What Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs Have in Common

“Paper is a really cool technology for the storage of information,” says Walter ­Isaacson, author of the definitive biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Ben Franklin. Five hundred years ago, Leonardo da Vinci felt exactly the same way. From his childhood growing up as the illegitimate son of a notary to his death as an international luminary, Leonardo filled journal after journal with sketches, notes, questions, and doodles. This habit would eventually culminate in some of the most celebrated artwork ever, including the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and the Vitruvian Man. About 7,000 pages—or 25 percent—of the artist’s journals still exist, and Isaacson traveled to Venice, Florence, Milan, Paris, London, and Seattle to study them. “Geeking out on them,” he says, “I felt a personal connection.” We spoke with the author of Leonardo da Vinci (Simon & Schuster, $35) about the genius’s worldview and how it’s still relevant to the modern reader.

BLOOMBERG PURSUITS: What drew you to Leonardo as a subject?
ISAACSON: I’m always interested in creative genius. I’ve come to realize that one of the secrets of creativity is to be passionately and playfully curious about a wide range of subjects. The ultimate example of that is Leonardo. He made no distinction between art and science. One of his most famous works, the Vitruvian Man, is partly a self-portrait, with beautiful curls and perfect shading. Leonardo’s drawing has the exact proportions of the body correct. He made 230 measurements before drawing—so it’s a work of staggering scientific sophistication and also a work of unnecessary beauty. Meanwhile, his peers made line drawings.