Summary

While studying the human body, Leonardo was also studying the body of the earth. This work led him to find analogies between the two and to see the human body as a microcosm for the macrocosm of the earth. He compared bones to rocks, breathing to ocean tides, and blood veins to the earth's water systems. Leonardo saw these connections as having a spiritual component and they informed much of his work in both art and science. This way of looking at the world allowed Leonardo to see the earth as ever-changing, rather than as being static since creation. He explored the evolution of the earth through the subjects of emotion, rock formation, and fossil distribution. In addition to the similarities between the body and the earth, Leonardo was also adept at spotting their differences. Much of Leonardo's studies of the earth focused...