Almond Blossom by Van Gogh

Aerodynamics is concerned with the behavior of gaseous fluids in motion and the forces acting on moving bodies relative to these fluids. Although this branch of science is now fundamental in the study of everything moving in the air, from aeroplanes to rockets, the development of these ideas was initially a challenge due to the inconsistencies of aerodynamic thought. While Leonardo da Vinci is known for his career as an artist, his most famous works including the paintings Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, he was also responsible for significant development in the field of flight. Beforehand it had been a fragmented field of study, but da Vinci created ideas for innovative flying machines using concepts related to fluid flow characteristics. Undoubtedly, da Vinci’s diverse range of interests aided his work in aerodynamics: his military weapon designs, architectural studies, and anatomical sketches, alongside his career in conventional painting, enabled him to culminate status as an engineer and scientist who used diagrams as a visual representation for his ideas.