Life of Da Vinci: An Unleashed Mind

Author: (English) Charles Nicholl
Publisher:
Publish 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. Despite his great works making his name famous for hundreds of years, he himself remained an enigma, elusive and intriguing in the eyes of the world. Many aspects of his life were also unknown to the public. Leonardo da Vinci: The Flight of the Mind portrays this multifaceted, creative, and endlessly exploring individual behind the legendary "Renaissance genius" and "polymath" with a convincing 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 at the Loire. In his research on Leonardo and his circle of life, Charles Nicholl made many new discoveries—including a previously unknown portrait of da Vinci—and delved deeply into the stories behind the creation of masterpieces such as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. What sets this book apart from others in its category is the author's keen insight and analysis of Leonardo's personality and the extraordinary "flight" of his mind, as well as his vivid portrayal of his physical appearance and daily life details: eating, dressing, jokes, riddles, and his almost obsessive note-taking. Everything, no matter how small, was 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 little-known details in Leonardo's personal notes. With its rich illustrations, elegant language, and enlightening insights, the book has become a masterpiece of modern biography.