Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His ChildhoodSigmund Freud Leonardo da Vinci and A Memory of His ChildhoodÊ(German:ÊEine Kindheitserinnerung des Leonardo da Vinci) is a 1910 essay byÊSigmund FreudÊaboutÊLeonardo da Vinci. It consists of aÊpsychoanalyticÊstudy of Leonardo's life based on his paintings.In theÊCodex AtlanticusÊLeonardo recounts being attacked as an infant in his crib by a bird. Freud cites the passage as:ÒIt seems that it had been destined before that I should occupy myself so thoroughly with the vulture, for it comes to my mind as a very early memory, when I was still in the cradle, a vulture came down to me, he opened my mouth with his tail and struck me a few times with his tail against my