouusetodaytochangeatireRollerbearings,aball-bearingdrivenaxlethatisextremelysimilartowhatcarsusetoday用心爱心专心Theone-manprintingpressMechanicaltransmissions,i.e.thegearsystemusedineverythingfromten-speedstoautomobilesTheodometerInadditiontothesestill-employeddevices,daVinciinventedaseriesofscientificinstrumentsformeasuringeverythingfromtensilestrengthtohumidity.Atleastasimpressiveastheinventionsthatworkedweretheinventionsthatdidn'twork.Althoughhelackedseveralkeycomponentsandrawmaterials,daVincineverthelessenvisionedaseriesofinventionsthatwouldeventuallybeusedinthemodernworld,sometimeswithonlyminorchangestohisoriginaldesigns,includingthehelicopter,thehang-gliderandthemachinegun.Leonardocollectedhistechnologicalinnovationsinnotebookscalledcodeci.OneofthebestpreservedistheCodexLeicester,dealswitheverythingfromfossilstoastronomy,includedsketchesofthehowthemoon'slightisseenfromearth,andthepropertiesofwaterandrocks.Formanyyears,theCodexLeicesterwasownedbyArmandHammerwhocalledittheCodexHammerfrom1980untilhisdeath;in1994,itwasboughtbyBillGates,whoreturneditsoriginalname.用心爱心专心daVincihadbecomeanextremelycelebratedartistbythetimeheenteredmiddleage,andinItaly,therewasonlyonemorerealmforhimtoconquer:Rome.In1513,daVincienteredthepatronageofPopeLeoX,ascionofthewealthyandpowerfulMedicifamily.AttheVatican,Leonardohadmixedsuccesses.Artistically,hefoundhimselfdominatedbyhisrivals,MichelangeloandRaphael.Althoughhereceivedseveralcommissionsforpaintings,healsospentalotoftimeonarchitectureandengineering.Oneofthefewpaintingshecompletedinthisperiodwas"St.JohntheBaptist,"anothercontroversialworkwhichhasbeenthesubjectofmuchdiscussionovertheyears.CattyobserversoftencitethepaintingasoneindicationofLeonardo'sgayness,whichisn'treallysocontroversialthatitneedstobecontinuallyre-proven.Inthework,Johnappearstobesexuallyambiguous,softandfeminine,withadecidedly"comehither"expression.Afteracoupleofyears,LeonardoleftRomeunderthepatronageofGiulianoMedici,thePope'sbrother,whereheappearstohavespentthelastyearsofhislifequietly.用心爱心专心ForthelastdecadeofdaVinci'slife,hisconstantcompanion(andpresumedlover)wasamuchyoungermannamedFrancescoMelzi,whoselifeismostlydistinguishedbythatrelationship.Hewasreportedlyanextremelygoodlookingguy,aminornoblemanfromMilanandatalentedamateurartist.AfterLeonardodied,Melziinheritedeverything,includingtheinventions,thecodeci,booksandnumerousdrawingsandpaintings,whichhecarefullypreservedforposterity.Leowasaprettyinterestingguyinlife,butindeath,hetookonmythicproportions.Forcenturies,variousuntruelegendssurroundinghislifeandhisworks,includingavarietyofspuriousclaimsabouthisdeathandmanyforgeriesofhiswork.Amongthebulletpointsyoucancrossoffyourlistof"thingstobelieve,"daVincididnotdieinthearmsofthekingofFrance,hedidn'tinventthebicycle,andhedidn'tusethesamemodelforJudasashedidforJesusin"TheLastSupper."Inthe20thcentury,Leonardohasbeenanobsessivefigureinthepagesoffiction,withappearancesineverythingfromStarTrektoaSaturdaymorningcartoonofBillandTed'sExcellentAdventure.OneoftheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtleswasnamedafterdaVinci.Betweenfictionandnonfiction,Leonardohasbeenfeaturedinhundredsofmoviesandtelevisionshows,andtensofthousandsofbooks.AndwiththebreakoutsuccessofThedaVinciCode,andamovieadaptationontheway...Well,let'sjustsayitwon'tbelongbeforeyou'rereallyfuckingsickofLeonardodaVinci.Ifyouaren'talready.用心爱心专心