LEONARDO COMES TO UCC: da Vinci expert Pascal Brioist delivers 'Leonardo and Anatomy' lecture

29 Jan 2024

Professor Aideen Sullivan, Head of Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience in collaboration with Professor Brendan Dooley, Professor of Renaissance Studies UCC, are delighted to welcome da Vinci expert Professor Pascal Brioist, University of Tours to UCC to present a lecture series on Leonardo da Vinci.

The lecture series consists of four lectures on four consecutive days and culminates with the Leonardo and Anatomy lecture which is supported by the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, and takes place in Brookfield Health Science Complex G.05 on Thursday February 15th, 2024. 

Professor Pascal Brioist currently teaches in the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Tours. He is the author of numerous books concerning Renaissance art, architecture, warfare and culture, including, in 2024, a biography of Leonardo da Vinci; and in 2019, as editor, the Gallimard edition of Leonardo’s notebooks. He regularly collaborates on French TV and radio and holds the distinction of Chevalier des Palmes Académiques.

Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519 was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and planetology.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest anatomists ever to have lived. He dissected more than 30 human corpses, exploring every aspect of anatomy and physiology, and recorded his findings in drawings of unparalleled beauty and lucidity, and in notes that bear witness to his astonishing insights into the subject. Had Leonardo published his research, he would have transformed European knowledge of anatomy. But his studies remained among his personal papers at his death and were almost unknown until around 1900.

Register HERE to attend the ‘Leonardo and Anatomy’ lecture on Thursday February 15^th2024.

Please download full lecture series programme here: Leonardo comes to UCC Lecture Series February 12th-15th 2024.pdf