jjares reviewed Leonardo da Vinci: A Life From Beginning to End (Biographies of Painters) on + 3270 more book reviews
When people talk about the Italian Renaissance, they are talking about the one man who embodied it, Leonardo da Vinci. Although a poor academic student, he became a revolutionary artist, in oils, sculpture, line drawings, and so much more. He was constantly inquisitive and moved about with a notebook at hand. He filled over 13,000 pages of material (in a time where papers were expensive).
The only disappointment was that there were no photos of da Vinci's works, although most of us are aware of his works. Otherwise, this book emphasized the breadth of da Vinci's studies, art, engineering, inventions, etc. Surprisingly, da Vinci invented contact lenses and taught that the world had to be far older than the 4000 years believed (at that time). He was an incredible human being who had profound effects on all of our lives.
The only disappointment was that there were no photos of da Vinci's works, although most of us are aware of his works. Otherwise, this book emphasized the breadth of da Vinci's studies, art, engineering, inventions, etc. Surprisingly, da Vinci invented contact lenses and taught that the world had to be far older than the 4000 years believed (at that time). He was an incredible human being who had profound effects on all of our lives.
