Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Works

From reviewers everywhere (and here too a couple of examples) I see an excited re-discovering of Leonardo thanks to Dan Brown's blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code -- so, that's one good thing it achieved, if nothing else literarily speaking. But whereas Brown did not single-handedly ignite a resurgence of interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, it certainly fanned the flames of one already in progress. The evidence is everywhere...

Leonardo's genius never ceases to fascinate: the breadth of his mind and the frightening range of his interests make him unique. Considering that more than 500 years have elapsed since his birth, a great deal is known about Leonardo, his family and the details of his life. Both his grandfather and his father were notaries, semi-public officials in Renaissance Italy akin to commercial lawyers. Although Leonardo was illegitimate, when he was baptized no less than five sets of godparents were present at the event, an indication of the happiness sparked by his arrival in a previously childless household. His life was the subject of the first psychobiography, Freud's famous treatise, which, despite historical and linguistic lapses, still remains full of insights. Freud's essay, in turn, elicited from Meyer Schapiro a classic article about Leonardo and Freud.

Apart from a liaison with Leonardo's mother, Caterina, who was married off to a local farmer, his father was married four times, producing 11 additional children. Despite vast age differences, Leonardo maintained an ongoing exchange with his brothers and sisters. He even left them 400 florins in his will. Leonardo also appears to have established relationships with his father's wives, particularly the fourth one. There is evidence to suggest that Leonardo's father actively furthered his son's career; in any case, a rapport between them can be inferred until the father's death in 1504. This traumatic event may have affected Leonardo's work, coinciding as it did with a particularly creative period. Although past 50 at the time, an emotion-filled Leonardo noted, with a tremulous hand, both the day and the hour of his father's death in two places among his papers.

However much the scientific aspects of Leonardo's work provide insights to the whole man, one can hardly deny that what triggers our interest is Leonardo the artist. He was above all a painter, and it is in this capacity that his influence was the strongest. The 'Last Supper' and the 'Mona Lisa' are probably the most familiar images in Western painting. But that mysterious quality of ethereal levitation pervades all of Leonardo's works. The untranslatable Italian word sfumato, which alludes to an effect like smoke disappearing into the air, well describes the characteristic atmosphere of Leonardo's painting. It was a technique devised to depict gradual transitions of light and shade, and its effect was to place objects into a surrounding atmosphere -- that is, into conditions that could have meaning only in the perceptual experience of a viewer. In fact, the paintings emerge looking like the result of a heightened visual experience, even a trancelike state. A fancy word for this process is sublimation -- literally, the transmutation of solids and liquids into airborne gas -- and it had real consequences for Leonardo's practical life as a painter. One by one, his works tended to untie themselves from the concrete circumstances of their commissions, remaining suspended in the more rarefied state of the work-in-progress or the autonomous Work of Art par excellence.

A masterpiece of a book (15/19 people found this helpful)

It was the da Vinci code that got me interested in Leonardos work. This book is superb, the pictures are of an excellent quality, the literature is very interesting and the book is a cute little size (can easily fit in your bag). It is a bargain price and a great book to have in anyones collection! Highly recommended to any da Vinci code lovers!! The picture of the Last super spreads over 9 pages and the explanations are riveting!

great book. so interesting! (9/14 people found this helpful)

well i got this book due to the Da Vinci Code - the Last Super (i wanted a real look at it) but the book is so much more! if you love art you will love this book, it full of interesting facts - its also a neat little size.

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Works

Leonardo da Vinci

Reader Reviews:

UNCEASING FASCINATION (0/0 people found this helpful)

A masterpiece of a book (15/19 people found this helpful)

great book. so interesting! (9/14 people found this helpful)

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