No comments about Leonardo da Vinci: Rizzoli Art Classics.

No comments about Little Book of Leonardo da Vinci (Little Book of . . .).

1 comments about 101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci: The Secrets Of The World's Most Eccentric And Innovative Genius Revealed!.

1. This book was as interesting as any other biography could be, however, the authors did manage to use a very nice and flowing format. Organized from point to point, never spanning more than three pages, and following in chronological order from Leonardo's illegitimate birth to his ordinary death, the books writing style is very easy to follow and is easy to pick up at any spot.
   Priwer and Phillip's book is very informative, and anyone looking for research information about Da Vinci would likely consider this a Holy Grail with its factual yet interesting points. On an overall reading scale, however, for anyone simply looking for good read, this book would probably not suit as well (unless the reader has a terrible Leonardo fetish).
   In the end, this book is great for someone more interested in facts rather than an interesting story line. Another strong point of the book is that it suits readers of all ages because of its easy to follow format. I would have to rate this book as a 3, don't be afraid to check it out, it's not bad!

No comments about Vision, Reflection, and Desire in Western Painting (Bettie Allison Rand Lectures in Art History).

No comments about Leonardo da Vinci: The Divine and the Grotesque.

1 comments about Leonardo Da Vinci in His Own Words.

1. This book contains small passages from the writings of Leonardo.
   There are quite good illustrations and reproductions of his work. Most of these are however so familiar, and available in so many other formats that there is no surprise in them. The quotations are in themselves by and large a pleasure to read. This with the exception of the concluding chapter on his 'Prophecies'. There are chapters on his writings on 'Light' and on 'Seeing' also 'On the Deluge'. There are also as it were practical passages in which he advises on how to draw, and paint.
   This is a small popular section.
   For the full range of Leonardo one should go to the 'Notebooks' in their more full form.

No comments about Leonardo Da Vinci (Masterpieces Artists and Their Works).

No comments about Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation.

5 comments about Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings.

1. I have no words to describe what I felt enjoying this book. Worth every single dollar it costs. You will never regret buying it and browsing it whenever you wish to. Every Da Vinci's painting is displayed and explained in full details and colors. Starting with Leonardo's apprenticeship in Verrocchio's shop until his first autonomous works, Pietro Marani's book is a must buy not only for all Da Vinci's fans worldwide but to all people who love true art. Don't waste your time with gossip books and stuff... read this book, and you won't be sorry. Never. I assure you. In Brazil, where I live, you don't find such a book easily. Thank God there's Amazon.com to bring me such a treasure as this masterpiece.



2. My dear fellow artists, You, like myself, have been blessed (cursed (?)) with an ability to draw and to dream, in the quest for beauty. This is it! As artists, nobody can outdo Leonardo. On Leonardo, this one is the best, the most complete. Read as many books on Leonardo as you wish, but make sure to own this one!



3. I don't know how daVinci did it. His artwork is so fantastic and its all so well presented in this rather impressive tome. He was such an amazing man and this book beautifully shows every tiny facet of his array of experiences and talents.



4. I bought this book pretty much as an impulse buy. I was very glad I did! I love Leonardo's paintings, I've had the pleasure of viewing some in the Louvre. I think it is such an amazing gift to be able to reproduce observation, providing insight into an individuals sense of consideration and emphasis. These last two are a requisite for style, along with skill in execution, which almost like text must convey clarity with the gradual perfecting in time, we have something most profound. I often find myself contemplating the pictures in this book, and being a scientist more than an artist, I was curious as to how it affected me so. Our sense of achievement is in part appreciated on the point that we can follow a path to the point of completion with the appreciation of the process rather than the end point attained. Now to understand and appreciate anothers achievement would require a sound and deep empathy of anothers 'travelled path', with Leonardo and others I just cannot empathise and understand how one can attain to something so majestic and magnificent I'm literally in awe, hence the belief that it is something beyond the sum of its parts (its make-up) - a gift. This book presents the wonderful works of this man and what is conveyed in the art. It is a little understanding of the personality and character of a unique time and individual. A great book!



5. No matter how other may rave about this book, you must beware the paperback size. It is so much reduced from the hardcover that the print is difficult to read. With my reading glasses it is possible, but without them, it is all a blurr. I would definitely recommend the purchase of the larger hardcover version.

5 comments about Leonardo.

1. Leonardo da Vinci is certainly the name that personifies the term Renaissance Man. He lived in a time when it was possible for one man to know all that there was to know. In medicine, mechanics, and art he not only knew everything, but contributed to the general base of knowledge in each area. His written output was huge. Something over 20,000 pages of drawings and notes show his genius.
   
   Perhaps the most famous of his work are the Mona Lisa, the painting of the Last Supper and his sketches of inventions far in the future like flying machines. His drawings of the human body as a machine, showing the bone structure, the nerve system, cardio-vascular system remain not only beautiful drawings but accurate representations of reality.
   
   In this book, Martin Kemp, the world's leading authority on Leonardo cuts through the dense viel of legend, challenges the myths, and offers an unparalleled portrait of this extraordinary man.



2. +++++
   
   This book by Oxford University Professor of Historical Art Martin Kemp gives the reader the opportunity to "grasp the essential nature of Leonardo da Vinci, both as himself and as a historical phenomenon." Kemp, who has investigated Leonardo for over thirty years, does this through historical documents and through studying mainly Leonardo's drawings and paintings.
   
   A highlight of this book is the inclusion of letters not only written by Leonardo but those written about him or his works. For example, consider this letter from another artist written during the last years of Leonardo's life:
   
   "[The King], being enamoured to such an extraordinary degree of Leonardo's great talents, took such pleasure in hearing him talk that he would only on a few days deprive himself of his company...I cannot resist repeating the words I heard the King say about him...he said that a man had never been born who knew as much as Leonardo, not only in the spheres of painting, sculpture, and architecture, but in that he was a very great philosopher."
   
   This book contains almost twenty-five reproductions of Leonardo's drawings peppered throughout. My personal favorites are Leonardo's engineering drawings and anatomical drawings. There are also twenty mainly color plates (in two sets of ten plates). These consist mainly of reproductions of Leonardo's paintings. My personal favorites are the "Mona Lisa" and the "Last Supper." There is also a "Gallery" of his paintings at the end of the book. This gallery consists of nearly twenty-five reproductions.
   
   The very last section of the book has "Leonardo's Life in Outline." It traces his life from when he was born in 1452 until he died in 1519. This is especially good because it gives the reader, in brief form, an overall view of Leonardo's life.
   
   This book's greatest service is that it separates fact from fiction. Kemp explains: "For the writer of fiction, the license [regarding Leonardo's life] is almost unlimited. Dan Brown's phenomenally successful `The Da Vinci Code' [is an example which presents fictional facts]. In the service of fiction, such unfounded `facts' are fine; as history they perpetrate nonsense. The problem with Brown's "Code" is not the invention of `truth;' but that it has been taken seriously by those who cannot recognize fiction as fiction."
   
   Finally, the only minor problem I had is that the table of contents lists what drawings are found in this book but it does not specify what page these drawings are found on. I found this frustrating if I had to refer to a specific drawing.
   
   In conclusion, this book explores Leonardo da Vinci's life and works. Be sure to read it to discover why, 500 years after his death, Leonardo still grips and inspires us!!
   
   (first published 2004; preface; list of plates and figures; introduction; 6 chapters; main narrative 245 pages; gallery; Leonardo's life in outline; further reading; index)
   
   +++++



3. Highly recommended for any reader who simply wants to be exposed to the essence of this genius who lived five hundred years ago.
   
   Martin Kemp has written a short book with much information and many keen insights. Only an extremely knowledgeable and highly capable writer could have produced a book on this topic in such a pleasing and compact format. For those who wish to delve deeper, a good list of additional books to read is provided.



4. This is an excellent historical biography on Leonardo da Vinci. The book is solid facts one after another, mostly taken from surviving documents such as financial transactions and Leonardo's notebooks. The downside is that if you are reading this book for the sake of reading a good book, it can be a tad boring. The writing style is not fluid, perhaps a little choppy at times, since it is so fact-oriented. If you want to know the cold hard facts about Leonardo, this is the book for you (like for a research project). If you are looking for a good read that is a little more subjective you might not like it as much.



5. Based on other reviews and the author's status as an Oxford professor of art history who has spent years studying Leonardo, I was looking forward to this book. What I found instead was an easy read that is neither fish nor foul. The author waxes sentimental over his stay in "Mona Lisa's room" and takes jibes at Dan Brown fans. His chapters on Leonardo's science describe Leonardo's ideas in detail, with great reverence for Leonardo's intellect, but it would be more interesting to hear Leonardo's ideas assessed according to modern perspective: do today's geologists agree about the previous existence of lakes? Were his math solutions or water treatises worth anything as science? Kemp's book is neither a full, warm biographical portrait, nor an academic assessment of Leonardo's contributions to art and science, but it is short and double-spaced. Beware frequent typos and homonym errors such as "raised to the ground."