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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This book is full of opinion and speculation and posits things we can never know about Leonard Da Vinci. There are some obligatory facts, don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for known facts about this great engineer and artist then you are looking in the wrong place!
And Mr. Lankford makes that quite clear in his brief introductory comments.
And that's what makes this such a wonderful read. I literally could not put it down! I mean, it fell out of my hands when I fell asleep but that wasn't by choice. I usually read two or three books concurrently but everything fell by the wayside when I started reading this delightful gem.
I really feel that Mr. Lankford is presenting the soul of Leonardo in this book. That he has reached into the very heart of the man and presents him in a way never before seen. Oh, there are facts. And he refers you to facts. But the tone and scope of the narrative would be interrupted by too many of them. This is almost stream of consciousness poetry about Leonardo. It reads so easily and so swiftly.
If you have any interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, if you've only heard the name, then treat yourself to a reading of this incredible text.
And Mr. Lankford makes that quite clear in his brief introductory comments.
And that's what makes this such a wonderful read. I literally could not put it down! I mean, it fell out of my hands when I fell asleep but that wasn't by choice. I usually read two or three books concurrently but everything fell by the wayside when I started reading this delightful gem.
I really feel that Mr. Lankford is presenting the soul of Leonardo in this book. That he has reached into the very heart of the man and presents him in a way never before seen. Oh, there are facts. And he refers you to facts. But the tone and scope of the narrative would be interrupted by too many of them. This is almost stream of consciousness poetry about Leonardo. It reads so easily and so swiftly.
If you have any interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, if you've only heard the name, then treat yourself to a reading of this incredible text.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book is the most unusual biography I’ve ever read. Lankford looks at a person about whom we know much (he left behind a lifetime of notebooks, and was profiled by Vasari, a contemporary), but also little (there is scant information out there about his daily life, for instance). Lankford fills in the gaps with speculation and imagination. When Leonardo left Rome and headed to France- might he have stopped by Florence to visit his friend Machiavelli? And if so, what would they have talked about, and how would the conversation have gone? Lankford has ideas and he wants to share them. Unfortunately, there is a blurred line between fact and imagination throughout the book, and it’s unclear how much of this portrait of Leonardo can be kept for truth.
Where Lankford succeeds is in giving a sense of some of the historical context in which Leonardo lived, for instance, the continuous violence and warring, the much shorter life expectancy, and the need for Leonardo constantly to have and please his patrons in order to make a living. Overall, 3.5 stars: an interesting read but I’d be so curious to compare this with a more traditional biography of Leonardo.
Where Lankford succeeds is in giving a sense of some of the historical context in which Leonardo lived, for instance, the continuous violence and warring, the much shorter life expectancy, and the need for Leonardo constantly to have and please his patrons in order to make a living. Overall, 3.5 stars: an interesting read but I’d be so curious to compare this with a more traditional biography of Leonardo.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was my first book on Leonardo Da Vinci. First glimpsed of him in a book about the Borgia family. This was my first book by this author and I felt like he imposed his own thoughts and feelings a bit too much for my taste.
There is very little known about Leonardo's earlier life. Leonardo was born in a tiny village outside of Florence, Mount Albano. He was born as a bastard to a woman named Caterina. His father, Ser Piero, would take custody of him after his birth. There was no love loss between the two men. When his father died Leonardo was left out of the will. There are three tax returns that mention him as a dependent, a guild membership and an arrest by Florence police for sodomy. His arrest happened in April 1476.
Leonardo was someone of means during his lifetime. His private life is somewhat of a mystery. He seemed a solitaire man with many acquaintances but few friends. During the Renaissance to live as a gentleman meant that you were never alone, someone who fetched your water and cleaned up after you. In Leonardo's case this person may have grind his colors, or sharpen his quill and that was Zoroastro. He would become Leonardo's jack of all trades.
Leonardo depended on others to write for him, he always hired a scribe. His script was not readable for communication with governors or princes. He functioned in many ways as if he were illiterate, needing others to write and to read to him. When he did read in his native Tuscan it was read out loud, mouthing the words as was the custom during that time.
During his lifetime he was also rubbing elbows with Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , or Michelangelo. Both were gigantic talents but could not have been more different. Michelangelo was straightforward, obvious, readable and even eccentric. Comparing Leonardo to him Leonardo felt exhausting and oblique. Leonardo did not inspire confidence in others who didn't know him well. Michelangelo's talents represented a push to the world whereas Leonardo's talents a retreat from the world.
The art that Leonardo produced was driven by his emotions. Art took something extra that he didnt have. He once said "where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art." His painting the famous Mona Lisa was one that he worked on every day in his mind. He experimented a lot and there were at least three earlier versions of the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa was a philosophical painting for him.
Leonardo worked for powerful men. Princes and bureaucrats seemed to favor Leonardo's work. One of those men being Cesare Boriga. There was a rumor that perhaps he was spying on Borgia for Florence but there hasn't been proof to connect that. Leonardo's sketch of Borgia still exist today. He drew him while he was sleeping.
After leaving Borgia's employment Leonardo stopped eating meat. He also stopped wearing leather, preferring to wear only linen. At the same time he also stopped cutting his hair. Both acts were unusual for the time and made a lasting impression on people.
In the late 1507 and early 1508 Leonardo started spending some time at the local Florence hospitals, studying the insides of people. He had to linger at hospitals for awhile, looking for a "fresh" body. He compared the bodies of an old man and that of a young boy. He was looking at the body parts and would draw them, all internal body parts are clean not streaked with blood. He was doing these autopsies' for himself, not to help increase mankind's knowledge of medicine.
Many people have studied Leonardo to get some sense of who he was. Freud famous take on Leonardo was that all his sexual energy was sublimated into intellectual energy and that drove his relentless curiosity. Leonardo did become somewhat asexual once he hit his forties.
I couldnt help but wonder what could Leonardo have accomplished if he was able to focus? He drew designs for a windmill 50 years before the someone else would have that idea but also put that idea into practice.
There is very little known about Leonardo's earlier life. Leonardo was born in a tiny village outside of Florence, Mount Albano. He was born as a bastard to a woman named Caterina. His father, Ser Piero, would take custody of him after his birth. There was no love loss between the two men. When his father died Leonardo was left out of the will. There are three tax returns that mention him as a dependent, a guild membership and an arrest by Florence police for sodomy. His arrest happened in April 1476.
Leonardo was someone of means during his lifetime. His private life is somewhat of a mystery. He seemed a solitaire man with many acquaintances but few friends. During the Renaissance to live as a gentleman meant that you were never alone, someone who fetched your water and cleaned up after you. In Leonardo's case this person may have grind his colors, or sharpen his quill and that was Zoroastro. He would become Leonardo's jack of all trades.
Leonardo depended on others to write for him, he always hired a scribe. His script was not readable for communication with governors or princes. He functioned in many ways as if he were illiterate, needing others to write and to read to him. When he did read in his native Tuscan it was read out loud, mouthing the words as was the custom during that time.
During his lifetime he was also rubbing elbows with Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , or Michelangelo. Both were gigantic talents but could not have been more different. Michelangelo was straightforward, obvious, readable and even eccentric. Comparing Leonardo to him Leonardo felt exhausting and oblique. Leonardo did not inspire confidence in others who didn't know him well. Michelangelo's talents represented a push to the world whereas Leonardo's talents a retreat from the world.
The art that Leonardo produced was driven by his emotions. Art took something extra that he didnt have. He once said "where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art." His painting the famous Mona Lisa was one that he worked on every day in his mind. He experimented a lot and there were at least three earlier versions of the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa was a philosophical painting for him.
Leonardo worked for powerful men. Princes and bureaucrats seemed to favor Leonardo's work. One of those men being Cesare Boriga. There was a rumor that perhaps he was spying on Borgia for Florence but there hasn't been proof to connect that. Leonardo's sketch of Borgia still exist today. He drew him while he was sleeping.
After leaving Borgia's employment Leonardo stopped eating meat. He also stopped wearing leather, preferring to wear only linen. At the same time he also stopped cutting his hair. Both acts were unusual for the time and made a lasting impression on people.
In the late 1507 and early 1508 Leonardo started spending some time at the local Florence hospitals, studying the insides of people. He had to linger at hospitals for awhile, looking for a "fresh" body. He compared the bodies of an old man and that of a young boy. He was looking at the body parts and would draw them, all internal body parts are clean not streaked with blood. He was doing these autopsies' for himself, not to help increase mankind's knowledge of medicine.
Many people have studied Leonardo to get some sense of who he was. Freud famous take on Leonardo was that all his sexual energy was sublimated into intellectual energy and that drove his relentless curiosity. Leonardo did become somewhat asexual once he hit his forties.
I couldnt help but wonder what could Leonardo have accomplished if he was able to focus? He drew designs for a windmill 50 years before the someone else would have that idea but also put that idea into practice.
3.75/5
A refreshing take on biography that prioritizes a perceptive recreation of inner life over a cautious, academic arrangement of facts. A welcome counterpoint to the lens of “genius” prescribed by Walter Isaacson, Lankford's book explores the potential thoughts and feelings of an eccentric individual not yet fossilized by history into the superhuman Leonardo da Vinci. If anything, I wanted Lankford to push further into Leonardo’s private self; free from the confines of a more conventional biographer or “hagiographer” as Lankford would say, why not excavate Leonardo’s sexuality and desire and broach in greater depth Leonardo’s thirty-year relationship with Salaì? Lankford’s rejection of academic precision leads at times to a certain sloppiness (citing Wikipedia? Suggesting that Leonardo may have been too distracted to paint Mona Lisa’s eyebrows when it’s almost universally accepted that he did originally paint them?) Nevertheless, “Becoming Leonardo” offers an exciting investigation into the meandering spirit of a fascinating man.
A refreshing take on biography that prioritizes a perceptive recreation of inner life over a cautious, academic arrangement of facts. A welcome counterpoint to the lens of “genius” prescribed by Walter Isaacson, Lankford's book explores the potential thoughts and feelings of an eccentric individual not yet fossilized by history into the superhuman Leonardo da Vinci. If anything, I wanted Lankford to push further into Leonardo’s private self; free from the confines of a more conventional biographer or “hagiographer” as Lankford would say, why not excavate Leonardo’s sexuality and desire and broach in greater depth Leonardo’s thirty-year relationship with Salaì? Lankford’s rejection of academic precision leads at times to a certain sloppiness (citing Wikipedia? Suggesting that Leonardo may have been too distracted to paint Mona Lisa’s eyebrows when it’s almost universally accepted that he did originally paint them?) Nevertheless, “Becoming Leonardo” offers an exciting investigation into the meandering spirit of a fascinating man.