Codex Atlanticus. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. The Codex Atlanticus (Atlantic Codex) is a 12 volume, bound set of drawings and writings by Leonardo da Vinci. It comprises 1,119 leaves dating from 1478 to 1519, the contents covering a great variety of subjects, from flight to weaponry to musical instruments and from mathematics to botany.