Product Description
Leonardo's writings on painting--among the most remarkable from any era--were never edited by Leonardo himself into a single coherent book. In this anthology the authors have edited material not only from his so-called Treatise on Painting but also from his surviving manuscripts and from other primary sources, some of which were here translated for the first time. The resulting volume is an invaluable reference work for art historians as well as for anyone interested in the mind and methods of one of the world's greatest creative geniuses. ... Read more

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Hardcover Folio 1609 gravure illustrations with 12 color plates, 518 pages. This volume is the most complete and authoritative work ever produced in Italy by the Instituto Geografico De Agostini just before the war, in conjunction with the famous exhibition of Leonardo's work in Milan 1938. Recently Emil Vollmer (publisher) joined with the Instituto and re-edited the volume making entirely new illustration plates from which this edition is printed. ... Read more

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Since the Tarot is really a product of the Italian Renaissance, it is only appropriate that a Tarot deck be based on the genius of the quintessential Renaissance man: Leonardo Da Vinci. The art is sophisticated in line, color, composition, and symbolism. Prepare to be intrigued, challenged, and delighted as you explore the depth and beauty of this deck.

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting cards
I prefer the Enigma set to this one.But this too is an interesting portrayel of the holy blood line. ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci, una de las mas brillantes personalidades del Renacimiento, se dejo llevar durante su vida por una infinita curiosidad y un enorme afan de conocimiento. Luego de su muerte se hallaron gran cantidad de apuntes y notas referidos a los temas mas variados. De alli se extrajeron y se recopilaron estos Apuntes de cocina, un ejemplo mas del eclecticismo leonardino, una capacidad de maravilla y fascinacion por los detalles que enriquecen la experiencia humana. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Complete?
These are supposedly the Complete Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Literally that is what they are: complete NOTEBOOKS.These are his notes transcribed and set down into a complete volume.There are no accompanying illustrations.In this regard, much of the context of the notes are lost.Probably my fault, I didn't even think that the illustrations might not be included before I purchase it.On the bright side I did get over 800 pages of Leonardo's notes and they do have complete footnotes describing which illustrations accompany what pages.So technically with a lot of work, I could put together an outstanding reference document.I give it 2 out of 5 stars.The 2 stars are because they ARE the footnotes of Leonardo and that counts for something.Also the process of downloading was extremely easy.Although not completely satisfied with this purchase, I am glad to see that Amazon is offering books in this format. ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci must solve a locked room murder to save the city of Florence from certain destruction. (Short story.)

EXCERPT:

Florence
29 April 1504

From Niccolò Machiavelli, Secretary to the Ten of War, to Piero Soderini, Gonfaloniere of Justice:

My Magnificent Lord,
In the matter of Leonardo, who respectfully requests more time and money to continue his work on the Battle of Anghiari, I submit the following report, which will demonstrate not only Leonardo's unrivaled talents in the arts and sciences, but also his unwavering loyalty to our great Republic. My report concerns Jacopo Baglioni's mysterious death and Leonardo da Vinci's miraculous solution.
I received a letter from Gian Paolo Baglioni on the morning of the twenty-first. He stated that his cousin Jacopo had recently been found dead in a locked room of his villa. Gian Paolo suspected the agents of either Florence or Venice, and swore undying revenge to the unknown assassins. He assured me that if I did not satisfy him as to our innocence, he would burn our city to the ground and sow our ashes with salt.
As you may recall, I have had several dealings with Gian Paolo, hiring him to defend us from others and hiring others to defend us from him. He is a fierce captain, quick to anger and slow to forgive. So slow, in fact, that his capacity for forgiveness remains theoretical. I rode out from the gates that morning to investigate the matter myself....
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Customer Reviews (1)

Murder and Art in 16th century Florence, Italy
In 16th century Florence, Italy, amidst the political animosities between Venice and Florence, a man from an important family is killed. Having received threatening anonymous letters, he spent days in his sanctuary praying, only to be found dead. Since the door was locked from the inside and the window was fixed into the wall and couldn't be opened, it must have been, according to some people, the devil who committed the murder. Why it was the painter and sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci, who solved the mystery, well for that you have read the story. Crimson Lake is a well-crafted, clever, fast-paced mystery and it is short enough that you can read it in one sitting. I would love to read more stories like that and I hope the author writes a few sequences. I could just picture the famous Leonardo da Vinci, hunting criminals in the medieval and Renaissance Italy, a country ripe with intrigues, murders, violence as well as full of magnificent art. Highly recommended.

Christa Polkinhorn, author
Love of a Stonemason ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A nice collection of The Genius' drawings
Very little text, a lot of drawings. If you're looking for analytical reviews and explanations of Leonardo's art, this isn't the book for you.If you are an admirer of his incredible drawings, this IS the book you need. This volume is an oversized hardback (the copy I have is) with nice reproductions of his pencil, ink, chalk and other dry media drawings.He did way more drawings than paintings, but it seems people most often remember the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper.His anatomical drawings, horse sketches and studies, preliminary layouts for paintings, machines, drapery studies, notebook sketches and notes are here, full color (for the colors he used, like sanguine and sepia) and large enough to appreciate.

It is amazing that a of his couple head studies look very similar to MRIs I have had taken of my head. There are machine drawings for flying machines and other mechanical things that weren't to be for centuries.Detailed skeleton and organ sketches, proportional scales for anatomy, grotesque heads with great expressions. It is fascinating to see how many subjects interested him, and how well he analyzed and understood each one.

There's a lot to be learned from this book, despite minimal text. The proper human body proportions are in here, the bones and muscles and such are an excellent study of anatomy for an artist, the drapery studies, besides exhibiting great patience on his part, are an excellent exploration of shadows and lighting. It is a tremendous lesson if one were to copy a drawing of his, to see how a master drew and to learn from his pencil marks and pressure and shading.

Obviously, I highly recommend the book.It's a great price for a superb collection from this brilliant artist.

Leonardo da Vinci by Zollner -Published by Taschen
This rendition is perfect for a class project in the arts,
sciences, medicine or engineering. The work has detailed drawings
of animal anatomy, as well as patent drawings. The quality of
the presentation is comparable to a professional architect or
commercial artist. Each drawing has a considerable explanation
of the origin and artistic context of the rendition. The book
proves that Da Vinci envisioned some of today's inventions
500 or so years before they were commercialized.

The scientist Sigmund Freud said of Leonardo da Vinci:

"Indeed, the great Leonardo remained like a child for the whole
of his life in more than one way; it is said, that all great men
are bound to retain some infantile part. Even as an adult, he
continued to play, and this was another reason why he often
appeared uncanny and incomprehensible to his contemporaries."

The acquisition is well worth the price for serious students
of the arts, sciences, medicine or engineering.
... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1857 edition by Francesco Sanvito, Milano. ... Read more

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The Caldecott Award-winning Provensens have combined artistry and insight to create a unique and beautiful pop-up. Full color. ... Read more

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The fifteenth century artist talks about his life and work as if entertaining the reader for a weekend. ... Read more

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2010 Reprint of 1916 English Edition. Leonardo da Vinci remains among the most fascinating, though speculative, works of Freud's entire output. A detailed reconstruction of Leonardo's emotional life from his earliest years, this work represents Freud's first sustained venture into biography from a psychoanalytic perspective, and also his effort to trace one route that homosexual development can take. ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci has become the definition of the "Rennaissance man." His accomplishments in painting and sculpture, music and mathematics, and engineering and architecture have endured for centuries. The Renaissance was a watershed for European artisitc and scientific accomplishment and da Vinci led the way. He exemplified a new perspective, seeking to explore and control the forces of nature, and to extend the frontiers of human knowledge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The illustrations are what make it
If you can find this out-of-print, oversized hardback, it is worth collecting.The illustrators lovingly present a detailed birds-eye view of Vinci, the Sforza compound, changing designs of palaces, the scaffoldings which supported some of his bronze works, period clothing,Leonardo's proposed design for Milan and its canals, and much more.It's hard to find, but highly recommended.

Review of the book "Leonardo Da Vinci" by Francesca Romei
This book is a very informative book about Leonardo. It has all the details about his life, his paintings, his family, his models etc. I say everyone should read this imformative book. If anyone wants to learn about Leonardo, I suggest this book to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Milan, 1497. The height of the Renaissance. And for Giacomo, servant of the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci, it's the most difficult time of all. His Master has been working on the Last Supper, his greatest painting ever, for nearly two years. But has he finished it? He's barely started! The all-powerful Duke of Milan is demanding that it be completed by the time the Pope visits at Easter. And Giacomo knows that if Leonardo doesn't pick up his pace, the Duke may invite a young genius -- Michelangelo -- to finish the painting instead. Which means that Leonardo won't be paid, which means that Milan's shopkeepers (to whom he owes massive amounts) will take drastic measures against him.

It's all down to Giacomo, and whether he can come up with a brilliant solution. And if he does, will his Master go for it? After all, Leonardo still doesn't seem to trust him. He refuses to teach Giacomo how to paint; he won't help him find his parents; nor will he discuss the significance of the medallion, ring, and cross that Giacomo was carrying when Leonardo found him. But with the secret arrival of a powerful stranger, Giacomo is about to discover much more than the answers he has been looking for. And he will also receive an invitation to help arrange a meeting that could change his life. . . and the future course of history.

With more twists and turns than a spiral staircase, this thriller is as unique as its two heroes -- the most celebrated artist who ever lived, and a young man without a past, who will stop at nothing to find the truth about his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

On The Fence
i have to admit that i really do not know how i feel about this book so far. i am nearly finished with it and ive just now taken the time to read reviews about the book. and can agree with just about all of the reviews...good and negative. first all i have to say that its rather simple and surely directed to readers that care little for certain details. but to be honest that type of reading does not turn me away from a book. but what i was disappointed in was the complete drift it took from the actual historical facts. i took this book looking for a historical fiction novel and this is not historical fiction. its just fiction. which could be okay to someone who is not a fan of Leonardo Da Vinci as a person and an artist. I have to disagree with how the writer portrayed Leonardo as a haughty, self absorbed person. In life he was actually very generous and kind and a delight to be around. And as some have pointed out his relationship with Giacomo was different from how it is described in this book. To be truthful Giacomo was the one that was the haughty trouble maker and not Leonardo.

So i have to say that had i not been a fan of history and the artist of whom this book is about...then i would have enjoyed it more. but as ive been reading it ive just decided that the events and the people in this story are from an alternate reality where Leonardo Da Vinci is a mean, selfish and sometimes stupid person who cant remember to pay his bills. I do care for the main character "Giacomo" and have wanted his life to turn for the better as the story goes on. But i still feel cheated.

How To Kill An Artist in A Thousand Strokes
I have finally finished this insipid piece of historical fiction, faithfully reading each word of it.It is so badly written my fingers itched to pick up a blue pencil at every sitting. Each sentence is more awkward than the last; the "voices" are resolutely modern, thinly disguised with a crass "Ye 0lde Teashop" inflection to produce a laughable idiom which consistently reminds the reader that we are only "making pretend" we are in another century. Although I am more-than-usually willing "suspend my disbelief", Grey's prose irritated me from beginning to end.

The plot is the strongest thing about this novel, and it is contrived and transparent at best. Once or twice we are led to hope for some details gleaned from true research, for instance in the passage in which Tombi promises to initiate Giacomo into the secrets of making colors, but no--the process is tantalizingly dangled in front of the reader for exactly two pages, and then is heard no more. Another reviewer here has said that Grey does not condescend to his teen readers; I beg to differ.He alludes to a "new technique" Leonardo is working on, involving the blending of shadows around the eyes and mouth of a portrait, yet he chooses to withhold the artistic term "sfumato" from his audience, presumably because difficult words are (wrongly) believed to be off-putting to the young.

Finally, I suspect Grey of a hidden agenda, which is to debunk the popular belief that Leonardo was homosexual.In this novel, Leonardo vigorously defends himself against the "accusation", although historically there is no evidence to disprove the idea that he was gay. Giacomo, the young protagonist, is horrified to imagine that he is only being kept by Leonardo until he comes of age, when he will become prey to the painter. Grey, by taking sides in this unprovable, and perhaps irrelevant, debate seems tosay to the readers (or their parents?) "look, you may hear that this great man was homosexual, but I am here to reassure you that it was not so!" How dare he?This is the way research for an historical novel is NOT supposed to work, as I would teach it to my students. One unearths the existing facts and lets them inform the fiction, rather than using the fiction to falsify the existing facts.

I should mention that I am rather fond of good historical fiction. An example is the fine book, King of Shadows, by Susan Cooper, which is both historically accurate and psychologically satisfying.

Frightfully unrealistic
Leonardo's Shadow attempts to recreate late 15th century Milan peopled with 20th century insolent brats and masters who had never understood the servant-master relationship.While Christopher Grey does try to bring into the scene some aspects of Renaissance life, the actions of the characters totally disrupt the concept of life during the Renaissance.The characters from the Duke to Leonardo to the priests and on down to the hero-servant,Giacomo, show that personal relationships during the Renaissance were not understood by the author.Furthermore, the first chapter with its repeated running leitmotif, seems to be a copy of Jerry Spinelli style and especially the first chapter of Milkweed.Choose instead some of the fine non-fiction books on the Renaissance and on Leonardo da Vinci--Amazon has several such books.

An enjoyable way to digest information about Leonardo Da Vinci
Giacomo has been a servant in the house of Leonardo da Vinci for some eight years, since the great artist saved the boy's life after he fell from a cathedral roof. Giacomo doesn't remember his life before the fall, and as the years in Leonardo's service pass, despite his affection for and loyalty to his master, he becomes increasingly interested in finding his parents. While he's concerned with this personal drama, Giacomo also tries to keep creditors off Leonardo's back. Da Vinci, long planning his great painting, The Last Supper, is under pressure from the Duke of Milan to finish the work, and under pressure from scores of local businessmen who have long been extending credit.

Giacomo tells the story of Leonardo's painting and his own roll in its creation in the first person. The prose can feel a bit stilted until you get used to it, and the book sometimes reads like a history lesson. But after a slow start I found Leonardo's Shadow very pleasant reading. Giacomo is a likable character, under-appreciated by his master in particular, and that makes us root for him. (It also probably makes him someone your average teen will identify with.) For the book's intended audience of YA readers, Leonardo's Shadow is an enjoyable way to digest information about Leonardo, The Last Supper, and the 15th century.

-- Debra Hamel

A beautiful period piece that brings the Renaissance to sparkling life
Christopher Grey's Leonardo's Shadow is the story of Giacomo, the servant of genius Leonardo da Vinci. However, this life is not as glamorous as it might seem; Leonardo is desperately poor, being two years behind on his largest commission, the Sistine Chapel, and the Duke of Milan refuses to pay until the work is complete. This leaves Giacomo to plead with merchants to extend their non-existent credit for food (Leonardo is a strict vegetarian) and fuel.

At first glance, the narrative's device of amnesia is a little too overused and convenient; Giacomo wakes from a near-fatal fall to find that he remembers nothing, and as the story moves along, tantalizing clues about his past are revealed (but all is not as it seems). He desperately wants to be a great artist, but Leonardo rarely acknowledges his existence other than to yell at him, let alone give him the drawing lessons he craves, so Giacomo teaches himself by looking at Leonardo's sketches in secret.

He becomes wrapped up in a series of mysterious events including a break-in and dueling with the Duke's spies, even as he faces his greatest challenge: how to get Leonardo to finish the Sistine Chapel? The book's characters and settings are lushly imagined, full of the (sometimes squalid) sights, sounds, and smells of Renaissance Milan. The historical setting immerses Giacomo's story without overpowering it, and the in-depth discussions of Renaissance painting techniques and alchemy were fascinating. The author also confronts the historical assertion that Leonardo was gay (although in this novel, he's asexual).

This was a riveting read that will be sure to delight fans of historical fiction and art lovers alike. There is a wealth of knowledge about Leonardo's inventions, paintings, and daily life in Renaissance Italy combined with a gripping story and vivid characters.
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Product Description
Also available as the fifth book in a five volume set (ISBN#0815329334) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Chiaroscuro - Da Vinci's Passion
I recently purchased Chiaroscuro brand new at a comic's shop, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by it. Vertigo is normally a company whose releases are very thought-provoking and endearing, and CHIAROSCURO is no exception.

The tale concerns the great master Da Vinci, and the sometimes strained relationship he shared with his ward and student, Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno (known as "Salai" or "Little Devil" by mostly everyone, including Da Vinci, who coined this nickname). The romance between Da Vinci and Salai is subtle, which sharply contrasts Salai's relationships with other men and women in the story, where he is highly sexual, underhanded and sometimes abusive (The title itself refers to a painting style which Da Vinci pioneered, a contrast of light and dark colors, fitting for the main character of the tale).

Rescued from his wicked parents as a child, Salai's one goal was having Da Vinci's love and attention all to himself, often resorting to trickery and framing in order to ruin Da Vinci's friendships with patrons and friends. The reader is both attracted to and repelled by Salai, since we are seeing the story mainly through his eyes, and yet the darker side of his personality makes him difficult to stomach at times. Da Vinci himself seems more than forgiving of Salai, even when knowing the young man had set him up, nearly causing him to destroy his "Mona Lisa," and that he had posed in the past for his rival, Michelangelo, for his famous "David."

Despite all his misgivings, perhaps the great master realized that Salai was a bold and impassioned youth in search for love and acceptance, much as we see that Da Vinci himself had been as a young man. Making the same mistakes his own father made, however, Da Vinci chooses not to have sexual relations with Salai in the story, causing Salai to believe Da Vinci does not care for him, and yet Da Vinci clearly has more love and respect for Salai than any other character in the story.

If you're in the mood for a single, well thought out and intriguing romp into the realm of historical fiction in comics, pick up a copy of Chiaroscuro. You won't be disappointed.

SUPERCLIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS
Had kept this book on my wish list but never got down to really placing an order .Saw it at a local bookstore in Mumbai, and picked it up mainly because of the artwork and drawings. Hats off to the team responsible for bringing facts and fiction to life in glorious detailed color.

Have read a lot on Leonardo mainly after "Da Vinci Code", but this was the first graphic book about him.

Don't think twice, just buy it! ... Read more

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Product Description
The classic works of literature contained in each of these volumes represent each author's best and most famous writings. A wonderful introduction to world literature, this finely crafted and affordable series offers the works of these world-renowned authors to a wider audience.Includes The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci and A Treatise on Painting.

Las obras clásicas de literatura en cada volumen son una representación de los mejores y más famosos escritos de los autores. Una introducción maravillosa a la literatura universal, esta serie hermosamente diseñada pone las obras de los autores mundialmente conocidos al alcance de todos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Vale la pena!!!
La coleccion obras maestras es una excelente compilacion de los genios del pensamiento, y este es un tomo que no puede faltar en tu coleccion! ... Read more