Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
When I was in Italy a loooong time ago, I was so enamored of da Vinci that I went out of my way on a limited time schedule to visit Vinci and the little cave-ish museum dedicated primarily to his scientific pursuits (I have no idea whether it still exists).
But, then, don't most of us feel some sort of personal thread to this fascinating man (maybe it's just me?)?
It's because he's so mercurial in his interests, so omnivorous (despite being a vegetarian!), so empathic (both emotionally and also in his observations of movement and people and motivations), so wide-ranging, that he feels like a wonder to behold and admire. Some to strive to be like, if even in tiny ways.
Isaacson does an excellent job, here, of explaining how da Vinci's scientific pursuits informed his artistic works and how they wouldn't have nearly been the same without those other interests. If you feel that da Vinci is exclusively boxed into the artist-only section of your brain, you may not actually enjoy this - I have an artist friend who abandoned it because it encompassed all of da Vinci's life instead of focusing only on his art (to which I can respond that there doesn't exist a lack of books with that singular focus). This was baffling to me even before reading Isaacson's examination, but even more disappointed for that friend after the reading because da Vinci's dissection of bodies and creation of war machines and delving into what we now call psychology absolutely saturated into his portraits in a way that no one else, even other excellent artistic peers, could possibly approach.
But, then, don't most of us feel some sort of personal thread to this fascinating man (maybe it's just me?)?
It's because he's so mercurial in his interests, so omnivorous (despite being a vegetarian!), so empathic (both emotionally and also in his observations of movement and people and motivations), so wide-ranging, that he feels like a wonder to behold and admire. Some to strive to be like, if even in tiny ways.
Isaacson does an excellent job, here, of explaining how da Vinci's scientific pursuits informed his artistic works and how they wouldn't have nearly been the same without those other interests. If you feel that da Vinci is exclusively boxed into the artist-only section of your brain, you may not actually enjoy this - I have an artist friend who abandoned it because it encompassed all of da Vinci's life instead of focusing only on his art (to which I can respond that there doesn't exist a lack of books with that singular focus). This was baffling to me even before reading Isaacson's examination, but even more disappointed for that friend after the reading because da Vinci's dissection of bodies and creation of war machines and delving into what we now call psychology absolutely saturated into his portraits in a way that no one else, even other excellent artistic peers, could possibly approach.
New Yorker art critic Adam Gopnik once wrote, 'Leonardo remains weird, matchlessly weird, and nothing can be done about it.'" After reading this 500+ page biography by Walter Isaacson (author of Einstein: His Life and Universe and Steve Jobs), I concur! Leonardo painted, sculpted, created sets for dramas, created military machines, peeled cadavers and studied the anatomy, attempted to divert rivers, wrote riddles, wrote "prophecies," studied motion, studied light, studied archaeology, studied astronomy, and on and on and on.
Leonardo seems like an interesting character. He was an illegitimate child, a perfectionist, an autodidactic, a prankster, a homosexual, a vegetarian (who could not imagine animals suffering yet devised military machines for tyrants), and a bit of "heretic" (in the eyes of the Renaissance era church). While he was a genius, he was not perfect. He frequently did not finish his works (likely due to his perfectionism). He struggled with ever learning Latin. He wrote in a mirrored style (right to left and flipped).
One of my favorite anecdotes in the book is when Girolamo Savonarola (a Dominican monk) start a zealous uprising in Florence. Savonarola wanted to destroy secular art and called for renewal. During Mardi Gras, Savonarola held a "Bonfire of Vanities" in which all things secular were burned. It was during this time that the artsy, eccentric, homosexual, heretical Leonardo da Vinci strolled the streets wearing pink and purple silk and satin with an Arab hood in rebellion!
Walter Isaacson is great (as usual). He writes in a very conversational tone but it is clearly that he is thoroughly researched his subject. He often speaks in first person and relates details of the book to other books he's written and even pop culture (like The Da Vinci Code ). I really enjoyed the "lessons" he learned from Leonardo at the end:
- "Be curious, relentlessly curious."
- "Seek knowledge for its own sake."
- "Retain a childlike sense of wonder."
- "Observe."
- "Start with the details."
- "See things unseen."
- "Go down rabbit holes."
- "Get distracted."
- "Respect facts."
- "Procrastinate."
- "Let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
- "Think visually."
- "Avoid silos."
- "Let your reach exceed your grasp."
- "Indulge fantasy."
- "Create for yourself, not just for patrons."
- "Collaborate."
- "Make lists."
- "Take notes, on paper."
- "Be open to mystery."
Leonardo seems like an interesting character. He was an illegitimate child, a perfectionist, an autodidactic, a prankster, a homosexual, a vegetarian (who could not imagine animals suffering yet devised military machines for tyrants), and a bit of "heretic" (in the eyes of the Renaissance era church). While he was a genius, he was not perfect. He frequently did not finish his works (likely due to his perfectionism). He struggled with ever learning Latin. He wrote in a mirrored style (right to left and flipped).
One of my favorite anecdotes in the book is when Girolamo Savonarola (a Dominican monk) start a zealous uprising in Florence. Savonarola wanted to destroy secular art and called for renewal. During Mardi Gras, Savonarola held a "Bonfire of Vanities" in which all things secular were burned. It was during this time that the artsy, eccentric, homosexual, heretical Leonardo da Vinci strolled the streets wearing pink and purple silk and satin with an Arab hood in rebellion!
Walter Isaacson is great (as usual). He writes in a very conversational tone but it is clearly that he is thoroughly researched his subject. He often speaks in first person and relates details of the book to other books he's written and even pop culture (like The Da Vinci Code ). I really enjoyed the "lessons" he learned from Leonardo at the end:
- "Be curious, relentlessly curious."
- "Seek knowledge for its own sake."
- "Retain a childlike sense of wonder."
- "Observe."
- "Start with the details."
- "See things unseen."
- "Go down rabbit holes."
- "Get distracted."
- "Respect facts."
- "Procrastinate."
- "Let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
- "Think visually."
- "Avoid silos."
- "Let your reach exceed your grasp."
- "Indulge fantasy."
- "Create for yourself, not just for patrons."
- "Collaborate."
- "Make lists."
- "Take notes, on paper."
- "Be open to mystery."
Excellent! I learned so much about the Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci. Not a page turner but easy enough to keep reading.
Good insight to the mind of a very creative person, who was so far ahead of his time. Includes a lot of images of his paintings, his drawings and his notebooks and I appreciated the analysis of his work.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
I had been wanting to read this book for a long time and my expectations were greater than what it delivered.
I do not consider that this is 100% the author's fault, from what is narrated, Leonardo's life was full of inventions and curiosity, but not many abrupt changes that challenged him, which makes this a linear reading, without peaks or valleys and whose only moral will be: Be more curious.
I do not consider that this is 100% the author's fault, from what is narrated, Leonardo's life was full of inventions and curiosity, but not many abrupt changes that challenged him, which makes this a linear reading, without peaks or valleys and whose only moral will be: Be more curious.
Listened on audio. I found it a bit hard to get into the book. The man was ahead of his time, a genius, and like the rest of us didn’t always finish what he started
An investment that is well worth the time! I enjoyed it via audiobook while keeping the physical book on hand to absorb the gorgeous photos of Leonardo's work while I listened. The book itself is a collectors item, pages like a coffee table book!
I took this book on my cross country-bicycle ride, and had no time to read it, except during two "off weeks" so I read most of it in the last week since the ride was over. Isaacson provides an accessible survey of DaVinci's life and work, highlighting themes of daVinci's monumental curiosity, his search for patrons in perilous political climates, his imagination, and his constant shifting of focus that both reflected and fed his curiosity and led to many incomplete endeavors. Isaacson casts plenty of light on daVinci's life through his careful review of his many projects, but I was left a little unsatisfied because Isaacson does not tie daVinci's work into the history of science nor does he provide much thoughtful reflection as to the cause or consequences of some of daVinci's most important character traits.