Torch, Summer 2006

L et’s start with the title: The Da Vinci Code . “Da Vinci” is of course a reference to Leonardo da Vinci. Art historians are miffed at the title of the book and the way the artist is described. The artist in question is referred to as Da Vinci as though it were his last name. Da Vinci is merely the city that Leonardo called home as a young man. Scholars and anyone who has a little knowledge of art know him simply as Leonardo. Leonardo was a Renaissance man — the Renaissance man. His favorite pastimes were scientific research, particularly regarding the human body and the design of weapons for war. In the book, Brown describes Leonardo as a flamboyant homosexual who received hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions for his art. He was at odds with the church because he knew the deep secret of the founding of the church and what was hidden from the world. The characters go on to describe Leonardo as one who produced an enormous amount of breathtaking Christian art (p. 45). The book proposes that Leonardo had a secret life as a conspirator to hide the truth about Jesus and the early church. As a member of a secret society, he was pledged to hide these truths; however, he was not above H ow D id Leonardo G et I nvolved i n A ll T his ? 14 TORCH / Summer 2006