Leonardo da Vinci / Walter Isaacson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Isaacson, Walter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519.

Leonardo.

Artists--Italy--Biography.

Artists.

Gifted persons.

Italy.

Scientists--Italy--Biography.

Scientists.

Gifted persons--Italy--Biography.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Science & Technology.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers.

Local Subjects:

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Science & Technology.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 599 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Summary:

"He was history's most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us? The author of the acclaimed bestsellers Steve Jobs, Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography. Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history's most creative genius"-- Provided by publisher.

"He was history's most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us? The [bestselling biographer] brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography. Drawing on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. His creativity, like that of other great innovators, came from standing at the intersection of the humanities and technology. He peeled flesh off the faces of cadavers, drew the muscles that move the lips, and then painted history's most memorable smile on the Mona Lisa. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. Isaacson also describes how Leonardo's lifelong enthusiasm for staging theatrical productions informed his paintings and inventions. His ability to combine art and science, made iconic by his drawing of what may be himself inside a circle and a square, remains the enduring recipe for innovation. His life should remind us of the importance of instilling, both in ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it; to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different."--Jacket.

Contents:

I can also paint

Childhood

Apprentice

On his own

Milan

Leonardo's notebooks

Court entertainer

Personal life

Vitruvian Man

The horse monument

Scientist

Birds and flight

The mechanical arts

Math

The nature of man

Virgin of the Rocks

The Milan portraits

The science of art

The Last Supper

Personal turmoil

Florence again

Saint Anne

Paintings lost and found

Cesare Borgia

Hydraulic engineer

Michelangelo and the lost Battles

Return to Milan

Anatomy, round two

The world and its waters

Rome

Pointing the way

The Mona Lisa

France

Conclusion

Coda. Describe the tongue of the woodpecker.

Acknowledgments

Main Characters

Currency in Italy in 1500

Note regarding the cover

Primary periods of Leonardo's life

Timeline

Introduction: I can also paint

Chapter 1: Childhood

Chapter 2: Apprentice

Chapter 3. On his own

Chapter 4: Milan

Chapter 5: Leonardo's notebooks

Chapter 6: Court entertainer

Chapter 7: Personal life

Chapter 8: Vitruvian Man

Chapter 9: The horse monument

Chapter 10: Scientist

Chapter 11: Birds and flight

Chapter 12: The mechanical arts

Chapter 13: Math

Chapter 14: The nature of man

Chapter 15: Virgin of the Rocks

Chapter 16: The Milan portraits

Chapter 17: The science of art

Chapter 18: The Last Supper

Chapter 19: Personal turmoil

Chapter 20: Florence again

Chapter 21: Saint Anne

Chapter 22: Paintings lost and found

Chapter 23: Cesare Borgia

Chapter 24: Hydraulic engineer

Chapter 25: Michelangelo and the lost Battles

Chapter 26: Return to Milan

Chapter 27: Anatomy, round two

Chapter 28: The world and its waters

Chapter 29: Rome

Chapter 30: Pointing the way

Chapter 31: The Mona Lisa

Chapter 32: France

Chapter 33: Conclusion

Coda Describe the tongue of the woodpecker

Abbreviations of frequently cited sources

Notes

Illustration credits.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 533-570) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: In memory of Irvin J. Borowsky from the fund provided by Laurie Wagman.

Other Format:

Online version: Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci

ISBN:

9781501139154

1501139150

OCLC:

980433369