Leonardo da Vinci

In my effort to learn more about artists and their work, I picked this up in anticipation of a trip to Italy. I never thought about the qualities and musings of Leonardo, and after reading this book, if i just had an ounce of that, I think I could be so much more. I always want to know why we revere certain historical art pieces, like the Mona Lisa.

Leonardo wasn’t born wealthy, he never learned Latin or Algebra, but he worked hard and put in a lot of effort into his art and sciences which stemmed from his curiosity. He was more curious than ever truly interested in finishing something. If his work suddenly lost interest to him, or another endeavor rallied interest, he would switch and do something else.

“…never finished executing his plan. Coming up with the conception was enough for him.”

In terms of art, learning about his techniques and inspirations were very revealing, as an example: his use ‘sfumato’ or his focus on universality of subject matter. You can see that clearly in his art, and you get an understanding of how different he was from other Renaissance artists like Michelangelo. The commercial aspect of art during the renaissance and the subjects he painted do a lot to teach you about how one of the greatest eras of art formed and prospered, Isaacson’s research and ability to bring it all together is tremendous and well done. There’s a lot of focus on his famous notes, his style of sketching and painting, and other musings lend to the understanding of how he thought and worked. Always observing and thinking about how things tick, recreating them in art, and making engineering and sciences a work of art as well!

I learned quite a bit about his art and the artists that surrounded him, enough to appreciate Leonardo much more, and to look into learning more about the other artists of that time. I don’t know if this is the best biography about him, it came recommended and without other context cannot say for sure since I was also quite on the fence about picking this particular one up. In the end, it’s probably the most readable one, and worth picking up if you’re thinking about reading about Leonardo. Enjoy!

Some words Isaacson passed on while I read:

Licentious: Promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters

Amanuensis: a literary or artistic assistant, in particular, one who took notes

Burnous: A long hooded cloak work by arabs