Da Vinci primarily sketched the Viola Organista in the series of volumes that would become the Codex Atlanticus. This image, from page 93, shows a variety of internal mechanisms that would have been included in the instrument. Of note are the multiple showings of the foot-pedal mechanism, in the lower center and bottom-right of the page. The pedal spins an internal wheel that drives a belt, likely connected to the bowing mechanism at the terminal point. A specific bowing method is unclear here, as a variety of wheel systems are shown but not annotated closely. Roughly twenty-one keys are shown on the keyboard.
Featured in Exhibit
Date
circa. 1488
Artist
Associated events
Copyright
©
Vetted?
No