Details on the mathematical interplay between Leonardo da Vinci and Luca Pacioli

Abstract

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) maintained a strong relationship with mathematics, but the benefits of this connection unfortunately had little impact in his time. His meeting with Luca Pacioli (1445–1517) in Milan in 1496 was crucial: the two men would become friends and a deep mutual respect would preside over Leonardo da Vinci's improving his mathematical knowledge while contributing to the drawings of Pacioli's De divina proportione (Milano, 1496–98) (Pacioli 1509a). Based on my recent works on the relationship between mathematics and physics during the Renaissance, here I resume some results on the conceptual mathematical frameworks between two Italian scholars.