Leonardo Da Vinci

I have just finished reading this beautifully written biography of Leonardo da Vinci and feel quite bereft that it is the end of a wonderful journey with a genius. Thank you, Walter Isaacson. I shall never look at a woodpecker without thinking of Leonardo’s to-do list “describe the tongue of a woodpecker” and I have started to train myself to try to look at the world around me with Leonardo’s intense curiosity and thirst for knowledge. The many illustrations in the book are essential so I would recommend you purchase the hardcover. I am yet to place one of the pictures of the manuscripts in front of a mirror as Leonardo wrote in mirror script but it is on my “to do list”. The reviews “ first class” and “ brilliant evocation…” will give anyone who is hesitating about purchasing this book an excellent idea of what they will thoroughly enjoy reading.

As would be expected from Walter Isaacson, this is wonderfully written and enthusiastic book. It has over 140 excellent illustrations. We sense the atmosphere in 1470s Florence under ruler Lorenzo Medici. Apprentice Leonardo begins to outshine his master Verrocchio. Illustrations of two paintings in which they collaborated, Tobias and the Angel, and the Baptism of Christ, are used to compare their styles. For the former, a comparison is made with an earlier version by another artist shows the remarkable evolution achieved by Verrocchio’s school. Leonardo is there at the forefront in the improvement in presentation of animation, perspective, sfumato, chiarresco, as well as landscapes. He finds himself overcome by his own perfectionism, a brilliant polymath mind restrained from carrying out his ideas to completion and exasperating those brave enough to give him commissions. The author draws on quotes from Leonardo’s notebooks. Leonardo focused on conception rather than execution. He procrastinated. He kept hold of his masterpieces with the intention of perfecting them. He was a genius with shadows, reflection of light, and perspective. Unlike Florentine contemporaries such as Botticelli, for example, he was disinclined to flatter his patrons by including their likeness in his paintings. It landed him few commissions. Leonardo moved to Milan to take up ephemeral duties as a producer of pageants for the ruler of Milan, to whom he had written the best job application ever proposing inventions for new weapons of war. Leonardo walked around Milan with his trademark notebook hanging from his belt. He was popular (he spent time with Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli among many other characters that dominated in his day), strong, and good looking, and seemed to always be on the go. There was fierce competition with the younger Michelangelo upon his eventual return to Florence. He was a vegetarian since he loved animals so much. His scientific discoveries form the major part of his achievements and this book. Not formally educated, he was a compulsive empiricist, applying his immense power of observation, learning from others and his own experiences, reading almost to addiction, constantly drawing parallels to further his understanding. His unpublished notebooks show how he became centuries ahead in his understanding of mechanics, science and anatomy. He wrote from right to left, i.e. in mirror script, and this has made some believe that perhaps he never wanted to broadcast his findings. One wonders if the intensity of his thoughts was reflected in some way by how he communicated. For patrons he had a string of essentially transactional strongmen of the likes of Sforza, Medici, and Borgia. He ended up with Francis II of France, who was much more generous. As he has done before, the author ends with a few useful pages of conclusion about his subject. He lists and describes what he sees as twenty essentials that contributed to Leonardo’s greatness. This is a first class biography.

I’m a fan of the author - the Steve Jobs biography was terrific As a definitive work on Da Vinci this is a hugely impressive feat It captures not just his life, but the essence of how he thought and his inquisitive nature that set him apart This book has given me a much greater understanding for who he was, the multi disciplined creative vibe in Florence and Rome at the time - as well as - a deeper appreciation of art BUT It is a lengthy book and hard going at times Do I think the essence could be distilled into something much much shorter - yes You could trim 150 pages, lose nothing and end up with a more concentrated product It’s a triple album that’s impressive in its grandeur and the amount of research that went in to it. Reading all his diaries etc Did it leave a lasting impression - yes Did I enjoy it - sometimes Did I look forward to finishing it and find it a bit arduous at other times - yes :-)

This is one of the best books I have ever read: fascinating, fabulously well illustrated (every painting mentioned is illustrated on the page!), wide-ranging, complete, and chock full of interesting facts and observations about Leonardo's world: the nature of his illegitimacy, the roles of his parents at different times in his life, the effects of his homosexuality (not many!), the nature of his apprenticeship and the innovations in painting that he worked out for himself (sfumato, e.g.) I LOVED how Isaacson completely disregarded any line between "art" and "science" (the so called two solitudes), and showed how Leonardo and his contemporaries used observation to inform both their paintings and sculptures, and their works of stagecraft and engineering. I also loved how patronage was described, how the various patrons courted Leonardo and his fellows, cut them slack, rewarded them, etc. etc. The economic context was brought in: the cost of keeping our hero in food, clothing and wine, for example. A masterpiece. Too bad the author has since wasted his time on a jerk like Elon Musk... though I may buy it in case he has worked some magic on that person.

Un regalo para una persona amante de Leonardo que no decepcionó lo más mínimo. Es un libro denso pero que no se hace pesado, con muchas ilustraciones variadas. Una gran biografía.

著者Walter Issacsonの力量が冴えた伝記。ダビンチの芸術家そして科学者としての才能をフルに発揮し両者の接点が傑作モナリザ。それも素晴らしいが伴侶（美少年）サライをモデルにしたJohn the Baptistの妖しげな官能美もダビンチの裏面を如実に示している。惜しむらくはルイ１4世皇帝妃によって葬られた、禁断のLeda and the swan、見たかった。ダビンチが開発した遠近法、透視図法などの説明や、静止している絵画に動き、更には息吹きを吹き込む技法を分かり易く説明しているのは著者Issacsonの力量です。15世紀末のイタリア目の前に投影させ、ダビンチを通じてルネッサンスの鼓動を感じさせるのは主題と著者の完全なる合体です。

La presentación es increíble, la calidad del papel y fotografías son igualmente de excelente calidad para el precio y el estilo-género del libro (al no ser especializado un libro de arte, si no una biografía, es un buen detalle la calidad del papel como si fuera uno de los primeros) El contenido es amplio y contado de una manera muy digerible que permite adentrarse en la mente de Leonardo al hacer las obras que el libro describe, definitivamente un libro indispensable si te apasiona o interesa la vida, obras o narrativas de Leonardo.

Très bon livre

You can tell when someone writes a book out of love for the subject. Now, that is the case here. Isaacson is everything but dry or academic. I read the book twice and did not run out of excitement. It might not be hundred percent accurate or authentic, but it is a book that represents a delightful journey into the mind of mental giant. A book that does not try to be more than what it is. The 500 pages feel like a gentle breeze if you thoroughly immerse yourself in it, do not be scared of its size. Well done...