
Engineering and weaponry
Milan was a centre for the manufacture of arms and armour, and soon after Leonardo’s arrival in the city he began to sketch designs for weapons. The recent introduction to Europe of gunpowder was rapidly changing the nature of warfare, and Leonardo’s designs show both the old type of weapon, such as lances and chariots, and the new – guns, cannon and mortars.
It is unlikely that any of these designs was realised, or even intended for manufacture, and they may have been intended instead for an illustrated treatise on warfare.
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Designs for chariots and other weapons
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Studies of gun-barrels and mortars. Verso: A town wall being blown up
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Studies of the head of a lance and missiles
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Designs for boats, and other mechanical sketches. Verso: Gearing to turn a large paddle wheel, and another machine
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Studies of ships, and toothed wheels, with notes. Verso: A design for a paddle-boat, and the head of an old man in profile
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)