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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Breathtaking and vivid. Well researched without being stale. The book contains full color reproductions of da Vinci's works, and I found myself studying them as I read, flipping pages back and forth.
Za moj ukus previše pisanja o umjetnosti. Naravno, pomenuti sva najpoznatija djela Da Vinčija je obavezno, ali ići u analizu svih crteža, zaista malo previše. Pokvarilo mi je dojam o knjizi, i na momentima mi je učinilo predosadnom.
Sam Leonardo je, kao i Nikola Tesla, zaista veliki čovjek, ali je živio u vrijeme velikih ljudi, i svi su oni otprilike imali slične uspjehe.
Sam Leonardo je, kao i Nikola Tesla, zaista veliki čovjek, ali je živio u vrijeme velikih ljudi, i svi su oni otprilike imali slične uspjehe.
When I started reading this biography, I was hoping to draw inspiration for the artist that I want to be. Not to create art based on Leonardo’s works, but to see what made him tick, where he drew his inspiration from, how he painted his masterpieces, how exactly did he create that enigmatic smile etc. Having read about him a bit and having visited the Da Vinci Experience in Rome, I’ve seen his work in science as well. His detailed anatomy drawings and his marvelous inventions clearly show that he was way ahead of his times. So I knew I was going to get a bit of art and science (even though I was hoping there’d be more of the art) along with the life of the man himself.
But what this book ended up being is an excellent summary of how he came to be the genius that we all know him to be. His brilliance did not come about from his mastery and deep understanding in one single area or in multiple areas -- art, astronomy, anatomy, engineering, to name a few. It came from how he was relentless in his pursuit to understand all that was around him and beyond him. He was a man of science, not because of his inventions and detailed anatomical or botanical drawings. He was one, because he was willing to test his hypothesis many, many times and was willing to change his mind if his results proved otherwise. Despite being mostly self-taught, he was the ultimate academic, a perpetual learner-in-progress. And all the while being pleasant to people. He was not a mad man or an ill-tempered recluse that geniuses are generally expected to be. He dressed flamboyantly, had many friends, hung around with important political figures, and sought continuously to sell his ideas to his patrons.
Even to be brilliant in one thing, let alone two or more, is a dream that very, very few of us can achieve. But what we can all hope for is to have that permanent curiosity and the willingness to challenge our beliefs when exposed to new thoughts and ideas — in all things, within us, around us, and beyond us.
But what this book ended up being is an excellent summary of how he came to be the genius that we all know him to be. His brilliance did not come about from his mastery and deep understanding in one single area or in multiple areas -- art, astronomy, anatomy, engineering, to name a few. It came from how he was relentless in his pursuit to understand all that was around him and beyond him. He was a man of science, not because of his inventions and detailed anatomical or botanical drawings. He was one, because he was willing to test his hypothesis many, many times and was willing to change his mind if his results proved otherwise. Despite being mostly self-taught, he was the ultimate academic, a perpetual learner-in-progress. And all the while being pleasant to people. He was not a mad man or an ill-tempered recluse that geniuses are generally expected to be. He dressed flamboyantly, had many friends, hung around with important political figures, and sought continuously to sell his ideas to his patrons.
Even to be brilliant in one thing, let alone two or more, is a dream that very, very few of us can achieve. But what we can all hope for is to have that permanent curiosity and the willingness to challenge our beliefs when exposed to new thoughts and ideas — in all things, within us, around us, and beyond us.
Fascinating. Inspiring. What a mind. His life may be the most convincing argument for liberal arts and interdisciplinary studies. da Vinci didn't differentiate between the arts and sciences: everything is both; each informs the other.
The audiobook was read beautifully by Alfred Molina, but I was very glad to have a physical copy for reference to see the paintings and sketches.
The audiobook was read beautifully by Alfred Molina, but I was very glad to have a physical copy for reference to see the paintings and sketches.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Growing up, I found a historical role model in Leonardo da Vinci, “The Renaissance Man”, who was uncommonly talented in so many areas. I too wanted to be an inventor and scientist like him, whatever about being an artist.
As life progressed, and as the goalposts changed and narrowed the more I specialized in an area, I realized what it really meant to be outstanding in a field. I witnessed first hand people who easily mastered things I found difficult and people who had an immense drive to be productive. Leonardo seems to be one of those people. He was so far ahead of his peers in terms of raw talent that competition wasn’t his driving force. Rather his animating principle seemed to be his desire to satiate his natural curiosity. He would go to extraordinary lengths to try and understand something, just for the sake of understanding it, for example cutting open a pig’s heart while it was still beating to try and understand how the valves of the heart worked.
I don’t lament the fact that my curiosity drive is not as keen as Leonardo’s. Like most people I discern what questions are important enough to me to incorporate their investigation into my life. For Leonardo (and many other geniuses I have encountered) the investigation of questions is the central part of their life, around which everything else must fall. So I don’t envy him, but I am very glad people like him existed and continue to exist today.
Leonardo, I was surprised to learn, considered himself primarily as a military engineer. He spent a large part of his active employment creating and designing stage pageants for the courts of his patrons. But he is certainly most famous today for his art. I found it fascinating to learn how he seamlessly blended his scientific investigations with his art. He had a rare ability to recall fine visual details and translate them on paper into meticulous drawings. I think this is remarkable. In an age before photography or videography, which make it so much easier to project drawings in 2D, he was able to store an impression of an image in his mind and perfectly reproduce it later on paper. Things like facial expressions of people he saw in town, or the way a horse moved as it walked and trotted. I suppose that is a photographic memory, but I never considered how valuable that must have been for an artist in an age before photographs.
I gained a new appreciation for the way he incorporated his anatomy studies into his art. Generally I am a little skeptical of effusive art criticism as being a mix of a simple intention on the part of the artist mixed with a healthy measure of nonsense from obsequious conformists. While there was a little of that in the book, there were also many examples of painting techniques and physical and anatomical effects that were demonstrably the intention of the artist, provably so by cross-referencing with his detailed notebooks.
One conflicting impression that was left with me about Leonardo was how much of his potential was left untapped. He had so many unfinished works, from the Milanese horse monument for Ludovico Sforza that was scrapped after so much preliminary work, to his notebooks and his proposed treatises on painting and anatomy. On the one hand, one wonders how his legacy might have been even further enhanced if his pursuit of knowledge had been more immediately accessible to others, but on the other hand, as the author points out, the investigations he carried out while procrastinating enhanced his own enjoyment of life and arguably even enhanced the works he did ultimately finish. Nevertheless if one could confer an additional 50 years of life on any historical figure, it would be intriguing to imagine what Leonardo could accomplish with that.
I listened to the audiobook, which helped power through some of the duller sections that may have been more onerous to read through on paper, but the main downside of the audiobook is not having the many pictures included in the text to illustrate the points being made. I downloaded the PDF attachment from Audible and periodically looked through the pictures up to the point I had reached in the book. I then had to recall the points being made with each image, but it was a poor substitute for having the images present while they were being discussed.
Walter Isaacson did a phenomenal job researching all aspects of Leonardo’s life, and I think it is as complete a biography as one could wish of Leonardo.
As life progressed, and as the goalposts changed and narrowed the more I specialized in an area, I realized what it really meant to be outstanding in a field. I witnessed first hand people who easily mastered things I found difficult and people who had an immense drive to be productive. Leonardo seems to be one of those people. He was so far ahead of his peers in terms of raw talent that competition wasn’t his driving force. Rather his animating principle seemed to be his desire to satiate his natural curiosity. He would go to extraordinary lengths to try and understand something, just for the sake of understanding it, for example cutting open a pig’s heart while it was still beating to try and understand how the valves of the heart worked.
I don’t lament the fact that my curiosity drive is not as keen as Leonardo’s. Like most people I discern what questions are important enough to me to incorporate their investigation into my life. For Leonardo (and many other geniuses I have encountered) the investigation of questions is the central part of their life, around which everything else must fall. So I don’t envy him, but I am very glad people like him existed and continue to exist today.
Leonardo, I was surprised to learn, considered himself primarily as a military engineer. He spent a large part of his active employment creating and designing stage pageants for the courts of his patrons. But he is certainly most famous today for his art. I found it fascinating to learn how he seamlessly blended his scientific investigations with his art. He had a rare ability to recall fine visual details and translate them on paper into meticulous drawings. I think this is remarkable. In an age before photography or videography, which make it so much easier to project drawings in 2D, he was able to store an impression of an image in his mind and perfectly reproduce it later on paper. Things like facial expressions of people he saw in town, or the way a horse moved as it walked and trotted. I suppose that is a photographic memory, but I never considered how valuable that must have been for an artist in an age before photographs.
I gained a new appreciation for the way he incorporated his anatomy studies into his art. Generally I am a little skeptical of effusive art criticism as being a mix of a simple intention on the part of the artist mixed with a healthy measure of nonsense from obsequious conformists. While there was a little of that in the book, there were also many examples of painting techniques and physical and anatomical effects that were demonstrably the intention of the artist, provably so by cross-referencing with his detailed notebooks.
One conflicting impression that was left with me about Leonardo was how much of his potential was left untapped. He had so many unfinished works, from the Milanese horse monument for Ludovico Sforza that was scrapped after so much preliminary work, to his notebooks and his proposed treatises on painting and anatomy. On the one hand, one wonders how his legacy might have been even further enhanced if his pursuit of knowledge had been more immediately accessible to others, but on the other hand, as the author points out, the investigations he carried out while procrastinating enhanced his own enjoyment of life and arguably even enhanced the works he did ultimately finish. Nevertheless if one could confer an additional 50 years of life on any historical figure, it would be intriguing to imagine what Leonardo could accomplish with that.
I listened to the audiobook, which helped power through some of the duller sections that may have been more onerous to read through on paper, but the main downside of the audiobook is not having the many pictures included in the text to illustrate the points being made. I downloaded the PDF attachment from Audible and periodically looked through the pictures up to the point I had reached in the book. I then had to recall the points being made with each image, but it was a poor substitute for having the images present while they were being discussed.
Walter Isaacson did a phenomenal job researching all aspects of Leonardo’s life, and I think it is as complete a biography as one could wish of Leonardo.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
4.5 Fascinating look one of the greatest geniuses of all time.
Man's art is deep and mysterious, but he's notebooks are the real treasure.