Leonardo's notebooks

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Black Dog & Leventhal
Publication Date
[2005]
Language
English

Description

An all-new, jewel-like, reader-friendly format gives new life to this relaunch of an international best-seller.

Leonardo da Vinci?artist, inventor, and prototypical Renaissance man?is a perennial source of fascination because of his astonishing intellect and boundless curiosity about the natural and man-made world. During his life he created numerous works of art and kept voluminous notebooks that detailed his artistic and intellectual pursuits.

The collection of writings and art in this magnificent book are drawn from his notebooks. The book organizes his wide range of interests into subjects such as human figures, light and shade, perspective and visual perception, anatomy, botany and landscape, geography, the physical sciences and astronomy, architecture, sculpture, and inventions. Nearly every piece of writing throughout the book is keyed to the piece of artwork it describes.

The writing and art is selected by art historian H. Anna Suh, who provides fascinating commentary and insight into the material, making Leonardo's Notebooks an exquisite single-volume compendium celebrating his enduring genius.

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Contributors
ISBN
9781579124571
9781579125219

Table of Contents

From the Book

Beauty, reason and art: On painting
Human figures
Light and shade
Perspective and visual perception
Studies and sketches
Observations and order: Anatomy
Botany and landscape
Geography
Physical sciences and astronomy
Practical matters: Architecture and planning
Sculpture and metalwork
Inventions and experiments
Practical advice
Philosophy, aphorisms and miscellaneous writings
Bibliography.

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Author Notes

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Published Reviews

Library Journal Reviews

Even though Lester includes a number of figures and plates in his work, readers are going to want to see much more. Among the many choices of illustrated volumes is this accessible collection with full-color images accompanied by clear and thoughtful notes. Other choices abound. The exhibition catalog for the da Vinci show held in 2003 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman edited by Carmen C. Bambach, is a treasure. The book includes over 300 color plates and 11 scholarly yet accessible essays. Additionally, A.E. Popham's The Drawings of Leonardo is considered an outstanding collection. Kenneth Clark's Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most widely regarded introductory work on da Vinci and is a good place for those interested in learning more to start. Finally, Martin Kemp is one of the most noted scholars on da Vinci and his Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment, and Design directly addresses the ways in which da Vinci thought on paper-the subtext of Lester's exploration of Vitruvian Man. As to editions of Vitruvius, Penguin publishes a version translated by Richard Schofield with illustrations titled On Architecture. It serves as a reliable introduction. The Morris Hicky Morgan edition is online via Project Gutenberg and includes illustrations and photos. - "RA Crossroads " LJ Reviews 3/1/2012 (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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