How one Hopkins doctor makes da Vinci's dreams a reality
On Friday, the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries hosted a lecture by Jonathan Pevsner entitled, "Polymath: Leonardo da Vinci's Life and Legacy."
Pevsner graduated from the Hopkins School of Medicine and also holds a Ph.D in pharmacology.
He works at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute as a neuroscientist, specializing in autism and child neurology. He also holds a faculty position at the School of Medicine.
These positions make up only part of his varied career, however. Pevsner is also the expert advisor on the Discovery Channel television show "Doing Da Vinci," in which teams of engineers attempt to recreate the Renaissance inventor's written engineering visions using only the materials that da Vinci himself would have had available to use.
"This is his hobby, his passion," said Brian Shields, the communications and marketing manager for the Sheridan Libraries.
Pevsner delivered his lecture on the genius of Leonardo da Vinci in the Mason Hall auditorium to a full house.
"As an artist, [da Vinci] created two of the most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, but da Vinci would have put the title of 'engineer' before 'artist'," he said.
Pevsner's lecture traced the evolution of da Vinci's scientific genius through his life, making specific references to the mysterious, detailed notebooks da Vinci wrote in backwards script.
"He wrote over 20,000 sheets of paper," Pevsner said, showing the audience sketches of war machines, flying contraptions and the human anatomy.
"The drawings of anatomy are as interesting and beautiful as the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper," he said.
Along with the records da Vinci himself wrote, the scientist also turned to books for educational source material.
"His interest in books is something we can follow through his years," Pevsner said.
All of the books he owned are listed in his notebooks. Pevsner described the artist's taste as "eclectic."
Pevsner graduated from the Hopkins School of Medicine and also holds a Ph.D in pharmacology.
He works at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute as a neuroscientist, specializing in autism and child neurology. He also holds a faculty position at the School of Medicine.
These positions make up only part of his varied career, however. Pevsner is also the expert advisor on the Discovery Channel television show "Doing Da Vinci," in which teams of engineers attempt to recreate the Renaissance inventor's written engineering visions using only the materials that da Vinci himself would have had available to use.
"This is his hobby, his passion," said Brian Shields, the communications and marketing manager for the Sheridan Libraries.
Pevsner delivered his lecture on the genius of Leonardo da Vinci in the Mason Hall auditorium to a full house.
"As an artist, [da Vinci] created two of the most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, but da Vinci would have put the title of 'engineer' before 'artist'," he said.
Pevsner's lecture traced the evolution of da Vinci's scientific genius through his life, making specific references to the mysterious, detailed notebooks da Vinci wrote in backwards script.
"He wrote over 20,000 sheets of paper," Pevsner said, showing the audience sketches of war machines, flying contraptions and the human anatomy.
"The drawings of anatomy are as interesting and beautiful as the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper," he said.
Along with the records da Vinci himself wrote, the scientist also turned to books for educational source material.
"His interest in books is something we can follow through his years," Pevsner said.
All of the books he owned are listed in his notebooks. Pevsner described the artist's taste as "eclectic."
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