Elsewhere he adds, “I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than that which causes it, and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone, and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engage my thought throughout my life.”
Leonardo’s intense desire to understand the essence of things led him to develop an investigative style equally noteworthy for its depth of study as for its range of topics. Kenneth Clark, who called him “undoubtedly the most curious man who ever lived,” describes Da Vinci’s uncompromising quest in accessibly contemporary terms: “He wouldn’t take Yes for an answer.” In his anatomic investigations, for example, Leonardo dissected each part of the body from at least three different angles. As he wrote:
Three views of a flower by Leonardo da Vinci.
In addition to his helicopter and other flying machines, Leonardo also developed a parachute: “If a man has a tent made of linen, of which the apertures have all been stopped up, and it be twelve cubits across and twelve in depth, he will be able to throw himself down from any great height without sustaining injury.” Leonardo’s work on the parachute is particularly amazing. No one was yet able to fly, and he designed a means for safely exiting a flying machine. And, incredibly, Leonardo’s proportions for a parachute were the only ones that actually work.
This depicting of mine of the human body will be as clear to you as if you had the natural man before you; and the reason is that if you wish thoroughly to know the parts of the man, anatomically, you, or your eye, require to see it from different aspects, considering it from below and from above and from its sides, turning it about and seeking the origin of each member … Therefore by my drawings every part will be known to you, and by all means of demonstrations from three different points of view of each part.
But his curiosity didn’t stop there: Da Vinci studied everything with the same rigor. If multiple perspectives yielded a deeper understanding of the body, for example, they would also help him evaluate his attempts to share that understanding. The result: layer upon layer of rigorous examination, all designed to refine not only his understanding but its expression, as he explains in his Treatise on Painting:
Study of flying birds by Leonardo da Vinci.
We know well that mistakes are more easily detected in the works of others than in one’s own … When you are painting you should take a flat mirror and often look at your work within it, and it will then be seen in reverse, and will appear to be by the hand of some other master, and you will be better able to judge of its faults than in any other way.
Not content with just one strategy for assessing his work objectively, he adds: “It is also a very good plan every now and then to go away and have a little relaxation; for when you come back to the work your judgement will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose the power of judgement.”
“For in truth great love is born of great knowledge of the thing loved.”
– LEONARDO DA VINCI
And finally, he suggests: “It is also advisable to go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller, and more of it is taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion in the various parts and the colors of the objects is more readily seen.”
His inexhaustible quest for truth also inspired him to look at reality from unusual and extreme perspectives. It took him under the water (he designed a snorkel, diving equipment, and a submarine) and into the sky (he designed a helicopter, a parachute, and his famous flying machine). He plunged into unfathomed depths and sought previously unimaginable heights in his passion to understand.
Leonardo’s fascination with flight – his studies of the atmosphere, wind, and especially the movements of birds – offers a compelling metaphor for his life and work. A page of his notebooks depicts a bird in a cage with the caption “The thoughts turn towards hope.” He observes poetically that a mother goldfinch, seeing her children caged, feeds them a bit of a poisonous plant, noting, “Better death than to be without freedom.”
Giorgio Vasari informs us that in the course of his frequent strolls through the streets of Florence, Leonardo often encountered merchants selling caged birds. It was Da Vinci’s custom to stop, pay the requisite price, and then open the door of the cage, releasing the prisoners to the endless blue sky. For Leonardo, the quest for knowledge opened the door to freedom.
CURIOSITÀ AND YOU
Great minds ask great questions. The questions that “engage our thought” on a daily basis reflect our life purpose and influence the quality of our lives. By cultivating a Da Vinci-like open, questing frame of mind, we broaden our universe and improve our ability to travel through it.
Written backward, Leonardo’s notes are designed to be read in a mirror. Scholars debate the purpose of this “mirror writing.” Some suggest it was to protect the privacy of his thoughts, while others argue that it was simply a matter of convenience for a left-hander.
Have you opened your door to freedom? The exercises that follow are designed to help you do so. But first take a moment to reflect on how frequently and effectively you are already putting your Curiosità to work – and how you might benefit from doing so more often.
Consider the role of Curiosità in your life today. Ask yourself how curious you are. When was the last time you sought knowledge simply for the pursuit of truth? What did you gain from this effort? Think of the people you know. Do any of them strike you as embodying the ideals of Curiosità? How are their lives enriched by this?
Your Curiosità can be developed and put to use more easily than you may have thought. First complete the self-assessment checklist on the next page; your answers will tell you how you are already using it – and where there is room for improvement. Then try your hand at cultivating your own Curiosità through the simple exercises that follow.
Curiosità: Self-Assessment