Leonardo da Vinci:

Man, Machine, Nature,

and Artifice

Course Information

HUAS 6315
Fall 2008
Wednesday, 9:30 am–12:15 pm, plus one visit to a private collection

Professor Contact Information

Prof. Mark Rosen

mark.rosen@utdallas.edu
Office: JO 5.704
Office phone: 972-883-2367
Office hours: Monday, 2–3:30 or by appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

None, other than graduate-student standing

Course Description

We’re very familiar with the concept of the Renaissance Man who gracefully strides
between disciplines without showing any strain. Leonardo da Vinci—painter, courtier,
musician, scientist, military engineer, mapmaker, and restless experimenter—is often
seen as the quintessential representative of the type. Yet his own career had remarkable
ups and downs, and much of the image that we have of Leonardo was formed in modern
times (via Freud and many others) rather than reflective of how he was esteemed in his
own era. This graduate seminar will explore his culture of experiment, the context in
which he worked, and the possibilities then available to the interdisciplinary mind.

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We will begin by getting familiar with his biography, then discuss thematic topics: his
depiction of nature; his conception of the human form; his treatment of war; his
consideration of optics and perspective; his engagement with the scientific community of
his time; his use and development of technology. Among the authors we will read are:
Freud, Meyer Schapiro, E. H. Gombrich, Kenneth Clark, Martin Kemp, Leo Steinberg,
Carlo Pedretti, and, of course, Leonardo himself.

Because this is a graduate class, we will have a fairly sizable amount of reading which all
students are expected to complete (unless labeled “optional”). Some weeks will demand
more reading time, especially early in the semester when we all will try to get up to speed
on the general facts of Leonardo’s biography.

As we move to specific topics, each student will lead discussion for a week (in
consultation with the professor). This will mean not only knowing the reading and
artworks well, but also preparing discussion questions that will be distributed to the class
(via WebCT) at least 24 hours before our seminar meeting. These will pose problems
with Leonardo’s life, biography, or historiography raised by the readings; you may also
want to discuss problems with the readings’ arguments or approaches.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• To develop the ability to read complex texts and study difficult objects closely
and critically.
• To approach the subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, considering equally
the artistic and scientific exigencies behind the making of the works under discussion.
• Students will lead discussion and presentations on material they were previously
unfamiliar with, gaining an understanding of art- historical methodological practice.

Required Textbooks and Materials

· Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo on Painting: An Anthology of Writings by Leonardo

da Vinci, ed. Martin Kemp, trans. Kemp and Margaret Walker (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2001).
· Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvellous Works of Nature and Man, 2d.
ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
· Leo Steinberg, Leonardo’s Incessant Last Supper (Cambridge, MA: Zone Books,
2001).

There are many other readings on electronic reserve or on two- hour or one-day reserve at
McDermott Library.

Course Requirements

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 1. Three Short Reading Responses—Two pages each (you can choose to do them
any three weeks of the semester, but one must be from the first four weeks, one
from the next four weeks, one from the following four weeks).
2. Leading class in discussion of readings (your slot will be determined in the third
week of class). You’ll circulate via WebCT an outline the day prior to our
meeting (questions or topics you’d like to discuss). You should make use of the
instructor’s office hours on Monday to help you outline this.
3. Class Presentation of Research Project (the subject of your research essay). It will
be about 20 minutes long, and will occur on December 3 or 10.
4. Final Research Essay—15–20 pages (due December 5), plus three-page research
proposal (due in class on November 5) and bibliography (due the week of
November 12). An explanation of this is further down the syllabus.

The final grade will be broken down approximately like this:

Final essay: 50%
Short papers: 30%
Presentation of Project: 10%
Participation: 10%

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Class Topic Reading

27 Aug. Welcome/Hello/Intro

Biographical Sketch 1:
Training and the Context
of Laurentian Florence
3 Sept. Biographical Sketch 2: · Vasari, Life of Leonardo
Milan, Florence (again), · Patricia Lee Rubin and Alison Wright, Renaissance
Milan (again), France Florence: The Art of the 1470s, pp. 10–119 (on one-
day reserve).
· Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous
Works of Nature and Man, pp. 23–90.
· David Alan Brown, Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a
Genius (New Haven, 1998), ch. 6 (“The
Collaborator”), pp. 123–145.
· Optional: Martin Kemp, “ ‘Your Humble Servant
and Painter’: Towards a History of Leonardo da
Vinci in his Contexts of Employment,” Gazette des
Beaux-Arts 144 (2002): 181–193 (electronic
reserve).

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 10 Sept. Leonardo’s Approach to · Carmen Bambach, “Introduction to Leonardo and his
Drawing and Painting Drawings,” Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman,
ed. Carmen C. Bambach, pp. 3–30 (book on library
reserve).
· Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous
Works of Nature and Man, pp. 91–152.
· Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker, Leonardo on
Painting, pp. 1–46, 191-280.
17 Sep. Portraiture · Patricia Simons, “Women in Frames: The Gaze, the
Eye, the Profile in Renaissance Portraiture,” in The
Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History,
eds. Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard (New
York, 1992), 38-57 (book on library reserve).
· Mary D. Garrard, “Leonardo da Vinci: Female
Portraits, Female Nature,” in The Expanding
Discourse, 58-85 (book on library reserve).
· Frank Zöllner, “Leonardo’s Portrait of Mona Lisa del
Giocondo,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 3 (1993): 115-
138.
24 Sep. Optics and Perspective · Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker, Leonardo on
Painting, pp. 47–116.
· Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous
Works of Nature and Man, pp. 152–212.
· Thomas Frangenberg, “The Image and the Moving
Eye: Jean Pelerin (Viator) to Guidobaldo del
Monte,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld
Institutes 49 (1986): 150–171 (electronic reserve).
· Optional: Kenneth D. Keele, “Leonardo da Vinci’s
Physiology of the Senses,” in Leonardo’s Legacy, 35
– 56 (library reserve).
1 Oct. Library Session with Catch up on your reading, please
Linda Snow from 11 to
12:15—place TBA
8 Oct. Religious Works and · Leo Steinberg, Leonardo’s Incessant ‘Last Supper’
Interpretation (whole book)

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 15 Oct. War and Military · Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous
Engineering Works of Nature and Man, pp. 213–277.
· John Hale, “War and Public Opinion in Renaissance
Italy,” in Italian Renaissance Studies, ed. E. F. Jacob
(London, 1960), 94–122 (electronic reserve)
· Claire J. Farago, “Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari: A
Study in the Exchange between Theory and Artistic
Practice,” Art Bulletin 76 (1994): 301–330
(electronic reserve)
· Frank Fehrenbach, “Much Ado About Nothing:
Leonardo’s Fight for the Standard,” in Bild-
Geschichte: Festschrift für Horst Bredekamp (Berlin,
2007), 397–412 (electronic reserve)
22 Oct. Anatomy · Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker, Leonardo on
Painting, 117-158.
· Martin Kemp, “Dissection and Divinity in
Leonardo’s Late Anatomies,” Journal of the
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 35 (1972): 200–
225.
· Optional: Kenneth Clark, “Leonardo and the
Antique,” in Leonardo’s Legacy: An International
Symposium, ed. C. D. O’ Malley (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1969): 1-34 (library
reserve)
29 Oct. Nature · Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker, Leonardo on
Painting, pp. 159-190.
· Webster Smith, “Observations on the Mona Lisa
Landscape,” Art Bulletin 67 (1985): 183–199
(electronic reserve)
· E. H. Gombrich, “The Form of Movement in Water
and Air,” in Leonardo’s Legacy, pp. 171 – 204
(library reserve)
· Carlo Pedretti, “The River,” in Leonardo: A Study in
Chronology and Style, pp. 9-24 (electronic reserve)
5 Nov. Machines and Maps RESEARCH PROPOSAL DUE
· Martin Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous
Works of Nature and Man, pp. 278–349.
· Juergen Schulz, “Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of
Venice,” Art Bulletin 60 (1978): 423–474 (electronic
reserve)
· Bern Dibner, “Leonardo: Prophet of Automation,” in
Leonardo’s Legacy, 101- 123 (library reserve)

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 12 Nov. Freud’s Leonardo
19 Nov. We will meet this week
on Saturday, Nov. 15, at
the Dallas home of
collector Robert Edsel
(directions to come)
26 Nov. Thanksgiving Holiday—
NO CLASS
3 Dec. Presentations, part 1
Restoration of
Leonardo’s work
10 Dec. Presentations, part 2
· Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of
his Childhood [London, 1999])—available as an
eBbook via the campus library.
· Meyer Schapiro, “Leonardo and Freud: An Art-
Historical Study” (in P. O Kristeller and P. Weiner,
eds., Renaissance Essays) (electronic reserve)
· A. Richard Turner, Inventing Leonardo, pp. 132-149
(electronic reserve)
No reading, but we will meet individually in the week
between 12 Nov. and 19 Nov. to discuss your research
project. You will have a full bibliography of your research
project ready at the meeting, and we will discuss your
presentation and the images you’ll need.
Reading TBA (it will be light)
No reading!

Written Work (15-20 pages)

Proposal (4-5 pages) Due by November 5

You should formulate a topic related to the subject matter of this course, that is, some
aspect of the history and imagery of Leonardo or the art, science, or historiography of the
period. Select one of the following types of projects:

a. A research paper in which you investigate a particular topic or question of interest

to you, using both primary and secondary sources as appropriate. Such a paper
would be appropriate for future reworking and submission to an M.A. portfolio.

b. A historiographic paper on a topic or issue, in which you analyze and compare the
approaches and conclusions of three or four different scholars to a similar topic. This
is similar to a review article. This can also concern what you see as a significant gap
in scholarship on a specific topic, or an approach that you think would yield further
insight.

c. An in-depth visual or textual analysis. If you wish to closely delve into Leonardo’s
thoughts on anatomy, for example, you can examine his drawings and writings on the
subject with great detail. You’ll still want to do some secondary research on the
material.

d. An artwork responding to something we’ve seen and discussed in class. This can be
tricky, but it is acceptable provided that it is accompanied by a ten-page written paper

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 discussing the theoretical and practical concerns informing your work, and what
specifically in the readings and artworks we’ve studied has influenced your
decisions. Make sure to consult with me from very early in the process.

In all cases, your paper will be preceded by a project proposal of about three pages. In this
proposal, you should present as clearly and as fully as possible your chosen topic for the written
work. It should include your theme and your proposed method of approach. A preliminary
bibliography will also be prepared for our individual meetings during the week of November 12.
Your proposal must be satisfactory before you proceed on your paper.

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