Art Lovers discussion
This topic is about
Leonardo da Vinci
Books & Reviews
>
Has anyone started reading Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson?
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Gary
(new)
-
added it
Feb 15, 2018 07:51PM
Over 500 pages, slick pages with color drawings and notes from the Notebooks. I can't wait to indulge.
reply
|
flag
Not yet, but really want to. I've talked to many who have and they've said it's fantastic!
Got sidetracked, as is my bad habit with biblio-ADHD, but the first 75 pgs or so were very good. I'd rate WI an above average writer with a great eye for telling details and lively and revealing anecdotes. As an art critic, I wouldn't put him in league with likes of Robert Hughes or Simon Schama, but he writes with the infectious sincerity and admiration of newcomer who has done his homework. I'm sure I'll pick it up again at some point.
i don't think art lovers will be disappointed. in chapter 2 Apprentice, Isaccson comments on Leonardo's work with Verrocchio and discusses draperies, chiaroscuro and sfumato. color pics of Tobias and the Angel, Verrocchio with Leonardo p. 49, versus p. 51 Pollaiuolo's Tobias. then p. 53 Baptism of Christ, Verrocchio with Leo.
This sounds awesome! Thank you, Gary!
Got it as a Christmas gift and finished it up pretty quickly. I think it was a complicated book and I have colleagues (including a Renaissance specialist) who just couldn't get into it. But I truly enjoyed the organization by geography. What he worked on was very dependent on where he was. Isaacson does a great job filling out the biography, too, without getting lurid or lost in minutiae. The book drags a bit, particularly when Isaacson gets immersed in the drawings...but the drawings offer an armature that supports all Leonardo's work. I enjoyed it.
This is all good information about the book by Gary, Tom and Ellen. Now I'm intrigued. Thank you for the note that it drags a bit in your opinion, Ellen. I think I still want to investigate it!
