Leonardo da Vinci is remembered today not only for masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, but also for his notebooks filled with mechanical drawings and innovative ideas. Because of these designs, modern writers often call him an inventor. My question is about how he was viewed in his own time. During the Renaissance, did people consider Leonardo da Vinci an inventor, or was he primarily recognized as a painter, engineer, and thinker? Were any of his designs actually built or ac...