Leonardo's Knots

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of the original Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci, and a new book by a Silicon Valley author highlights a little-recognized but fascinating component of his art and work.

Caroline Cocciardi focuses on Leonardo’s placement and use of mathematically-inspired knots throughout his art, and tells the story of the hidden messages conveyed by knots that appear in the artist’s most famous works, Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

"The nonverbal language of drawing knots in a variety of designs and themes appealed to Leonardo so much so that he devoted a lifetime to their exploration," said Cocciardi.

"Leonardo’s Knots is an intriguing and impressive journey through Leonardo’s fascination with knots, their mathematical intricacy, and their integration into his art," according to Santa Clara University professor Don Riccomini. "Leonardo's contemporaries considered him more mathematician than artist, and Cocciardi does a thorough job of showing why through her analysis of the mathematics of the knots he integrated into his paintings."

Host: Amy Boggs