Mario Taddei

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Mario Taddei
MarioTaddei1972.jpg
Born(1972-09-28)September 28, 1972
Bologna, Italy
NationalityItalian
Known forLeonardo da Vinci scholar
Children1

Mario Taddei (born September 28, 1972) is an Italian academic. He is an expert in multimedia and edutainment for museums, a Leonardo da Vinci devotee and scholar, and an expert in the codexes and machines of da Vinci and ancient books of technology.

Contents

Biography

Born in Bologna, Italy, Taddei graduated in Industrial Design, Politecnico di Milano. [1] He has headed many projects about innovative installations for museums. He has been studying da Vinci for years and has authored new discoveries. [2]

In 2008, he studied for the first time in depth The Book of Secrets (Kitab al-Asrar) by the 1000 CE Arabic engineer and scientist Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi. The complete and unique study of all The Book of Secrets, all his machines and the pages are shown in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. [3] In 2013 was co-founder of Leonardo3 Museum in Milan Italy. [4] In 2013 During the event for the 150th anniversary of the Milan Polytechnic he received the CULTURE [5] award with the following motivation: “Minds Shaping the World welcomes Mario Taddei among its members for the scientific rigor and the extraordinary diffusion capacity that allowed him to make unprecedented discoveries to Leonardo da Vinci and spread them all over the world. Mario Taddei is considered today one of the greatest international experts of the genius of Vinci: his exhibitions and installations have been over the years presented with great success both in Italy and abroad (Germany, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Qatar, Japan)."

In 2023 he received The "Leonardo Da Vinci 2023 Honorary Award" in San Francisco. [6]

Professor of Design, Architecture, Virtual scenography & Virtual reality, ACME Academy of Fine Arts and Media Leonardo da Vinci (Milan) and Pantheon institute (Milan)

Prizes, awards, reviews


Work

The robot of Leonardo

Building the robot of Leonardo da Vinci in the Leonardo3lab. Leonardo Da Vinci Robot Leonardo3 2008-1.jpg
Building the robot of Leonardo da Vinci in the Leonardo3lab.

Among the vast number of projects of Leonardo, there is a “mechanical knight” [9] that has entered into the common imagination. In 1957 Carlo Pedretti was the first person to discover it, hidden amongst da Vinci’s countless designs. The mechanical knight was again mentioned in 1974, in the Codex Madrid edited by Ladislao Reti. Nevertheless, there was no attempt to reconstruct it until 1996. It was then that Mark Rosheim published an independent study of the robot, followed by a joint enterprise with the Florence Institute and Museum of the History of Science which mounted an exhibition with an entire section dedicated to Rosheim’s research on the subject. However, it was only in 2002 that Rosheim built a complete physical model for a BBC documentary. Since then, many exhibitions and museums of da Vinci’s models have included a soldier on wheels labeled, “Leonardo’s robot”. [10]

Studies on the subject mention that manuscripts relating to Leonardo’s idea for the robot are in the Codex Atlanticus, specifically folio 579r. Mario Taddei's further research has indicated folios 1077r, 1021r and 1021v as possible sources for the mechanisms of this mysterious humanoid robot. [11]

In the 2007 Mario Taddei made a new research on the original documents of Leonardo finding new pieces of information to build a new model of the soldier robot, correctly related to the drawings of Leonardo. This robot was designed just for defensive purpose, not for war or theater and his movement are related to the arms that move right and left with a rope. The Model is shown in exhibition around the world and the work of research is published in the "Leonardo da Vinci's robots" book. [12]

The rebuilt copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus as a box. Made by Mario Taddei for museum purposes. Mario Taddei Unique edition of the Codex Atlanticus - Codice Atlantico-www.mariotaddei.net (27b).jpg
The rebuilt copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus as a box. Made by Mario Taddei for museum purposes.

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo da Vinci</span> Italian Renaissance polymath (1452–1519)

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and paleontology. Leonardo is widely regarded to have been a genius who epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works comprise a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary Michelangelo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Leicester</span> Compiled famous scientific writings by Leonardo Da Vinci

The Codex Leicester is a collection of scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci. The codex is named after Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1717. The codex provides an insight into the inquiring mind of the definitive Renaissance artist, scientist and thinker, as well as an exceptional illustration of the link between art and science and the creativity of the scientific process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo's robot</span> Humanoid automaton designed by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo's robot, or Leonardo's mechanical knight, was a humanoid automaton designed and possibly constructed by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1495.

<i>Saint John the Baptist</i> (Leonardo) Painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Saint John the Baptist is a High Renaissance oil painting on walnut wood by Leonardo da Vinci. Likely to have been completed between 1513 and 1516, it is believed to be his final painting. Its original size was 69 by 57 centimetres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci</span> Overview about the cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance painter and polymath who achieved legendary fame and iconic status within his own lifetime. His renown primarily rests upon his brilliant achievements as a painter, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, being two of the most famous artworks ever created, but also upon his diverse skills as a scientist and inventor. He became so highly valued during his lifetime that the King of France bore him home like a trophy of war, supported him in his old age and, according to legend, cradled his head as he died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Galileo</span> Museum in Florence, Italy

Museo Galileo is located in Florence, Italy, in Piazza dei Giudici, along the River Arno and close to the Uffizi Gallery. The museum, dedicated to astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, is housed in Palazzo Castellani, an 11th-century building which was then known as the Castello d'Altafronte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Trivulzianus</span> Manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci

The Codex Trivulzianus is a manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci that originally contained 62 sheets, but today only 55 remain. It documents Leonardo's attempts to improve his modest literary education, through long lists of learned words copied from authoritative lexical and grammatical sources. The manuscript also contains studies of military and religious architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Atlanticus</span> Set of drawings and writings by Leonardo da Vinci

The Codex Atlanticus is a 12-volume, bound set of drawings and writings by Leonardo da Vinci, the largest single set. Its name indicates the large paper used to preserve original Leonardo notebook pages, which was used for atlases. It comprises 1,119 leaves dating from 1478 to 1519, the contents covering a great variety of subjects, from flight to weaponry to musical instruments and from mathematics to botany. This codex was gathered in the late 16th century by the sculptor Pompeo Leoni, who dismembered some of Leonardo's notebooks in its formation. It is now in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.

<i>Divina proportione</i> Book on proportions by Luca Pacioli, illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci

Divina proportione, later also called De divina proportione is a book on mathematics written by Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, completed by February 9th, 1498 in Milan and first printed in 1509. Its subject was mathematical proportions and their applications to geometry, to visual art through perspective, and to architecture. The clarity of the written material and Leonardo's excellent diagrams helped the book to achieve an impact beyond mathematical circles, popularizing contemporary geometric concepts and images.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex on the Flight of Birds</span> Manuscript book by Leonardo da Vinci

Codex on the Flight of Birds is a relatively short codex from c. 1505 by Leonardo da Vinci.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpsichord-viola</span> Hybrid musical instrument based on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci

The harpsichord-viola is a hybrid musical instrument based on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci on folio 93r of the Codex Atlanticus. It's a different project from the viola organista. It is about the size of a child's toy piano. It weighs 33 pounds and straps to the musician's chest. It's unlike anything else in the orchestra. It has the strings of a violin but is played with a keyboard, and it's powered by the musician's legs as he walks. It's built with the materials that Leonardo would have had on hand, including wooden pegs and gears run by twine. In the folio of Leonardo, you can see that the instrument has a harness. So it was invented as a way to play a stringed instrument while marching. The leg pumps a wooden motor, which moves a long loop of horsehair through the instrument. When the player presses the keys, the strings move up against the loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Arundel</span> Book by Leonardo da Vinci

Codex Arundel, is a bound collection of pages of notes written by Leonardo da Vinci and dating mostly from between 1480 and 1518. The codex contains a number of treatises on a variety of subjects, including mechanics and geometry. The name of the codex came from the Earl of Arundel, who acquired it in Spain in the 1630s. It forms part of the British Library Arundel Manuscripts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo's crossbow</span>

Leonardo's crossbow designs are a series of shooting weapon schematics designed by Leonardo da Vinci that are in the Codex Atlanticus. One version, a self-spanning infantry weapon called the Rapid Fire Crossbow, is found on sheets 143r, 153r, and 155r. The other is the Giant Crossbow design intended to be a mounted siege weapon found on sheet 149a in the Codex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salaì</span> Italian artist (1480–1524)

Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno, better known as Salaì was an Italian artist and pupil of Leonardo da Vinci from 1490 to 1518. Salaì entered Leonardo's household at the age of ten. He created paintings under the name of Andrea Salaì. He was described as one of Leonardo's students and lifelong companion and servant and was the model for Leonardo's St. John the Baptist,Bacchus and Angelo incarnato.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Madrid (Leonardo)</span> Manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci discovered in Madrid, Spain in 1965

The Madrid Codices I–II, are two manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci which were discovered in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid in 1965 by Dr. Jules Piccus, Language Professor at the University of Massachusetts. The Madrid Codices I was finished during 1490 and 1499, and II from 1503 to 1505.

Alessandro Vezzosi is an Italian art critic, Leonardo scholar, artist, expert on interdisciplinary studies and creative museology, he is also the author of hundreds of exhibits, publications and conferences, in Italy and abroad on Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance, contemporary art and design. Amongst others, he was the first scholar from the Armand Hammer Centre for Leonardo Studies from the University of California in Los Angeles (1981), directed by Carlo Pedretti; he taught at the University of Progetto in Reggio Emilia; and he is honorary professor at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence. He began as an artist from 1964 to 1971 winning more than 80 prizes in painting competitions. In the Seventies he was the founder of the "Archivio Leonardisimi" and of Strumenti-Memoria del Territorio; he coordinated "ArteCronaca", he was the historical-artistic consultant of the Municipality of Vinci and he collaborated on the publications on Tuscany and Leonardo, modern and contemporary art. In 1980 he curated the Centro di Documentazione Arti Visive of the Municipality of Florence.

Carlo Vecce is Professor of Italian Literature in the University of Naples "L'Orientale", he taught also in the University of Pavia, the D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara and the University of Macerata. Abroad he was visiting professor at Paris 3 (2001) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) (2009).

<i>Horse and Rider</i> (wax sculpture)

Horse and Rider is a beeswax sculpture depicting a rider on a horse. The history of the sculpture is unknown before the 20th century. The work has been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci by the Italian art historian Carlo Pedretti, though most historians have ignored or denied the attribution. A number of casts have been made, using a mold taken from the wax original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo3 Museum</span> Interactive museum in Milan, Italy

Leonardo3 is an interactive museum and exhibition center at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Piazza della Scala, Milano, Italy. The museum was inaugurated in 2013, and is devoted to Italy’s notable personality Leonardo da Vinci, who is portrayed both as an artist and inventor.

References

  1. Professions of the future, Politecnico di Milano, 30 July 2021
  2. Artificial Intelligence Italia review, 18 March 2023
  3. Samsó, Julio (2008), "Libro dei segreti risultanti dai pensieri", Suhayl. International Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilisation: 234–238
  4. Leonardo3 Museum, 2013
  5. Politecnic of Milan (2013), CULTURE award, Milan{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. The Leonardo da Vinci Society, 2023
  7. Hong Kong Prizes (2020), Best Exhibition Event (Gold) -Best Cultural Event (Silver), Hong Kong{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Politecnic of Milan (2020), Professions of the future: virtual architects and set designers as seen by Mario Taddei
  9. Rosheim, Mark E. (2006). Leonardo's lost robot. Berlin: Springer. ISBN   978-3-540-28440-6.
  10. "L'automobile" di Leonardo, IMSS museum
  11. Leonardo da Vinci - Der Genie-Code, Sphinx
  12. Taddei, Mario (2007). Da Vinci's Robots. New mechanics and new automata found in codices. Milan: Leonardo3. ISBN   978-8860480095.