Leonardo da Vinci is commonly known as the great inventor of creative machines, the artist of the famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man. But Leonardo was also an avid reader: his personal library contained nearly 200 books on science and technology, literature, and religion. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), with the Museo Galileo and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, has now reconstructed the lost book collection for the exhibition "Leonardo's Intellectual Cosmos," where visitors can marvel at many of these outstanding old works. Leonardo's intellectual world is not only displayed through his books, but also brought to life by reproductions of codices, artworks, and objects such as printing cabinets, introducing visitors into the workshop of the artist-scientist-engineer.

In this video tour, exhibition architect Serge von Arx presents some of these books and objects and not only provides insights into Leonardo's multifaceted world of thought, but also offers a very personal perspective on the process of creating the exhibition itself. How are Leonardo's books and the artistic presentation of the exhibition connected? What significance did the objects, sketches, and works on display have in Leonardo's life? And what do they tell us about his ideas, thoughts, and insights?

More than 500 years after his death, the exhibition "Leonardo's Intellectual Cosmos" provides a new look at one of the most fascinating figures in cultural history.