Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography Paperback – 17 Oct. 2017

As would be expected from Walter Isaacson, this is wonderfully written and enthusiastic book. It has over 140 excellent illustrations. We sense the atmosphere in 1470s Florence under ruler Lorenzo Medici. Apprentice Leonardo begins to outshine his master Verrocchio. Illustrations of two paintings in which they collaborated, Tobias and the Angel, and the Baptism of Christ, are used to compare their styles. For the former, a comparison is made with an earlier version by another artist shows the remarkable evolution achieved by Verrocchio’s school. Leonardo is there at the forefront in the improvement in presentation of animation, perspective, sfumato, chiarresco, as well as landscapes. He finds himself overcome by his own perfectionism, a brilliant polymath mind restrained from carrying out his ideas to completion and exasperating those brave enough to give him commissions. The author draws on quotes from Leonardo’s notebooks. Leonardo focused on conception rather than execution. He procrastinated. He kept hold of his masterpieces with the intention of perfecting them. He was a genius with shadows, reflection of light, and perspective. Unlike Florentine contemporaries such as Botticelli, for example, he was disinclined to flatter his patrons by including their likeness in his paintings. It landed him few commissions. Leonardo moved to Milan to take up ephemeral duties as a producer of pageants for the ruler of Milan, to whom he had written the best job application ever proposing inventions for new weapons of war. Leonardo walked around Milan with his trademark notebook hanging from his belt. He was popular (he spent time with Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli among many other characters that dominated in his day), strong, and good looking, and seemed to always be on the go. There was fierce competition with the younger Michelangelo upon his eventual return to Florence. He was a vegetarian since he loved animals so much. His scientific discoveries form the major part of his achievements and this book. Not formally educated, he was a compulsive empiricist, applying his immense power of observation, learning from others and his own experiences, reading almost to addiction, constantly drawing parallels to further his understanding. His unpublished notebooks show how he became centuries ahead in his understanding of mechanics, science and anatomy. He wrote from right to left, i.e. in mirror script, and this has made some believe that perhaps he never wanted to broadcast his findings. One wonders if the intensity of his thoughts was reflected in some way by how he communicated. For patrons he had a string of essentially transactional strongmen of the likes of Sforza, Medici, and Borgia. He ended up with Francis II of France, who was much more generous. As he has done before, the author ends with a few useful pages of conclusion about his subject. He lists and describes what he sees as twenty essentials that contributed to Leonardo’s greatness. This is a first class biography.

Fascinating study of the man who was Leonardo Da Vinci. The author seems to have reviewed all 7000 pages of LDVs notes and the result is a rich tapestry of insight into the great mans mind. I am comforted by the fact that even LDV had trouble multiplying square roots. Illustrations are fantastic even if they don't reproduce too well on the basic Kindle, nevertheless one gets the flavour of LDVs abilities.

Enjoyed it. Clear and insightful, and not too over-awed by his subject. His riffs on the masterpieces are superb; and the overall picture painted, credible and compelling. Wd have given if 5 stars if it had been a bit more adventurous on its conclusions; occasionally feels a bit linear.

This is probably the best biography of an artist I have read. There's a simple test: do you feel bereft when you get to the end of the book. I did. Leonardo had kept me company for many days and I missed him.The book is very comprehensive and wide-ranging but is not filled with unnecessary detail and extraneous information. Leonardo the many-faceted man and his extraordinary notebooks emerge from the pages with a clarity and insight that is such a pleasure to read.

In line with his other biographies, reveals the depth and breadth of Da Vinci’s work, but most importantly, his child like curiosity that never left him.

This is one of the best books I have ever read: fascinating, fabulously well illustrated (every painting mentioned is illustrated on the page!), wide-ranging, complete, and chock full of interesting facts and observations about Leonardo's world: the nature of his illegitimacy, the roles of his parents at different times in his life, the effects of his homosexuality (not many!), the nature of his apprenticeship and the innovations in painting that he worked out for himself (sfumato, e.g.) I LOVED how Isaacson completely disregarded any line between "art" and "science" (the so called two solitudes), and showed how Leonardo and his contemporaries used observation to inform both their paintings and sculptures, and their works of stagecraft and engineering. I also loved how patronage was described, how the various patrons courted Leonardo and his fellows, cut them slack, rewarded them, etc. etc. The economic context was brought in: the cost of keeping our hero in food, clothing and wine, for example. A masterpiece. Too bad the author has since wasted his time on a jerk like Elon Musk... though I may buy it in case he has worked some magic on that person.

This is the best books I have read in years. I am interested in an amateur way in science and I found the writing to be tremendously engaging. He gives us the book in the usual chapters but also in sections so that it is easy to read as much or as little as you have time for. Isaacson explains not just the art, but also about engineering, medicine, geology and more. He sets the genius in the historical context without overburdening the reader with too much factual information. He outlines various theories on the paintings in particular and gives his own views. Some would like him to have been more adventurous, but for me the adventure is in the discovery of what a great explorer of life da Vinci was. The Amazon prompt for 5 stars is "I loved it" and I certainly did.