On Friday, the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries hosted a lecture by Jonathan Pevsner entitled, "Polymath: Leonardo da Vinci's Life and Legacy." Pevsner graduated from the Hopkins School of Medicine and also holds a Ph.D in pharmacology.
He works at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute as a neuroscientist, specializing in autism and child neurology. He also holds a faculty position at the School of Medicine.
These positions make up only part of his varied career, however. Pevsner is also the expert advisor on the Discovery Channel television show "Doing Da Vinci," in which teams of engineers attempt to recreate the Renaissance inventor's written engineering visions using only the materials that da Vinci himself would have had available to use.
"This is his hobby, his passion," said Brian Shields, the communications and marketing manager for the Sheridan Libraries. Pevsner delivered his lecture on the genius of Leonardo da Vinci in the Mason Hall auditorium to a full house.
"As an artist, [da Vinci] created two of the most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, but da Vinci would have put the title of 'engineer' before 'artist'," he said.
Pevsner's lecture traced the evolution of da Vinci's scientific genius through his life, making specific references to the mysterious, detailed notebooks da Vinci wrote in backwards script.
"He wrote over 20,000 sheets of paper," Pevsner said, showing the audience sketches of war machines, flying contraptions and the human anatomy.
"The drawings of anatomy are as interesting and beautiful as the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper," he said.
Along with the records da Vinci himself wrote, the scientist also turned to books for educational source material.
"His interest in books is something we can follow through his years," Pevsner said.
All of the books he owned are listed in his notebooks. Pevsner described the artist's taste as "eclectic."
"Da Vinci read books carefully, but he also went beyond that," he said.
Pevsner also alluded to the contradictions within da Vinci's personality. The artist, engineer and scientist wrote about war as the most "bestial insanity," yet he created both war machines and poison gas.
"He was not your normal person," he said. "It thrilled him to make these discoveries."According to Pevsner, the television show Doing Da Vinci has, "brought Leonardo's dreams to life."
The fascinating pictures of da Vinci's real life visions were presented to the audience. With Pevsner's help, the team on the show has been successful at recreating some of these complex structures, including two of da Vinci's war machines.
Pevsner closed by saying that, "da Vinci was someone who fulfilled his potential."
The event was open to both Hopkins students and the community, and people from both groups attended.
When asked why they chose to attend this particular event, student responses varied widely.
"I came to find out about Leonardo da Vinci [and} how his mind worked from an engineering perspective," senior Shaoyi Zhang said.
Others came for the perks - the hour-long event was preceded by a formal wine and cheese reception.
"Free food and wine - why wouldn't you come here? It's classy," junior Justin Lee said.
The Friends of the Hopkins University Libraries, the sponsoring organization, was founded in 1931 and is one of the oldest friends groups in the nation.
"Friends of the Libraries is a real mix of people who support the libraries," said Shellie Dolan, one of the event's organizers.
Friends of the Libraries host three or four lectures each year, either on the Homewood campus or at the Evergreen Museum.
According to Dolan, these lectures function as "community outreach" for the Friends of the Libraries.
