Decoding Da Vinci

May 2nd marks the 500th anniversary of the death of a true Renaissance man: Leonardo da Vinci.

The Italian polymath remains one of the most essential cultural figures of our time.

Here's what historian Walter Isaacson told Forbes about da Vinci in 2017:

Leonardo da Vinci is history’s ultimate example of combining art and science. That’s what made him history’s greatest genius. He peeled the skin off the faces of cadavers, traced every muscle and nerve that moved the lips, and that informed his creation of the world’s most memorable smile, that of the Mona Lisa. He was a great anatomist and engineer and theater producer and artist. He wanted to learn everything that was knowable about our cosmos, including how we fit into it.

We celebrate the life and legacy of Leonardo da Vinci.

Here's how you can celebrate the anniversary around the globe, courtesy of The New York Times.

Show produced by Stacia Brown. Text by Kathryn Fink.

GUESTS

Walter Isaacson, Professor of history, Tulane University; author, “Leonardo Da Vinci”; @WalterIsaacson

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

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