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Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was arguably the greatest draftsman in the history of Western art. Best known as a painter, he also excelled as a sculptor, architect, musician, anatomist, botanist, engineer, geologist, and mapmaker. But since he completed few of his projects, most of his work is known to us only through his drawings and notes.
The collection of drawings by Leonardo at Windsor Castle is the most important in the world. This selection from Windsor Castle of one hundred sheets covers every aspect of his genius, reproducing in color for the first time many unfamiliar drawings as well as a range of better-known works.
Included are preparatory sketches for the paintings such as the Adoration of the Magi and the Last Supper, designs for equestrian monuments, war machines, and costumes for court entertainments; studies relating to his enduring interest in water, flight, the divinely beautiful, and the comically grotesque; his striking and highly accurate maps; his analyses of human and equine proportion; and his studies in anatomy, taking the subject single-handedly from medieval traditions to the threshold of modern knowledge.
The collection of drawings by Leonardo at Windsor Castle is the most important in the world. This selection from Windsor Castle of one hundred sheets covers every aspect of his genius, reproducing in color for the first time many unfamiliar drawings as well as a range of better-known works.
Included are preparatory sketches for the paintings such as the Adoration of the Magi and the Last Supper, designs for equestrian monuments, war machines, and costumes for court entertainments; studies relating to his enduring interest in water, flight, the divinely beautiful, and the comically grotesque; his striking and highly accurate maps; his analyses of human and equine proportion; and his studies in anatomy, taking the subject single-handedly from medieval traditions to the threshold of modern knowledge.
- GenresArtNonfictionReference
168 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1975
About the author
Leonardo da Vinci
942 books1,532 followersIt 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 prototype Renaissance man!
His Last Supper (1495-97) and Mona Lisa (La Gioconda, 1503-06) are among the most popular paintings from the Renaissance. He and his rival Michelangelo did great service to the medical arts by accurate paintings of dissections, which were only occasionally allowed by the Church. Yet, his artistry appeared to be an afterthought, as he frequently left his works unfinished, and only about fifteen of his paintings survive. His notebooks reveal that he was centuries ahead of his time in mechanics and physic, fortifications, bridges, weapons, and river diversions to flood the enemy, which aided Italian city-states in their many wars.
Leonardo was an early evolutionist regarding fossils. Through his careful observations he noted that “if the shells had been carried by the muddy deluge they would have been mixed up, and separated from each other amidst the mud, and not in regular steps and layers — as we see them now in our time.” Leonardo reasoned that what is now dry land, where these aquatic fossils were found, must once have been covered by seawater.
He was for a short time accused of homosexuality: there is no evidence Leonardo had any sexual interest in women. As he wrote in his notebooks, “The act of procreation and anything that has any relation to it is so disgusting that human beings would soon die out if there were no pretty faces and sensuous dispositions.”
And what of his religion? It is significant that at the end of his life he felt he had much spiritual negligence to atone for. His first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, wrote in 1550:
"Finally, …feeling himself near to death, [he] asked to have himself diligently informed of the teaching of the Catholic faith, and of the good way and holy Christian religion; and then, with many moans, he confessed and was penitent; and … was pleased to take devoutly the most holy Sacrament, out of his bed. The King, who was wont often and lovingly to visit him, then came into the room; wherefore he, out of reverence … showed withal how much he had offended God and mankind in not having worked at his art as he should have done."
There was much skepticism in Renaissance Italy at the time, and Leonardo was an intellectual genius, not just an artistic genius. While there was great intellectual freedom during the Italian Renaissance, there were limits as long as the Dominicans, the “Hounds of the Lord,” were active. This semblance of a deathbed conversion, by so critical a thinker and so great a genius as Leonardo, who would have nothing to lose by professing piety all his life, can only mean that during his prime years he was a secret freethinker.
Leonardo died quietly on the 2 of May, 1519, a few weeks following his 67th birthday.
His Last Supper (1495-97) and Mona Lisa (La Gioconda, 1503-06) are among the most popular paintings from the Renaissance. He and his rival Michelangelo did great service to the medical arts by accurate paintings of dissections, which were only occasionally allowed by the Church. Yet, his artistry appeared to be an afterthought, as he frequently left his works unfinished, and only about fifteen of his paintings survive. His notebooks reveal that he was centuries ahead of his time in mechanics and physic, fortifications, bridges, weapons, and river diversions to flood the enemy, which aided Italian city-states in their many wars.
Leonardo was an early evolutionist regarding fossils. Through his careful observations he noted that “if the shells had been carried by the muddy deluge they would have been mixed up, and separated from each other amidst the mud, and not in regular steps and layers — as we see them now in our time.” Leonardo reasoned that what is now dry land, where these aquatic fossils were found, must once have been covered by seawater.
He was for a short time accused of homosexuality: there is no evidence Leonardo had any sexual interest in women. As he wrote in his notebooks, “The act of procreation and anything that has any relation to it is so disgusting that human beings would soon die out if there were no pretty faces and sensuous dispositions.”
And what of his religion? It is significant that at the end of his life he felt he had much spiritual negligence to atone for. His first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, wrote in 1550:
"Finally, …feeling himself near to death, [he] asked to have himself diligently informed of the teaching of the Catholic faith, and of the good way and holy Christian religion; and then, with many moans, he confessed and was penitent; and … was pleased to take devoutly the most holy Sacrament, out of his bed. The King, who was wont often and lovingly to visit him, then came into the room; wherefore he, out of reverence … showed withal how much he had offended God and mankind in not having worked at his art as he should have done."
There was much skepticism in Renaissance Italy at the time, and Leonardo was an intellectual genius, not just an artistic genius. While there was great intellectual freedom during the Italian Renaissance, there were limits as long as the Dominicans, the “Hounds of the Lord,” were active. This semblance of a deathbed conversion, by so critical a thinker and so great a genius as Leonardo, who would have nothing to lose by professing piety all his life, can only mean that during his prime years he was a secret freethinker.
Leonardo died quietly on the 2 of May, 1519, a few weeks following his 67th birthday.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 12, 2010
This book is completely amazing. I've been a Leonardo Da Vinci buff for about 20 years (I'm 31) and this book reflects on his works (from art to engineering) beautifully with huge, fascinating pictures. My high school library used to have a book similiar to this one and I contemplated stealing it the last day of high school until I saw this book appear on the Barnes and Noble bookshelves my senior year! I ended up getting it for my birthday and it's been one of my most prized possessions ever since. It's a must-have for a Leonardo Da Vinci fan!
October 8, 2018
In terms of physical weight, this is the heaviest book I’ve ever read. I appreciated the structure used to present da Vinci’s body of work. Rather than working chronologically, passages are divided into various subjects that the artist/scientist engaged in: painting, sculpture, botany, mathematics, astronomy, physics, engineering, military science, etc. each chapter is an essay by a daVinci scholar contextualizing thousands of sketches, paintings, and letters. The organization into essays by experts on each subject does result in some redundancy of facts, but the essays highlight da Vinci’s numerous contribution to science and human understanding by contrasting them to what people thought and believed at the time and place (mostly Italy and France in the 1500’s. Being able to see his actual sketches for devices and sculptures both made and I made is the best way to understand his process and the book provides this. My one complaint: for a giant tome on the life and works of a great man, the book fails to mention and barely alludes to his almost certainly queer identity which one could see covered in a much shorter Wikipedia page. I have to remember that the book was compiled many decades ago when such things were not spoken of in polite society or whatever. Still, pouring over his journals and these essays was time well spent and I appreciate the scholarship that went into creating this book.
August 22, 2023
Easy 5-star for the legend Leonardo da Vinci. I really like all his sketches. Maybe even more than his paintings... although perhaps seeing them in person I'd retract that statement.
December 5, 2014
Genial, Leonardo hizo muchas cosas increíbles, especialmente para estar hablando de la edad media, sin luz en las casas. Se dedicó a la arquitectura, a inventar ingenios militares (trajes de buzo, máquinas defensivas, artillería, catapultas... además de pintura, escultura; para pintar un cuadro de una persona desnuda en movimiento diseccionó decenas de cadáveres para conocer los músculos; para dibujar a Judas en su cuadro "la última cena" estuvo un año buscando personas con unas facciones de maldad y pillería que pudiera utilizar para su cuadro para dicho personaje. Cuando lo encontró, lo pintó en un día. La verdad, es que es genial.
Un auténtico genio.
Un auténtico genio.
June 8, 2012
Leonardo Da Vinci...what is that supposed to mean.?????? He is my inspiration to be an artist for all of my life...The Master of Genius Universe.!!!
August 25, 2014
This book is very well written. Passionate, fast-paced and thrilling. It is very well written and presented. It is one of my all time favorites. Its a very well done work by Dan Brown.
September 24, 2014
Leonardo da Vinci
December 18, 2023
Mildly interesting brief overview of Leonardo and his work.
June 30, 2026
En 2006 leí un libro sobre la vida de Leonardo.
No es este pero es el título que me falta para completar mis lecturas de ese año.
Salu Leonardo. Gracias por tanto.
No es este pero es el título que me falta para completar mis lecturas de ese año.
Salu Leonardo. Gracias por tanto.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews