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joyousreads132 's review for:
Leonardo Da Vinci
by Walter Isaacson
Undeniably one of the greatest minds who ever walked the earth, Da Vinci was a longtime curious thinker. A perfectionist who possibly had more unfinished work than what's been recorded. He was never satisfied with just putting out work, it needed to meet his unbelievably high standards. As a result, we only know about the inventions and discoveries that he completed. He does have a handwritten book about all the projects he was working on that Bill Gates now own. Possibly bought for an ungodly amount of money.
Walter Isaacson continues to be my favourite biographer. To date, I've read most of his published work. There is something so readable about his writing that regardless of how massive his books are, I can finish them in no time. Engaging doesn't even come close. I can only imagine the painstaking work he put in his research. Writing a biography of someone posthumously is a feat for sure. Especially of someone with DaVinci's calibre.
This covered all the facets of DaVinci's life, including the rumour that he was gay. But the most fascinating thing about Walter's book is that he managed to somehow interpret his journals and figured out how his artwork and his inventions came about. For the famous Mona Lisa painting, it was his fascination of the smile -- not Mona Lisa's in particular but the act of smiling itself. There is almost a biological reason connecting to his work. He was interested in the facial movement and perhaps the tissues that created that famous grin/smirk.
It is also apparent in the Vitruvian Man where his curiosity lies in anatomy. He drew what he perceived to be the perfect symmetry of a man's body. The face was rumoured to be that of his lover which was also his live in assistant at the time. I love the intimate details of Leonardo's life that Isaacson included in this book. It is hard to picture a man from a few millenniums ago that has a long lasting contributions such as DaVinci. The history, the achievements especially at an age when everything seemed so primitive and archaic. Truly mind blowing, awe-inspiring, and fascinating from page one to the last.
Walter Isaacson continues to be my favourite biographer. To date, I've read most of his published work. There is something so readable about his writing that regardless of how massive his books are, I can finish them in no time. Engaging doesn't even come close. I can only imagine the painstaking work he put in his research. Writing a biography of someone posthumously is a feat for sure. Especially of someone with DaVinci's calibre.
This covered all the facets of DaVinci's life, including the rumour that he was gay. But the most fascinating thing about Walter's book is that he managed to somehow interpret his journals and figured out how his artwork and his inventions came about. For the famous Mona Lisa painting, it was his fascination of the smile -- not Mona Lisa's in particular but the act of smiling itself. There is almost a biological reason connecting to his work. He was interested in the facial movement and perhaps the tissues that created that famous grin/smirk.
It is also apparent in the Vitruvian Man where his curiosity lies in anatomy. He drew what he perceived to be the perfect symmetry of a man's body. The face was rumoured to be that of his lover which was also his live in assistant at the time. I love the intimate details of Leonardo's life that Isaacson included in this book. It is hard to picture a man from a few millenniums ago that has a long lasting contributions such as DaVinci. The history, the achievements especially at an age when everything seemed so primitive and archaic. Truly mind blowing, awe-inspiring, and fascinating from page one to the last.