Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” as Want to Read:
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
by
This definitive translation of Leonardo's notebooks brings together into one volume the famous reflections and speculations of the greatest mind of the Renaissance. It is a result of a lifetime of study and research by the outstanding authority on the life and works of the great Florentine. Because of the unique and diverse character of Leonardo's achievements, the reissue
...more
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 1180 pages
Published
January 1st 2002
by Konecky & Konecky (Olld Saybrook, CT)
(first published 1519)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci
The collection of writings and art in this magnificent book are drawn from his notebooks.
The book organizes his wide range of interests into subjects such as human figures, light and shade, perspective and visual perception, anatomy, botany and landscape, geography, the physical sciences and astronomy, architecture, sculpture, and inventions.
Nearly every piece of writing throughout the book is keyed to the piece of artwork it describes.
تار ...more
The collection of writings and art in this magnificent book are drawn from his notebooks.
The book organizes his wide range of interests into subjects such as human figures, light and shade, perspective and visual perception, anatomy, botany and landscape, geography, the physical sciences and astronomy, architecture, sculpture, and inventions.
Nearly every piece of writing throughout the book is keyed to the piece of artwork it describes.
تار ...more

The mind of a painter must resemble a mirror, which always takes the color of the object it reflects and is completely occupied by the images of as many objects are in front of it.
I picked up this book on a whim, and read it for the same reason. My edition is an attractively bound selection of Leonardo’s most interesting notes and drawings, arranged to give the reader an appreciation of the breadth of this quintessential Renaissance man’s interests, and the great scope of his imagination.
...more

Da Vinci was very specific.
On depicting a battle:
"The air must be full of arrows in every direction." (There follows several pages more of instructions, including bits like, "There must not be a level spot that is not trampled with gore.") (p. 26-28)
And his bits on anatomy are famous enough without me. The distance between the corner of your eye and your ear is the same as the height of your ear. Now you know.
But then, on the less specific side, there's this: "Of grotesque faces I need say nothi ...more
On depicting a battle:
"The air must be full of arrows in every direction." (There follows several pages more of instructions, including bits like, "There must not be a level spot that is not trampled with gore.") (p. 26-28)
And his bits on anatomy are famous enough without me. The distance between the corner of your eye and your ear is the same as the height of your ear. Now you know.
But then, on the less specific side, there's this: "Of grotesque faces I need say nothi ...more

Jun 18, 2011
Lynde
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
parenting,
kids,
helping,
self-growth,
science-non-fiction,
photography,
art,
ongoing-reading,
newly-arrived,
favorite
Yes, I just added a "homeschool" shelf. Why? Because I am supplementing a bit. Even private schools don't cut the mustard at this point. I have highly creative children--one of which is a constant stream of inventions. He spews out ideas with dry erase markers to windows, takes garbage from the recycling bin as if it is a golden treasure. He even CRIES because he thinks I am wasting a precious gem by recycling a cardboard box or an egg crate. Because "mom--can't you SEE that THIS is CLEARLY an A
...more

"Let no man who is not a Mathematician read the elements of my work" - a live testimony that analytical and creative abilities are not as simply polarised as the left-right brain theory.
...more

Whenever I see the grammar police rear their ugly head, I'll remember LDV wrote backwards in an indecipherable scrawl and with an akward form of shorthand.
...more

Holy gods. Read this. READ IT. Da Vinci was a bloody genius.
Given that Leonardo never had much of a formal education, and that his intelligence was borne out of observation and imagination, what this book contains is truly astonishing. It blurs what modernity would consider the lines between the arts and the sciences, but I don't think that matters. What really matters is the hard evidence that a self-taught scientist figured out things that were taught to me in my science lessons at school. I'l ...more
Given that Leonardo never had much of a formal education, and that his intelligence was borne out of observation and imagination, what this book contains is truly astonishing. It blurs what modernity would consider the lines between the arts and the sciences, but I don't think that matters. What really matters is the hard evidence that a self-taught scientist figured out things that were taught to me in my science lessons at school. I'l ...more

Leonardo's work is outstanding, this book is good, but the presentation could have been a bit more powerful
...more

"Force arises from dearth or abundance; it is the child of physical motion, and the grandchild of spiritual motion, and the mother and origin of gravity." 186
"Science is the observation of things possible, whether present or past. Prescience is the knowledge of things which may come to pass, though but slowly." 252
"Wisdom is the daughter of experience." 288
"Just as eating contrary to the inclination is injurious to the health, so study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing tha ...more
"Science is the observation of things possible, whether present or past. Prescience is the knowledge of things which may come to pass, though but slowly." 252
"Wisdom is the daughter of experience." 288
"Just as eating contrary to the inclination is injurious to the health, so study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing tha ...more

Feb 26, 2009
Barb
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
artists
Shelves:
general-nonfiction,
didn-t-finish
Such a look at the way da Vinci thought. Usually, we see his visual works. This book translates and organizes his written journals to provide us a look at his thoughts on art and the world around him. Very enjoyable to browse, though not necessarily a work to be read straight through.

Sep 26, 2011
Sundeep Supertramp
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
goldeen
Review:
I never knew who da Vinci was. It was only after watching the movie, The Da Vinci Code, I came to understand that Leonardo da Vinci was a person who creates puzzles for his time pass. He also drew few paintings like Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (during that time, I didn't even know what was the significance of the painting).
Slowly, there after I came to learn Leonardo was no puzzler (person who creates puzzles), but an artist. It is only after I read this book, I came to understand the r ...more
I never knew who da Vinci was. It was only after watching the movie, The Da Vinci Code, I came to understand that Leonardo da Vinci was a person who creates puzzles for his time pass. He also drew few paintings like Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (during that time, I didn't even know what was the significance of the painting).
Slowly, there after I came to learn Leonardo was no puzzler (person who creates puzzles), but an artist. It is only after I read this book, I came to understand the r ...more

I approached this book with great awe stricken respect and it took me a long time, years actually, to feel ready and worthy to read it. I love the Renaissance, the art and the history and of course, the main characters and artists that made that era so interesting.
I must honestly say that I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure most of the parts of this book were meant to a reader other than da Vinci himself (though some definitely did). I've found some parts quite boring, detailing painting mat ...more
I must honestly say that I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure most of the parts of this book were meant to a reader other than da Vinci himself (though some definitely did). I've found some parts quite boring, detailing painting mat ...more

Most of the original text and sketches have of course been lost either by time or by Leonardo's own design (he deliberately corrupted his own texts to keep his competitors from stealing his works). It is a true shame that this knowledge is lost.
Any free kindle edition is easily worth 4 stars. It is a rare treat to see Leonardo's mind at work. He was one of the most gifted intellects ever created and just watching how he 'pieced' the workings of life and the known universe together is worth the t ...more
Any free kindle edition is easily worth 4 stars. It is a rare treat to see Leonardo's mind at work. He was one of the most gifted intellects ever created and just watching how he 'pieced' the workings of life and the known universe together is worth the t ...more

One of the defining periods of my life was when I read Leonardo's notebooks. His awareness, curiosity, and maddening drive towards perfection of his understanding of reality is beautiful.
You really get a grasp of his personality from the notebooks. He suffered greatly from the thought that he'd die before I got it all figured out. ...more
You really get a grasp of his personality from the notebooks. He suffered greatly from the thought that he'd die before I got it all figured out. ...more

On occasion I do as I am doing now which was choosing a book or a source close to the one I have read. So that I might have some reference to the work that has interested me. I read this work in two forms a little red book at my community college the other being on the project gutenberg website. I think it's one of the best website ever created it serves the commons and I hope the commons serves it. Right now their is a war over the domain of information and this is a concern, because their are
...more

Editor H. Anna Suh has provided a wonderful glimpse of a genius & one of history's greatest artists, Leonardo da Vinci, through the medium of reproductions from his notebooks. Despite some drawbacks, I felt as though I were sitting with a venerable old expert who was personally sharing in snippets the fruit of a long life of observation & practical experience. For one who had no formal schooling -- "book learning" -- as so many of his colleagues had, the warmth & accuracy of his genius, not just
...more

If you ever wondered what the GREAT Leonardo thought, then this is the book to get. In here are the words written by Leonardo of his philisophical ideas, lives of where he lived and his surroundings, his theories on color, perspective, proportion, architecture, foliage, physiology and so many other things that the Great One was curious about.
One weakness though, the pictures were randomly arranged, sometimes I wondered why some were even there because it has no connection to the article on the p ...more
One weakness though, the pictures were randomly arranged, sometimes I wondered why some were even there because it has no connection to the article on the p ...more

If you ever wondered what the GREAT Leonardo thought, then this is the book to get. In here are the words written by Leonardo of his philosophical ideas, lives of where he lived and his surroundings, his theories on color, perspective, proportion, architecture, foliage, physiology and so many other things that the Great One was curious about.
Any free kindle edition is easily worth 4 stars. It is a rare treat to see Leonardo's mind at work. He was one of the most gifted intellects ever created a ...more
Any free kindle edition is easily worth 4 stars. It is a rare treat to see Leonardo's mind at work. He was one of the most gifted intellects ever created a ...more

May 14, 2013
Cynthia
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reference,
poetry-reading-list
I will add more on this later if I have time. Found the most complete collection published in the 1970s in a used bookstore in 2 volumes. This current edition might be unabridged - I did not check. The sections on art and painting are exquisite and the moral tales, as well. I did not read it cover to cover but scanned and read what seemed to be of interest to me. I use it as reference and source material.

Wow, this was an awesome collection of notes. Makes one appreciate Da Vinci's genius more. He had a lot of interesting insights not only on art but also in war and politics, human and animal behaviour as well as some fascinating and humorous anecdotes. His mind was simply amazing, his grasp on almost everything makes it seem he can almost predict the future. Totally worth reading.
...more
...more

A fine read for those interested in the great de Vinci. His penmanship is second to none and the drawings are true works of art.
The range of subjects covered by this book are fascinating from a historical and cultural point of view.
This makes an excellent coffee table book and I would quite happily hang many of the drawings on my walls.
The range of subjects covered by this book are fascinating from a historical and cultural point of view.
This makes an excellent coffee table book and I would quite happily hang many of the drawings on my walls.

Five stars for the illustrations and the genius of the author. I didn't understand all of the text -- a lot of it is technical instructions for painting, sculpture, and various inventions, but I understood enough to appreciate the the mind of Leonardo da Vinci was extraordinary.
...more

A complete human. One of the most illustrated man that has ever existed. A compilation of the greatest human that has ever existed.
...more


Many books have been written about Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks. I had a hard time finding this one on Goodreads. He filled many notebooks with his mirror writing and wrote on a lot of subjects. He spent a lot of time writing about painting, and reading this book is a course in perspective, light, getting proportions of people correct, color, and other subjects of interest to the artist. He was also an expert on anatomy and compared man with animals. There isn't much information on some of the
...more

So much to say about Leonardo. Truly the quintessential renaissance man. Reading his complete notebooks made me realize that the breadth and depth of his curiosities and goings-on are much greater than is commonly known. Many of his writings were discovered after the inventions he wrote about were re-created by others, but this collection still puts any modern blogger to shame. Keep your journals, you never know who might be interested!

Apr 14, 2018
Rick Sam
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
architecture
A Masterpiece to learn and understand Renaissance Man. Although, I'm not a painter -- I got a glimpse of Leonardo's life through his journal entries.
"A Painter is not admirable if he is not universal." This seems to strike chords with thinkers of School of Salamanca, who viewed Knowledge holistically and didn't take positivist approach of segmenting branches of Knowledge.
--Deus Vult
Gottfried ...more
"A Painter is not admirable if he is not universal." This seems to strike chords with thinkers of School of Salamanca, who viewed Knowledge holistically and didn't take positivist approach of segmenting branches of Knowledge.
--Deus Vult
Gottfried ...more

I love his drawing in this book. He comments on his process of learning about the human body and a great deal of other stuff. Wish he could have lived in an age where he could have been recorded. Great for any art student and others as well. Three stars because I have a hard time reading and understanding some of his comments. Not a reflection of the great man himself.
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Goodreads Librari...: duplicate entries different editions of same books | 1 | 7 | Jan 04, 2021 10:53AM |
It was on April 15, 1452, that Leonardo was born in the town of Vinci, Republic of Florence, in what is now in Italy, the illegitimate son of a notary and a barmaid. It is from his birthplace that he is known as Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo seemed to master every subject to which he turned his attention: he was a painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer, wrote poetry and stories: the p
...more
Related Articles
“I'm in a weird place because the book is about to come out. So I'm basically just walking around like a raw nerve and I'm not sure that I...
19 likes · 4 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“All sciences are vain and full of errors that are not born of Experience, the mother of all Knowledge.”
—
155 likes
“I awoke only to find that the rest of the world was still asleep.”
—
132 likes
More quotes…