TITLE:
The Mechanical Sciences in Leonardo da Vinci’s Work
AUTHORS:
Agamenon R. E. Oliveira
KEYWORDS:
History of Mechanics, History of Machines and Mechanisms, Leonardo’s Machines, History of Engineering
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Historical Studies,
Vol.8 No.5,
December
10,
2019
ABSTRACT: This paper is a tribute to the fifth centenary of
Leonardo da Vinci’s death. The prominent figure of Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519) appeared during the so-called Quattrocento (fifteenth century) of
the Italian Renaissance. His main famous contemporaries are: Sandro Botticeli (1445-1510), Rafael Sanzio (1483-1520), Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564),
and Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527). Florence had been a
remarkable city since the previous century and was the political, economic, and
cultural center of its region. Humanist and naturalist thoughts were relevant and a kind of
driving force throughout this period, resulting in a vast development of the
sciences, arts, and technology. In this paper, only Leonardo’s production in
the mechanical sciences will be presented, in both the theoretical field and
applied mechanics, including designs and machine constructions even if unfinished.