Myth vs. reality…

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance man, literally and figuratively. His “Mona Lisa” is the best known painting in the world; his inventions and theories—some valid, some not, but all creations far ahead of his time—have inspired inventors and scientists; and his advances in artistic techniques revolutionized the world of art. Even his notebooks have seduced the likes of Bill Gates.

Da Vinci is such an important character on the world’s stage that one might wonder why he doesn’t appear in the “E...