In Leonardo’s extensive artistic repertoire, music held a position second only to painting among the creative arts, earning him respect as a musician. Gifted with a beautiful singing voice, Leonardo showed great skill in playing the lira da braccio, a precursor to the modern violin. Regrettably, the majority of his writings on music, including his Treatise on Music, have been lost to the passage of time.
The year 1482 marked a pivotal moment in Leonardo’s life as he sought patronage from Duke Ludovico il Moro (Sforza) upon relocating to Milan. His multifaceted talents spanning music, performance direction, and set design, captivated the Duke. Among his remarkable productions, the Masque of the Planets stood out, evoking such splendour that a courtier remarked, “We at first believed that we were seeing the real paradise.”
Leonardo’s innovative spirit extended to music as he applied mechanical theory and acoustic observations to craft new musical instruments. Grounded in existing designs, his creations included a portable piano, a mechanical drum, and a double flute. Notably, a folio adorned with eleven diverse drum designs showcased his ingenuity, exploring the modulation of pitch during a performance.
The polymathic genius also investigated optics, exploring the interplay of light, reflection, shadows, and magnification. His creative mind invented a novel spotlight designed for the theatre, while simultaneously realising the potential of lenses and mirrors for celestial observation, offering a unique perspective on planets and the moon.
Among Leonardo’s technical drawings, some of the most aesthetically pleasing ones relate to clock design. Employing springs, weights, and gears, he sought to enhance existing time-keeping instruments, perhaps having an influence on the evolution of horology.
In reflecting on his varied artistic pursuits, Leonardo eloquently mused, “The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things.”