and as i said before, his style (which i call "curly" and is somewhat distinctive) is not a pleasing style to me. are you saying that it is those very curls that are a mark of his genius?... if so, do explain why. As for your “curly†comment – what so important about Leonardo’s sketches is the proportion that he uses and his knowledge of anatomy- And why do I consider Raffaello (excuse me for mixing the Italian spelling in there before..), Michelangelo, and Leonardo as the three great from the Renaissance ?… Because they were- Thanks to Giorgio Vasari- the reason why we know so much about their lives and works of all the artists of that period. and no I didn’t read this in a brochure—I read it directly from Giorgio Vasari’s book Le Vite de’ piu eccelenti architetti, scultori e pittori"i. Loosely translated as lives of the most excellent architects sculptors and painters. Most scholars who study artists of the period will agree. _another aspects of this issue: why should we treat *anything* that someone who is considered a genius has produced as treasure? i'm sure Einstein, who is considered a genius, had some bogus theories that went nowhere. should we "treasure" those as well?_ Ok, give Einstein a couple of centuries and see how much the journals of Einstein are valued in the eyes of scientists. …think about it.. opinions being what they are … Leonardo contributed a great deal to science, art and technology- may not seem like genius now but for his time his genius was much appreciated as im sure most people can now.