Life of Da Vinci - An

Author: Charles Nicholl
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most versatile great artists of the Renaissance. He was not only a painter and draftsman but also an inventor and anatomist, as well as a musician and philosopher. At the same time, he was also one of the most mysterious. Although his great works have made the name of Leonardo da Vinci household for centuries, the man himself has always remained elusive and enigmatic in the eyes of the world, sparking curiosity. Many aspects of his life remain unknown. Leonardo da Vinci: Aed Mind portrays this multifaceted, creative, and endlessly inquisitive individual behind the legendary "Renaissance genius" and "polymath" with a compelling and private portrait. The book traces Leonardo's extraordinary life journey: from an illegitimate child in Tuscany to an apprentice in the workshop of Verrocchio in Florence, to later serving for many years as a painter for the influential figures of Renaissance Italy—Medici (also known as the Medicis), Sforza, and Borgia—and the complex relationships he had with Michelangelo and Machiavelli during this time, until he gained the fame of one of the most outstanding figures of his era and spent his later years as the court painter to Francis I in the Loire Valley. Charles Nicholl has made many new discoveries in his research on Leonardo and his circle— a previously unknown portrait of da Vinci—and delves deeply into the stories behind the creation of masterpieces such as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. What sets this book apart from others on the same subject is the author's keen insight and analysis of Leonardo's personality and the extraordinary "" of his mind, as well as his vivid portrayal of his physical appearance and daily life: eating, dressing, jokes, riddles, and his almost obsessive note-taking. Everything is recorded in his notes, from the structure of the solar system to the technique of sneezing. Nicholl spent decades completing this comprehensive English biography of da Vinci by extensively consulting existing materials and delving into the lesser-known details of Leonardo's own notes. The book is richly illustrated, beautifully written, and filled with enlightening information and perspectives, making it a masterpiece of modern biography.