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The height of sophistication is simplicity.

Clare Boothe Luce, 1931; later credited to Leonardo da Vinci

Philosophy

The story behind the card

Clare Boothe Luce, an American writer who later became a congresswoman and ambassador to Italy, gave these words to a character in her 1931 satirical novel Stuffed Shirts. The better-known form, 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication', turns up in the 1940s and 1950s, and Apple used it in its 1977 brochure for the Apple II. The first strong credit to Leonardo da Vinci that researchers have found is a Campari advertisement in The New Yorker in 2000; nothing like it appears in his notebooks.

Türkçe oku
İnceliğin zirvesi sadeliktir.
Clare Boothe Luce, 1931; sonradan Leonardo da Vinci'ye atfedildi

Sonradan Kongre üyesi ve ABD'nin İtalya büyükelçisi olan Amerikalı yazar Clare Boothe Luce, bu sözü 1931'de yayımlanan hicivli romanı Stuffed Shirts'te bir karakterine söyletir. Daha tanıdık olan “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Sadelik, inceliğin son noktasıdır) biçimi 1940'lar ve 1950'lerde ortaya çıktı; Apple da 1977'de Apple II broşüründe bu cümleyi kullandı. Araştırmacıların bulduğu, sözü açıkça Leonardo da Vinci'ye bağlayan ilk kaynak, 2000 yılında The New Yorker'da yayımlanan bir Campari reklamıdır. Defterlerinde buna benzer bir şey yoktur.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Leonardo da Vinci
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