About the Author

Visiting the Vinciana Library at Castello Sforza in Milan, Italy, a library dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci’s writings and those by the many experts on Leonardo, I was in awe to see thousands of publications written in every language over decades about this one man, Leonardo da Vinci.

Few people are in a global league to be celebrated five hundred years after their death. In Leonardo da Vinci’s short lifespan of sixty seven years, he had the ability to transcend centuries and cultures with his accomplishments in the fields of the arts, science and mathematics, but his legacy is in the timeless inspiration he left the world.

Like those contributors before me, I was also inspired by Leonardo da Vinci through his knot art. My story is this: I saw something on the Mona Lisa: the embroidery pattern across the bodice of her dress, I recognized it was not decorative but mathematical and his decision to paint it broke all fashion codes of the day and I knew how important it was for him to take such a risk.

After many years cataloging every Leonardo knot, from the first years he kept his sketch books to his last years looking for preliminary sketches of the Mona Lisa Knot it lead me to a bigger discovery. In addition to his public persona as the artist, draftsman, engineer and mathematician, I met Leonardo da Vinci, the human being, through his passion for knots.

Caroline Cocciardi