Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it...Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life (The New Yorker).Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history's most creative genius. In the luminous (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo's delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity.
- Author - Walter Isaacson
- Publisher - Simon & Schuster
- Publication date - 10-02-2018
- Page count - 624
- Paperback
- Adult
- Art, Design and Photography
- Product dimensions - 6 W x 9.1 H x 1.7 D
- ISBN-13 - 9781501139161
Web ID: 6560011
Wish I read sooner.
As I have read biographies about Leonardo Da Vinci before, so Walter Isaacson's biography sat unread for months. I wished I hadn't waited. Isaacson gives the reader a real feeling for the genius of Da Vinci. Isaacson did his research. The reader sees the complexities of Da Vinci. His status as the love child between his father and his father's mistress, Da Vinci's relationships with younger men, and Da Vinci's flamboyant lifestyle in general. Isaacson also dispels some myths (e.g., Da Vinci did not sketch the design for a helicopter but did design a machine for theatrical set use). There is, of course, much about Da Vinci's art. Even those like me who don't know a Monet from a Manet will find the discussion about brushstrokes, etc., interesting. Without hesitation, Walter Isaacson's Leonardo Da Vinci deserves five stars.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great book!
I so enjoyed this book that I have given it as gifts to many people. It was a real written and the depth of information was imperative to the complete picture of Da Vinci.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com