Author Caroline Cocciardi discusses her book Leonardo's Knots, a showcase of the genius’s ability to combine his expertise in the arts and mathematics, and translate minuscule interlaced wonderments into glorious visual beauty.
Leonardo's Knots will introduce you to a facet of Leonardo da Vinci that you have not seen before. Found in the minuscule details of his works yet it speaks volumes about his passion for knots and mathematics. Leonardo da Vinci’s forgotten fresco, painted in 1498, is located at the Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy.
This masterpiece adorns a 2,500 sq. ft. dome ceiling in a ballroom. It showcases Leonardo’s artistic and mathematical genius, but due to severe decay, the artwork has become unrecognizable and has been overlooked for the last 500 years. Unfortunately, restoring this masterpiece is unlikely to occur in our lifetime. However, beneath its deterioration lies a hidden treasure: an extravagant array of knots, featuring 16 trees, intertwining branches, and 37 gold leaf ropes meandering through a dense assortment of mulberry leaves. Along with my team of knot mathematicians and artists, we are on a mission to digitally restore Leonardo’s last great fresco. Mission accomplished, and it is breathtaking!
The presentation will cover several key points:
• The reasons why Leonardo da Vinci painted the Room of Knots
• How this masterpiece was forgotten over time
• The current condition of the artwork
• The challenges involved in digitally restoring it
• The numerous discoveries that have surfaced from studying this work.
Caroline Cocciardi (B.S. San Jose State University) writer and filmmaker began an independent study on Leonardo da Vinci, while living in Rome. Her 20-year research lead to a da Vinci discovery.