A biography of Leonardo da Vinci's life.
It shows the life of Leonardo da Vinci, from his illegitimate birth in Tuscany to his completion of his great works and his final moments.
Unlike existing Leonardo books, this one contains the story of 'the human Leonardo da Vinci', who was previously unknown due to being overshadowed by 'the great Renaissance man and genius' Leonardo.

By unearthing materials from over 500 years ago that had not been properly evaluated or read until now, the book unravels Leonardo's lifelong dream of flying by connecting it to his childhood memories, and not only depicts his shy and reserved nature, but also his surprising side, such as his love of jokes and his enjoyment of surprising people, but also his daily life when he put down his pen and stood up to escape abstract thinking because the soup got cold, his warm side in interpersonal relationships, his suffering about not being free from the temptation of pleasure, and his nature as a scholar who maintained a thorough and skeptical attitude in his research.


Rather than simply observing and praising Leonardo's achievements, we can carefully examine why and how he achieved such great achievements by reading about his environment, daily life, and personality.

Leonardo was imprisoned in 1476 for the Jacopo Saltarelli affair (accused of homosexuality)… We know that he was imprisoned at the time for the accusations.
It was probably only a short period of time, like being arrested by the night watchman and detained, but it must have left a scar on his heart.
It is in this context that we can understand that he later invented and drew a magical device to free people from prison.
A drawing of a device for removing window bars (see illustration on page 155) is included in the Codex Atlanticus, with the caption 'How to open a prison door from the inside'.
Leonardo once wrote that freedom is 'the most important of nature's gifts.'
As later generations have recognized, any form of constraint, whether physical, professional, intellectual, or emotional, was a source of distress for Leonardo.

--- p.134

Leonardo would have told people this joke, pretending to be serious and expressionless.
As Vasari enthusiastically asserted, people enjoyed Leonardo's delightful conversations.
Of course, there was a cold and blunt personality that was the complete opposite, but in any case, making people laugh with funny jokes was a part of Leonardo's life.
It is no coincidence that the most famous painting he painted was called 'La Gioconda', or 'The Merry (or Joking) Lady' in Italian.
Leonardo would have told people this joke, pretending to be serious and expressionless.
As Vasari enthusiastically asserted, people enjoyed Leonardo's delightful conversations.
Of course, there was a cold and blunt personality that was the complete opposite, but in any case, making people laugh with funny jokes was a part of Leonardo's life.
It is no coincidence that the most famous painting he painted was called 'La Gioconda', or 'The Merry (or Joking) Lady' in Italian.

--- p.223

In 1505, Leonardo once again began to dream of the possibility of human flight.
He filled a small notebook with notes about his dreams, blueprints, and doodles related to his fantasies.
This notebook, now housed in the Royal Library in Turin under the title Turin Codex, is considered to be the clearest and most relevant text on human flight.
It also contains a famous passage declaring that a magnificent spectacle will unfold.
'A great bird will take its first flight on the back of the Great Cecero.
'To fill the whole universe with wonder, to fill all history with fame, to bring eternal glory to the nest from which he was born.' The 'great bird' clearly refers to Leonardo's flying machine.
Leonardo showed parts of the flying machine in refined and very detailed drawings, but did not reveal the entire thing to maintain secrecy.
According to his declaration, he seems to have planned to test-fly the machine on the summit of Mount Ceceri, north of Florence.
In 1505, Leonardo once again began to dream of the possibility of human flight.
He filled a small notebook with notes about his dreams, blueprints, and doodles related to his fantasies.
This notebook, now housed in the Royal Library in Turin under the title Turin Codex, is considered to be the clearest and most relevant text on human flight.
It also contains a famous passage declaring that a magnificent spectacle will unfold.
'A great bird will take its first flight on the back of the Great Cecero.
'To fill the whole universe with wonder, to fill all history with fame, to bring eternal glory to the nest from which he was born.' The 'great bird' clearly refers to Leonardo's flying machine.
Leonardo showed parts of the flying machine in refined and very detailed drawings, but did not reveal the entire thing to maintain secrecy.
According to his declaration, he seems to have planned to test-fly the machine on the summit of Mount Ceceri, north of Florence.

--- p.366