Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian painter, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, inventor, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, botanician, historian, cartographer and architect. He is most famous for painting the Mona Lisa and inventing prototypes of advanced technological creations that would only be achieved in the 20th century, such as the parachute, helicopter and the tank. His anatomic research was beneficial to medicine in the centuries that followed.
In Zappa's work
Ginevra de Benci, a painting by Da Vinci, can be seen far left on the cover of We're Only In It For The Money.
The poster for the Boston concert (18 October 1970) parodies Zappa as the Mona Lisa.
Zappa mentions Da Vinci as a character in Dio Fa.
"Another possible hotel venture brought Zappa to Leningrad for further indoctrination into the mysterious ways of the Near East. The Soviets wanted to convert the Carriage Museum, which has become a taxi grease rack under communism, into a combination hotel and home for the Leningrad State Ballet. The Soviets agreed to do a feasibility study by a set deadline, and Zappa agreed to find prospective builders. He found some interested parties here, but he's still waiting for the study. On that same visit to Leningrad, Zappa got wind of a vast collection of paintings – including some by Leonardo da Vinci – that no one had ever seen because they were being kept in a vault. Zappa contacted the man who controls the vault, a Rubin Milonov, and told him how he could arrange for a television program to be done about the collection, for books to be published, and exhibitions to be held. "Mr. Milonov says fine, let's do a contract," Zappa says. "So I draw one up and he signs a contract for what is called 'The Hidden Treasures of Leningrad,' which I still have in the other room. Apparently, Mr. Milonov didn't have the authority to sign the contract because no one has ever seen those da Vincis. " So finally, Zappa got nothing. "Those are the kind of things that can happen to you over there," he says. "You walk away with a signed, sealed, legal document in two languages and you still don't know who you're doing business with." - Quoted from Neil Cohen's Das Capitalist, 1991.
