Leonardo & His Times

This is one of the best Eyewitness books. It taught me a lot not only about Leonardo DaVinci but also about the beginning of the Renaissance. The focus on Italy was quite illuminating and I wonder why this topic is rarely introduced in school K-12. Usually one has to wait until high school if not college to learn about the time period. This book is a great introduction for students and I will share it with mine.

I felt this book was tremendous for not only finding out what Leonardo's famous paintings are but also to compare his paintings to the works of many others. This book is full of paintings and sculpture. You're not going to get an in depth discussion of the history and theories behind each painting but I don't think that's the intent of a book like this. There's a lot of good information at the end also about famous artists of the Renaissance. Leonardo's painting talents were not only in his technique but also in the ideas and arrangements for the paintings. For example in 'The Last Supper' the figures are arranged in a unique way and 'The Virgin of the Rocks' introduced completely new ideas. Many other painters benefitted and used some of these ideas. Leonardo had a tremendous talent for painting the human face and accurately capturing the affects of light and shadow in paintings. He viewed painting as a science really which I think was more or less one of his unique characteristics. This book also mentions some of Leonardo's criticisms of others. Leonardo was never one to hesitate to criticize other people. He made a famous statement one time that many people are nothing more than consumers of food and producers of waste.

THIS BRIEF VOLUME ON LEONARDO IS CLEARLY NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE BIOGRAPHY, NOR DOES IT PROVIDE A DETAILED ANAYSIS OF EACH SURVIVING MASTERPIECE. IN 116 PAGES OF TEXT, SUCH A TASK IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE. WHAT IS PROVIDED IS A CONCISE AND VERY WELL-ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO LEONARDO'S OUTPUT AS PAINTER. IN THIS REGARD THE VOLUME WORKS QUITE WELL, AND THE ILLUSTRATIONS AND DETAILS FURNISHED ARE REAL STRENGTHS. I FOUND THE COMPANION VOLUME FROM THIS SERIES ON CARAVAGGIO AN EXCELLENT COMPANION TO PETER RABB'S BIOGRAPHY OF THAT PAINTER, AND I EXPECT THAT THE LEONARDO VOLUME WOULD BE EQUALLY USEFUL AS A GUIDE IN THE READING OF A MORE DETAILED BIOGRAPHY OR STUDY.