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laurenbastian's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Notes to self:
-why is the sky blue?
-sfumato technique
-why is the sky blue?
-sfumato technique
barnysanchez's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Leonardo is the most fantastic polymath I have ever read about. I finished this book inspired by his passionate curiosity and unparalleled imagination. I have finished very few books in my life wowed like this.
His capacity to intertwine science and art as one shines even on some of the masterpieces he is most known for, such as the Mona Lisa. I didn’t truly understand it until now.
There was so much more to his life; I don’t think I knew a fraction of what I learned in this incredible book. The author is excellent in his delivery and flow.
If you read this work, I suggest you get the physical book or read in color and a large tablet to appreciate better the nearly 150 illustrations of Leonardo’s paintings and his notebooks.
paprika's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.5
I'm not always a fan of Isaacson but this is a very interesting book in that it details the varied works and mediums of DaVinci as opposed to delving into his actual life, of which there are few resources available. The anaylsis of the works is both interesting and dull, as there are several times when the depiction is a bit over the top and/or long in length and/or too much imbued with the personal reflections of the author. Exhaustively researched with interesting insights, it captures the personality of DaVinci, which is colorful, fun, seemingly at ease with his sexuality (gay) much loved, obsessive, a huge procrastinator (so much so that he often didn't finish significant works, even ones he was being paid for), a perfectionist, and so on.
spitzig's review against another edition
3.0
Da Vinci was an interesting person. I didn't know he was almost certainly gay(not bi).
Most of the book is about his art. There isn't as much as I'd like about the person. That's because there isn't that much about the person. He wrote about 1700 pages of notes, but not much about his feelings. Not as much as I'd have liked as far as what he did, either.
Most of the book is about his art. There isn't as much as I'd like about the person. That's because there isn't that much about the person. He wrote about 1700 pages of notes, but not much about his feelings. Not as much as I'd have liked as far as what he did, either.
linhgaga's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
A thoughtful and systematic curation of all the works and other unpublished projects left behind by Da Vinci. Not a lot about his character beyond that, understandably due to historical reason. Fascinating but can be quite dry to read sometimes.
Key takeaway: da Vinci’s mind was ahead of his time but damn the guy was a machine. Very admirable.
iceberg0's review against another edition
4.0
A well written, very personal biography of the great man.
chaz_dickens's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
readandlisten's review
5.0
A masterpiece. Brilliantly written and expertly narrated. While I generally prefer to read than listen, I don't believe my inner voice could have made this nearly as pleasurable.