One of Leonardo da Vinci's designs for an Ornithopter 1489

Editor: We're looking at one of Leonardo da Vinci's designs for an Ornithopter from 1489, a drawing in mixed media. It’s incredibly intricate, but also feels so dreamlike and ambitious. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The sheer audacity of it, darling! Imagine, in the 15th century, to not just *dream* of flight, but to actually design a contraption for it. You see how the lines aren’t just lines? They're prayers etched onto paper, whispered hopes taking geometric form. It's as if da Vinci was trying to decode God's blueprints for birds! Editor: A prayer, that's lovely! I see the mechanics of it, but not that... do you think he really thought this would work? Curator: Work? Maybe not exactly as envisioned. But it’s the *attempt* that’s divine. These weren’t just engineering sketches; they were experiments in faith, visualized in ink. Do you notice how he’s married the earthly and the ethereal in one design? Editor: I guess so. All the earthly materials shaped for an ethereal purpose. I always think of Leonardo as a painter but, obviously, there was much more to him. Curator: Oh, so much more! A scientist, inventor, dreamer. This sketch reminds us that art isn't just about what you *see,* but about what you dare to imagine. Now, doesn't that just make your soul soar?