Leonardo da Vinci | 
I nearly broke down and bought this awesome Italian set of books (5 total) about Leonardo DaVinci in English when I visited the bookstore nearby. Just too darned heavy. So I took a photo. Maybe some place in the states sells Italian-published books
Today I learned that the king of France may have cradled da Vinci in his arms as the elderly artist died. After da Vinci delivered a short lecture on the probable causes of his own death.
The Last Supper, both in its creation and in its current state, becomes not just an example of Leonardo‘s genius but also a metaphor for it. It was innovative in its art and too innovative in its methods. The conception was brilliant but the execution flawed. The emotional narrative is profound but slightly mysterious, and the current state of the painting adds another thin veil of mystery to the ones that so often shroud Leonardo‘s life and work.
Da Vinci's to-do list:
* Describe the tongue of the woodpecker
* Go every Saturday to the hot bath where you will see naked men
* Inflate the lungs of a pig and observe whether they increase in width and in length, or only in width
pickA masterful biography of Leonardo da Vinci. More comprehensive than I needed, but the sense of completeness & attention to detail is valuable & apt for its subject. I learnt much & have new appreciation for Leonardo as artist & thinker. I‘m inspired by his genius (from curiosity & observation), but less so by the fact that he never finished anything. He was a diva & unprofessional. It‘s a testament to Renaissance Italy that he had loyal patrons.
What is your favorite biography or autobiography that you read in recent years? Or currently reading,if any?
Brilliant! Writing so smooth and technically masterful ❤ 🎨 The narrator was great too.
pickThis 550 page long enthralling biography is a perfect book to read in long Winter nights,a story of a Man whose genius wandering mind perforates the vast fields of knowledge known to society of that era,his potential to aquire knowledge and understanding the world is phenomenal,you are reading arguably the most interesting and phenomenal Renaissance man life story!!
pickIt took me a while to read this, but it has given me a profound feeling about the genius that Leonardo was. Sfumato and the fact that the world is not made of straight lines; such a simple yet profound observation.
"Talent hits a target that no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see!"
To celebrate paying off my vehicle early, I bought this book (Leonardo da Vinci), a history on the Pacific Northwest, and Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Oh, and a brownie a la mode.
pickWhat a wonderful biography! The book is marvellous, hard cover with great pics. Genius indeed. #LeonardoDaVinci #WalterIsaacson #book #bookaholic #booklovers #ler #leitura #leitora #reading #instabook #instaread #instabooks #bookstagram #litsy #booklover #readingabook #amreading #books #Sha2019
The man who was more than the sum total of his talents
bailedThis book is nothing more than a Renaissance gossip column, if it can even be called that. Supposedly this book is about Leo‘s notebooks, but they get no more attention than anything else. What this book is really about is Isaacson‘s obsession with Leo‘s sexuality, diet, and looks.
#walterisaacson #leonardodavinci #bail #killmenow #leo #theoriginalrenaissanceman #polymath
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
This is one of my favorite drawings ever. I‘ve been obsessed with it since I was a kid. I like this deeper analysis of it. (I wonder if there is a book completely about this drawing...hm)
#LeonardoDaVinci #WalterIsaacson #polymath #autodidact #Leo #Vitruvius #VitruvianMan
I would really like to see his sources on this. It‘s nothing more than speculation. He MAY have been gay, he equally as likely was what we would call bisexual today. Hell, he could have been secretly having sex with every woman he came into contact with for all we know. I‘ve yet to see anything conclusive on this, but Isaacson seems stuck on it. In fact, I‘m beginning to think he‘s got a man crush on Leo.
Why grow up? Intellectually, Leo never did.
#LeonardoDaVinci #WalterIsaacson #polymath #Leo #autodidact #HappyBirthday #curiosity #experimentation #wonder
Happy Birthday to this guy (Leo, not Tom... even though Tom is hot... that‘s another post for another day... in fact we‘ve [sadly] missed that day by ten days... oops)!!! He‘s 567 today!!! Starting this book today with the goal of finishing by 2 May (the 500th anniversary of his death). Here goes nothing.
#leonardodavinci #walterisaacson #polymath #leo #happybirthday
Image 11/~15 of shots of #NYC‘s Amazon bookstore.
This isn‘t a display, this is a regular bookcase area. All their books are face out. I like it better that way, but it does take up more shelf area making for less available titles.
If you can make them out, lol, have you read any of these?
so-soWalter Isaacson does a fantastic job of making his subjects human and relatable, however he takes quite a while to do so. This book is very interesting and I would recommend it to a friend, but be prepared to spend some time getting through it.
pickGreat portrait of a creative genius. The power of curiosity.
Teeny tiny #bookhaul. I've been eyeing the da Vinci bio but was waiting for the more affordable paperback version. After I saw @Simona list it among her most loved reads of the year, I *had* to have it 😆 Walked into a bookshop & it was on sale, on top of the members' discount! The universe was urging me to buy it!
The Song of Achilles has been on my TBR forever; thanks to #NewYearWhoDis I will read it this month 😅
pickExtremely well researched biography which covers all spheres of his creative life. Main source are Leonardo‘s notebooks from which is evident his necessity for understanding the World - nature and people. Even if you aren‘t interested in art, I highly recommend this book. It‘s a very interesting look into his life and his driving force - knowledge.
I was 👁👁 this book for long time, and today when I saw Slovenian translation ... I just gave up ...
pick“Leonardo‘s relentless curiosity and experimentation should remind us of the importance of instilling, in both ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it — to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different.”
Painter, sculptor, inventor, mathematician, engineer, scientist, philosopher. A true Renaissance Man. One of the highlights of my life was seeing Mona Lisa. ⬇️
My husband‘s bedside TBR stack is a bit more sparse than mine. 😬
Started reading this book in January and read 10% of 700+ pages, but today I arrived in Milan and went to this statue dedicated to Da Vinci and Sforza Castle. I am sure I will pick this book up when I get ho@e to finish before summer is over.
Today‘s #libraryloot. I don‘t often read 600+ pages of dense biography, but the book design on the tagged book is stunning, and the writing I sampled was so fluid. #libraryhaul
#BookNDinner! #RedLobster Edition! (Love gift cards 😁!) Accompaniment this cold, drizzly, gray evening: New England clam chowder (not pictured because I ate it 😄), jumbo shrimp cocktail, scrumptious cheddar biscuits, and mango iced tea. MMMMmmmm 😋! Happy reads & happy eats! 🍤
#BookNDinner! #RedLobster Edition! (Love gift cards 😆!) Accompaniment this cold, drizzly, gray evening: crab legs, lobster tail, shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, rice pilaf, garlic mashed potatoes, cheddar biscuits, and peach iced tea. MMMMmmmm 😋! Happy reads & happy eats! 😎👌🏻
Also, this is our pre-Ready Player One meal, by the way. We'll let you know what we think 😁, @Rachel.Rencher & @Lucas.Rencher liked it!
#BookNBrunch! Grabbing a bite before @MrBook ‘s library shift 😁. (Audiobook today). A warming meal on this cold and drizzly morn: chorizo, egg, cheddar, and arugula, on a fresh roll, and a delicious Stumptown coffee. MMMMmmm 😋! This is a mouthful of Heaven. Happy reads & happy eats! 🍳☕️
#BookNBrunch! Grabbing a bite before my Sunday shift 😁. (Audiobook today). Accompaniment this cold and drizzly morn: chorizo, egg, cheddar, and arugula, on a roll, and Earl Grey tea. MMMMmmm 😋! Happy reads & happy eats! 😎👌🏻
so-soAlthough Walter Isaac is great at describing the amazing creativity and genius of Leonardo, he shows no balance on the negative side of the genius. I can not judge on the art or engineering but for example Leonardo buys this poor kid he call Salai and Leonardo sleeps with Salai when the child reaches adolescence. this is portrayed in the book as Kind if okay or at least as a non issue. Leonardo was a genius but not a saint.
#BookNDinner! Lay-over until my #OmnivorousBookClub meeting this evening 😁. #NationalGrilledCheeseDay Edition! Accompaniment this warm and bright evening: cheddar & provolone grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, fries, and unsweetened iced tea. MMMmmmm 😋! Happy reads & happy eats! 😎👌🏻
#BookNDinner! #TexasRoadhouse Edition! (The book's an audiobook, which we're both thoroughly enjoying. ????) Early dinner since we're going to see the 40th Anniversary screening of "Grease" in a bit. ??????? Half rack of ribs, loaded baked potato , salad & fried pickles (not pictured), fresh baked rolls. MMMmm ?! Happy reads & happy eats!
#BookNDinner! #TexasRoadhouse Edition! (The book's an audiobook, which we're both thoroughly enjoying. ????) Early dinner since we're going to see the 40th Anniversary screening of "Grease" in a bit. Annyway, accompaniment this chilly, sunny evening: a 12 oz. NY strip steak, loaded baked potato (but no sour cream--MrBook doesn't do sour cream, lol), salad (not pictured), rolls, and raspberry iced tea! MMMmm ?! Happy reads & happy eats! ???
My new companion instead of going out to stormy Washington DC.
Knowing that the Vitruvian Man may be a type of self-portrait of Da Vinci makes me look at it in a whole new way. #davinci #leonardodavinci #walterisaacson #vitruvianman #art #history #biography
Got to love New England! Listening to the new Leonardo biography and watching snow pile up on my deck. What could be better?😄
I guess part of me always saw Da Vinci is a great mind for whom painting was just another project, but I am absolutely loving the in depth look at the progression of his painting, especially the contrast between Da Vinci's and Verrocchio's work in the later paintings they did together. This book is just amazing. I would love to have it in hardcover at some point. #leonardodavinci #walterisaacson #davinci #baptismofchrist #art
“Leonardo‘s relentless curiosity and experimentation should remind us of the importance of instilling, in both ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it—to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different.”
So many good quotes, and I‘m just through the introduction. #leonardodavinci #davinci #walterisaacson #nonfiction #biography
pickSpoiler...Leonardo da Vinci? Genius. Truly a genius. And the research that went into this, just wow. #nonfiction
pickThis book, like many of Leonardo‘s works, is an absolute masterpiece. Also, Alfred Molina is a wonderful audiobook narrator.
1. Gibson‘s bookstore in Concord.
2. 5‘2”
3. 13 years in NH, 9 in our house.
4. Tagged book and The Grey King by Susan Cooper.
5. Here I am in my comfy chair and my comfy fleece after a long, social day at work.
#friyayintro
