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Stać się Leonardem. Słabości i geniusz Leonarda da Vinci
Dlaczego Leonardo da Vinci nie ukończył tak wielu ze swoich dzieł? Dlaczego jako zadeklarowany pacyfista konstruował machiny wojenne dla rodziny Borgiów? Dlaczego przez kilkadziesiąt lat wszędzie zabierał ze sobą Monę Lisę, jednak nigdy nie dokończył jej malować? Dlaczego pisał wspak i czy naprawdę toczył wojnę z Michałem Aniołem?
Mike Lankford przybliża Włochy z czasów renesansu: zapachy, smaki i dźwięki. Czasy wojen, plag i intryg dworskich, zaciekle konkurujących ze sobą artystów oraz tyranów o morderczych skłonnościach i zamiłowaniu do sztuki. Przedstawia życie da Vinci jako powieść przygodową, fascynujące i pełne niebezpieczeństw – ucieczki, przetrwanie wojny u boku przyjaciela, Machiavellego, walka o możliwość tworzenia i niełatwe decyzje, jakie się z tym wiązały. Także te za cenę samotności.
Rozbija mity i buduje Leonarda od nowa. Tworzy dla współczesnych czytelników portret geniusza, który od wieków pozostaje równie tajemniczy jak największe z jego dzieł, będących wyrazem buntu i niewyczerpanym źródłem inspiracji.
Mike Lankford przybliża Włochy z czasów renesansu: zapachy, smaki i dźwięki. Czasy wojen, plag i intryg dworskich, zaciekle konkurujących ze sobą artystów oraz tyranów o morderczych skłonnościach i zamiłowaniu do sztuki. Przedstawia życie da Vinci jako powieść przygodową, fascynujące i pełne niebezpieczeństw – ucieczki, przetrwanie wojny u boku przyjaciela, Machiavellego, walka o możliwość tworzenia i niełatwe decyzje, jakie się z tym wiązały. Także te za cenę samotności.
Rozbija mity i buduje Leonarda od nowa. Tworzy dla współczesnych czytelników portret geniusza, który od wieków pozostaje równie tajemniczy jak największe z jego dzieł, będących wyrazem buntu i niewyczerpanym źródłem inspiracji.
336 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 16, 2017
This is not typical biography. Mark Lankford is not your typical biographer. He is not a researcher, an historian or art critic. He’s a drummer in a band. He has created the most cohesive portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci that I’m aware of. He does this by examining how Leonardo would think and feel under the various circumstances of his life and violence prevalent in Italy at this time.
The story begins in Vinci and Leonardo’s situation as a bastard. Lankford helps you see what Leonardo sees from his hilltop village and what he may have learned from this mother and uncle. His father is a notary in Florence, a 30 mile journey, and Leonardo learns early on not to trust him.
Lankford explains the social strata of Florence and the difficulty of a young artist finding work in a city saturated with talent. When Leonardo is arrested for a morals charge, Lankford described what Leonardo must have been thinking as he waited two months to learn if he would live or die. He shows how Leonardo walked on egg shells under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza constantly having to prove himself be it by painting a mistress, decorating a tomb, arranging the evening’s amusements or providing engineering support for Sforza’s conquests. With Ludovico ’s downfall, Langford shows Leonardo starting over in Mantua, Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan and most improbably with Caesar Borgia. The writing of the last journey, Leonardo at age 67 traveling over the Alps with his two attendants, his Notebooks and the Mona Lisa exquisitely keeps in the style of this book.
The presentation is chronological with each chapter covering a few years and a list of what happened in the world. The writing is casual, as though Lankford is entertaining friends or giving a stand up monologue. For instance when Amerigo Vespucci recognizes that Columbus discovered a continent, Lankford wonders why it is not called Vespucciland and remarks that Leonardo “added corn to his shopping list”.
Lankford knows his history of this time and place well enough to capture it for the reader in a casual phrase. He helps to put together the missing pieces of the Leonardo story, that is, how this incredibly gifted artist came to work for the most brutal (psychopathic) men of his time and place.
This, to me at least, is a new kind of biography. I hope this style becomes a genre so there will be more to read.
The story begins in Vinci and Leonardo’s situation as a bastard. Lankford helps you see what Leonardo sees from his hilltop village and what he may have learned from this mother and uncle. His father is a notary in Florence, a 30 mile journey, and Leonardo learns early on not to trust him.
Lankford explains the social strata of Florence and the difficulty of a young artist finding work in a city saturated with talent. When Leonardo is arrested for a morals charge, Lankford described what Leonardo must have been thinking as he waited two months to learn if he would live or die. He shows how Leonardo walked on egg shells under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza constantly having to prove himself be it by painting a mistress, decorating a tomb, arranging the evening’s amusements or providing engineering support for Sforza’s conquests. With Ludovico ’s downfall, Langford shows Leonardo starting over in Mantua, Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan and most improbably with Caesar Borgia. The writing of the last journey, Leonardo at age 67 traveling over the Alps with his two attendants, his Notebooks and the Mona Lisa exquisitely keeps in the style of this book.
The presentation is chronological with each chapter covering a few years and a list of what happened in the world. The writing is casual, as though Lankford is entertaining friends or giving a stand up monologue. For instance when Amerigo Vespucci recognizes that Columbus discovered a continent, Lankford wonders why it is not called Vespucciland and remarks that Leonardo “added corn to his shopping list”.
Lankford knows his history of this time and place well enough to capture it for the reader in a casual phrase. He helps to put together the missing pieces of the Leonardo story, that is, how this incredibly gifted artist came to work for the most brutal (psychopathic) men of his time and place.
This, to me at least, is a new kind of biography. I hope this style becomes a genre so there will be more to read.
December 6, 2017
A sloppy, snarky self-anointed hipster’s attempt at biography. I picked this up after reading a Wall Street Journal review comparing Lankford’s and Walter Issacson’s biographies of DaVinci. The reviewer criticized the latter for sweeping, unsupportable pronouncements about DaVinci’s character, work, and influence. Lankford is the master of unsubstantiated conjecture. His bibliography is sound, but with no footnotes and only occasional references to the works of other DaVinci scholars — all of whom he seems to dismiss as mere hagiographers— the reader has no idea where Lankford comes up with his at times absurd speculations. Granted, very little is recorded of the man who lived 500 years ago. But just because you can engage in supposition doesn’t mean you should.
Mechanically the book is a mess — cliches, tense shifts even within sentences, missing words, purposeless profanity, and an index that has no correlation to the pages in which the reference actually appears. (Hint: if you want to find a reference listed in the index, start looking about three pages before the one listed.) Wow. The man needs an editor.
Lankford gets a two-star credit for his effort and the book’s final chapter that plausibly examines how society today snuffs out the imaginations of little Leonardos before they have a chance to blossom. On the other hand, anyone paying attention today could figure that one out. Surely, Leonardo deserves more respectful treatment.
Mechanically the book is a mess — cliches, tense shifts even within sentences, missing words, purposeless profanity, and an index that has no correlation to the pages in which the reference actually appears. (Hint: if you want to find a reference listed in the index, start looking about three pages before the one listed.) Wow. The man needs an editor.
Lankford gets a two-star credit for his effort and the book’s final chapter that plausibly examines how society today snuffs out the imaginations of little Leonardos before they have a chance to blossom. On the other hand, anyone paying attention today could figure that one out. Surely, Leonardo deserves more respectful treatment.
April 10, 2017
This is a different biography. As Lankford explains, he took the research done by others and came to his own conclusions. Reading the book is like talking with a friend about a guy he really likes. I learned much about Leonardo's time, and saw the man himself, in a different light.
February 26, 2017
An amusing and thought provoking look at da Vinci, whom I now realize I know far less about than I thought. Interesting conclusions and clever commentary - the Annunciation "Mary has a dandelion problem", in the yard where she's kneeling, had me giggling.
June 9, 2020
3.75/5
A refreshing take on biography that prioritizes a perceptive recreation of inner life over a cautious, academic arrangement of facts. A welcome counterpoint to the lens of “genius” prescribed by Walter Isaacson, Lankford's book explores the potential thoughts and feelings of an eccentric individual not yet fossilized by history into the superhuman Leonardo da Vinci. If anything, I wanted Lankford to push further into Leonardo’s private self; free from the confines of a more conventional biographer or “hagiographer” as Lankford would say, why not excavate Leonardo’s sexuality and desire and broach in greater depth Leonardo’s thirty-year relationship with Salaì? Lankford’s rejection of academic precision leads at times to a certain sloppiness (citing Wikipedia? Suggesting that Leonardo may have been too distracted to paint Mona Lisa’s eyebrows when it’s almost universally accepted that he did originally paint them?) Nevertheless, “Becoming Leonardo” offers an exciting investigation into the meandering spirit of a fascinating man.
A refreshing take on biography that prioritizes a perceptive recreation of inner life over a cautious, academic arrangement of facts. A welcome counterpoint to the lens of “genius” prescribed by Walter Isaacson, Lankford's book explores the potential thoughts and feelings of an eccentric individual not yet fossilized by history into the superhuman Leonardo da Vinci. If anything, I wanted Lankford to push further into Leonardo’s private self; free from the confines of a more conventional biographer or “hagiographer” as Lankford would say, why not excavate Leonardo’s sexuality and desire and broach in greater depth Leonardo’s thirty-year relationship with Salaì? Lankford’s rejection of academic precision leads at times to a certain sloppiness (citing Wikipedia? Suggesting that Leonardo may have been too distracted to paint Mona Lisa’s eyebrows when it’s almost universally accepted that he did originally paint them?) Nevertheless, “Becoming Leonardo” offers an exciting investigation into the meandering spirit of a fascinating man.
May 23, 2021
"[...] oddajemy sobie niedźwiedzią przysługę, kiedy przechwalamy talent. Miło jest chwalić i idealizować, ale pociąga to za sobą ryzyko, że sztuka stanie się niedostępna dla tych, którzy dopiero próbują do niej dorosnąć." 🖤
December 21, 2019
Didn't really learn all that much from this. It's an easy, cursory review of Leonardo's life. At times the author gets bogged down in specific works like the Vitruvian Man, but overall not too shabby
July 24, 2022
Nie skończyłam, nudna trochę
September 3, 2018
This book started slow but ended strong. For quite awhile through the start and into the middle I was picturing a three star review, because so much of it seemed conjectural. Nominally a biography, there were a lot of moments like, "And after a morning trip to the pond Leonardo may have made his way home and helped himself to some morning wine, coffee not being on the menu in Europe for some time yet..." This irritated me a bit because I didn't get why we were spending time on what might, or very well might not, have happened. I also didn't care for the occasionally very casual writing style, sprinkling very informal words and grammar into the text.
Eventually I upped my review for two reasons. First, so little is known about Leonardo da Vinci's life that if you're going to write a book about it (instead of just a list of dates and places) you are going to have to embellish your narrative.
And second, in the end I don't think this is really a biography after all. Yes, it contains the broad sweep of Leonardo's life, and all of the moments that can be put to paper because they are known. But really the book is about trying to re-create the man almost 500 years after his death - certainly a tough proposition, and done successfully enough to warrant another star.
In the end, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. In trying to capture the essence of its unknowable subject I found it rather like Dutch by Edmund Morris. That book, a biography of sorts of Ronald Reagan, created all sorts of fictional events (including injecting the author into the life of the former president) in an attempt to explain the "why." Similarly, Becoming Leonardo takes the information available and tries to put us into the mind of the Renaissance genius, down to creating events and conjecturing on what he may have thought of others (such as Michelangelo, or Machiavelli, or Cesare Borgia) or what others may have contemporaneously thought of him. Even the unliterary language I mentioned earlier has a point, I feel, because Leonardo himself was an intensely independent man, sort of a rebel in his own time. I think the author is trying to capture a piece of the essence of his subject through his writing style.
While conjectural, I enjoyed the parts where Mr. Lankford tried to separate the myth from the man and put the actual person in his relatively obscure context. Leonardo, like so many geniuses died in relative poverty, and fairly unknown. Certainly the breadth of his genius was not appreciated in his time, and his status as among the most famous men of all time came about only centuries after his death. Mr Lankford has put together a tale of this life, some of it factual, some of it reasonable supposition, but all of it trying to explain who the man really was. If that all sounds interesting to you then this book is recommended.
Eventually I upped my review for two reasons. First, so little is known about Leonardo da Vinci's life that if you're going to write a book about it (instead of just a list of dates and places) you are going to have to embellish your narrative.
And second, in the end I don't think this is really a biography after all. Yes, it contains the broad sweep of Leonardo's life, and all of the moments that can be put to paper because they are known. But really the book is about trying to re-create the man almost 500 years after his death - certainly a tough proposition, and done successfully enough to warrant another star.
In the end, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. In trying to capture the essence of its unknowable subject I found it rather like Dutch by Edmund Morris. That book, a biography of sorts of Ronald Reagan, created all sorts of fictional events (including injecting the author into the life of the former president) in an attempt to explain the "why." Similarly, Becoming Leonardo takes the information available and tries to put us into the mind of the Renaissance genius, down to creating events and conjecturing on what he may have thought of others (such as Michelangelo, or Machiavelli, or Cesare Borgia) or what others may have contemporaneously thought of him. Even the unliterary language I mentioned earlier has a point, I feel, because Leonardo himself was an intensely independent man, sort of a rebel in his own time. I think the author is trying to capture a piece of the essence of his subject through his writing style.
While conjectural, I enjoyed the parts where Mr. Lankford tried to separate the myth from the man and put the actual person in his relatively obscure context. Leonardo, like so many geniuses died in relative poverty, and fairly unknown. Certainly the breadth of his genius was not appreciated in his time, and his status as among the most famous men of all time came about only centuries after his death. Mr Lankford has put together a tale of this life, some of it factual, some of it reasonable supposition, but all of it trying to explain who the man really was. If that all sounds interesting to you then this book is recommended.
January 4, 2020
A rare, speculative biography of one of the greatest minds in history. No other treatment of Leonardo da Vinci has given me such a vivid idea of the life and times in which he lived.
Mike Lankford thinks outside the box of existing da Vinci scholarship, and he's unafraid of contradicting whatever bias exists in the historical research. For one, he posits that da Vinci was probably biracial, dyslexic and as defined by his prodigious flaws as by his talent.
The artist makes a stark contrast with his younger competitor, Michelangelo, who was deeply religious, prolific in his accomplishments, conflicted about his sexuality, and well-adjusted to the patronage system of the Renaissance. Da Vinci was likely agnostic, an avid procrastinator, and secure in his own pronounced homosexuality. He barely lived through a series of patrons during times of plague and multiple wars marked by unimaginable violence.
It's refreshing to attempt to see Leonardo da Vinci through the lens of his own precarious time. This would be a time when his skills as a musician and creator of pageantry ephemera were just as important as his aspirations in engineering or the fine arts (as we understand them today). This was a time before electricity and artificial lighting, when the motion of planets and stars constricted and defined the experience of days. This was a time at the advent of the printing press, when intellectual networks and salons were crucial to the dissemination of knowledge and discovery. And it was a time before sanitation, when each dissection was a bare-handed, stomach-turning race against rot and each walk through the streets an obstacle course of human filth and vectors of disease.
I loved this book, even if it helped to further corrupt my faith in humanity (as the image of nineteenth century teenagers playing kickball with da Vinci's skull should do to anybody). I look forward to reading it again and again.
Mike Lankford thinks outside the box of existing da Vinci scholarship, and he's unafraid of contradicting whatever bias exists in the historical research. For one, he posits that da Vinci was probably biracial, dyslexic and as defined by his prodigious flaws as by his talent.
The artist makes a stark contrast with his younger competitor, Michelangelo, who was deeply religious, prolific in his accomplishments, conflicted about his sexuality, and well-adjusted to the patronage system of the Renaissance. Da Vinci was likely agnostic, an avid procrastinator, and secure in his own pronounced homosexuality. He barely lived through a series of patrons during times of plague and multiple wars marked by unimaginable violence.
It's refreshing to attempt to see Leonardo da Vinci through the lens of his own precarious time. This would be a time when his skills as a musician and creator of pageantry ephemera were just as important as his aspirations in engineering or the fine arts (as we understand them today). This was a time before electricity and artificial lighting, when the motion of planets and stars constricted and defined the experience of days. This was a time at the advent of the printing press, when intellectual networks and salons were crucial to the dissemination of knowledge and discovery. And it was a time before sanitation, when each dissection was a bare-handed, stomach-turning race against rot and each walk through the streets an obstacle course of human filth and vectors of disease.
I loved this book, even if it helped to further corrupt my faith in humanity (as the image of nineteenth century teenagers playing kickball with da Vinci's skull should do to anybody). I look forward to reading it again and again.
February 25, 2018
N.B.: The other day I made several mistypes in an email, typing “uniqeu” for “unique,” “unjoy” for “enjoy,” and “wihch” for “which.” I was tired, and I’m not so sure I’m sufficiently rested yet to get through this review typo-free, so buckle up - and accept my apologies up front.
Mike Lankford admits his book Becoming Leonardo is not a work of scholarship but rather his interpretation of historically agreed-upon facts, an admission evinced by the dearth of foot/end notes. I admit Lankford’s interpretation does hold together and has a certain appeal. Whereas generally today we regard Leonardo as almost superhuman, unequaled in art, engineering, scientific insight and panache, Lankford envisions a different Leonardo, a very human Leonardo. Yes Lankford’s view still shows a talented artist, a keen observer, but there is a very human struggle there as well. Those struggles begin with Leonardo’s bastard origins. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, throw in left-handedness which made writing easier to do from right to left than the conventional left to right (I speak from experience here as I am left handed and do find it easier to write right to left), add in possible Asperger’s, a pinch of homosexuality, and mix thoroughly with a stubborn insistence to proceed or delay at his pleasure or torment and out pops Lankford’s Leonardo.
Part of me prefers Lankford’s Leonardo because it gives me a weird optimism of sorts, but part of me needs to hold on to that superhuman Leonardo, to keep him “up there” and special, an effective counterbalance to my daily urge to beg for an evolutionary do-over. Oddly, I guess I simultaneously loved and hated this book. There’s a chance I even “unjoyed” it.
Mike Lankford admits his book Becoming Leonardo is not a work of scholarship but rather his interpretation of historically agreed-upon facts, an admission evinced by the dearth of foot/end notes. I admit Lankford’s interpretation does hold together and has a certain appeal. Whereas generally today we regard Leonardo as almost superhuman, unequaled in art, engineering, scientific insight and panache, Lankford envisions a different Leonardo, a very human Leonardo. Yes Lankford’s view still shows a talented artist, a keen observer, but there is a very human struggle there as well. Those struggles begin with Leonardo’s bastard origins. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, throw in left-handedness which made writing easier to do from right to left than the conventional left to right (I speak from experience here as I am left handed and do find it easier to write right to left), add in possible Asperger’s, a pinch of homosexuality, and mix thoroughly with a stubborn insistence to proceed or delay at his pleasure or torment and out pops Lankford’s Leonardo.
Part of me prefers Lankford’s Leonardo because it gives me a weird optimism of sorts, but part of me needs to hold on to that superhuman Leonardo, to keep him “up there” and special, an effective counterbalance to my daily urge to beg for an evolutionary do-over. Oddly, I guess I simultaneously loved and hated this book. There’s a chance I even “unjoyed” it.
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February 4, 2018I hadn't really interested with Leonardo. Of course his arts, his inventions are amazing. But what can be said about a genius? How to empathize with someone who has it on his hand from the get go? If one needs to struggle to learn something what can be felt about someone who seemed to achieve it effortlessly? admiration tinged by envy and jealousy? on the fight between the great leonardo and the plodding michelangelo, i'm on michelangelo 's corner.
which is of course what this book set out to correct. before future decided that he's a genius and a master, how had he felt about himself? the time he was thought to be dallying, maybe a time of utmost frustration. did every single project he abandoned midway haunt and hang as a failure instead of just a sign of caprice? vision and eccentricity, hadn't that just made him an outsider? and so on and so forth.
good book which managed to avoid superimposing the future and showed him as he probably lived. before the fame, with his weaknesses shown as such, the struggle of living by wit and a hand at the time when body is more fragile and more likely to breakdown or lost; this of course with the usual caveat of the impossibility in knowing the true reality. in the end what i resonate with most is how he seemed to need to break away from his root to grow into himself. been there done that...
4 stars
this still can't beat "agony & ecstasy " which drove people i know (and myself) into adulation for michelangelo. but.. it might actually closer to reality. which kinda makes sense..
which is of course what this book set out to correct. before future decided that he's a genius and a master, how had he felt about himself? the time he was thought to be dallying, maybe a time of utmost frustration. did every single project he abandoned midway haunt and hang as a failure instead of just a sign of caprice? vision and eccentricity, hadn't that just made him an outsider? and so on and so forth.
good book which managed to avoid superimposing the future and showed him as he probably lived. before the fame, with his weaknesses shown as such, the struggle of living by wit and a hand at the time when body is more fragile and more likely to breakdown or lost; this of course with the usual caveat of the impossibility in knowing the true reality. in the end what i resonate with most is how he seemed to need to break away from his root to grow into himself. been there done that...
4 stars
this still can't beat "agony & ecstasy " which drove people i know (and myself) into adulation for michelangelo. but.. it might actually closer to reality. which kinda makes sense..
November 21, 2017
This book is the most unusual biography I’ve ever read. Lankford looks at a person about whom we know much (he left behind a lifetime of notebooks, and was profiled by Vasari, a contemporary), but also little (there is scant information out there about his daily life, for instance). Lankford fills in the gaps with speculation and imagination. When Leonardo left Rome and headed to France- might he have stopped by Florence to visit his friend Machiavelli? And if so, what would they have talked about, and how would the conversation have gone? Lankford has ideas and he wants to share them. Unfortunately, there is a blurred line between fact and imagination throughout the book, and it’s unclear how much of this portrait of Leonardo can be kept for truth.
Where Lankford succeeds is in giving a sense of some of the historical context in which Leonardo lived, for instance, the continuous violence and warring, the much shorter life expectancy, and the need for Leonardo constantly to have and please his patrons in order to make a living. Overall, 3.5 stars: an interesting read but I’d be so curious to compare this with a more traditional biography of Leonardo.
Where Lankford succeeds is in giving a sense of some of the historical context in which Leonardo lived, for instance, the continuous violence and warring, the much shorter life expectancy, and the need for Leonardo constantly to have and please his patrons in order to make a living. Overall, 3.5 stars: an interesting read but I’d be so curious to compare this with a more traditional biography of Leonardo.
January 15, 2019
This book is full of opinion and speculation and posits things we can never know about Leonard Da Vinci. There are some obligatory facts, don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for known facts about this great engineer and artist then you are looking in the wrong place!
And Mr. Lankford makes that quite clear in his brief introductory comments.
And that's what makes this such a wonderful read. I literally could not put it down! I mean, it fell out of my hands when I fell asleep but that wasn't by choice. I usually read two or three books concurrently but everything fell by the wayside when I started reading this delightful gem.
I really feel that Mr. Lankford is presenting the soul of Leonardo in this book. That he has reached into the very heart of the man and presents him in a way never before seen. Oh, there are facts. And he refers you to facts. But the tone and scope of the narrative would be interrupted by too many of them. This is almost stream of consciousness poetry about Leonardo. It reads so easily and so swiftly.
If you have any interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, if you've only heard the name, then treat yourself to a reading of this incredible text.
And Mr. Lankford makes that quite clear in his brief introductory comments.
And that's what makes this such a wonderful read. I literally could not put it down! I mean, it fell out of my hands when I fell asleep but that wasn't by choice. I usually read two or three books concurrently but everything fell by the wayside when I started reading this delightful gem.
I really feel that Mr. Lankford is presenting the soul of Leonardo in this book. That he has reached into the very heart of the man and presents him in a way never before seen. Oh, there are facts. And he refers you to facts. But the tone and scope of the narrative would be interrupted by too many of them. This is almost stream of consciousness poetry about Leonardo. It reads so easily and so swiftly.
If you have any interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, if you've only heard the name, then treat yourself to a reading of this incredible text.
June 7, 2017
Well-immersed in the life and times of Leonardo, Lankford presents the world surrounding this enigma, being aware that we can't know particulars of someone so long ago, yet he is clear when he is speculating. And all this in just 289 pages!
Favorite quote: p. 18 when L. is 15-16 looking on Brunelleschi's dome "He knew how to get up there. A good place to launch a toy bird or even a kite. This dome had come out of a man's mind. In Florence the imagination was real...in Florence a man could think of the most ingenious thing and build it."
Favorite quote: p. 18 when L. is 15-16 looking on Brunelleschi's dome "He knew how to get up there. A good place to launch a toy bird or even a kite. This dome had come out of a man's mind. In Florence the imagination was real...in Florence a man could think of the most ingenious thing and build it."
February 17, 2018
A highly intriguing read. The book reveals itself as a sort of a speculative magnifier. Looking into all the cracks and holes in Leonardo's life. The sum of which is a special kind of genius that gets better as it matures. Many reasonable guesses were made by Leonardo's recorded sayings, actions, and disposition. No glorifying, simply portraying as accurately as possible.
One memorable moment was Leonardo's quiet drawings as Michelangelo's David were unveiled. One can easily infer a sort of disdain between the two that blossomed into bitter rivalry.
One memorable moment was Leonardo's quiet drawings as Michelangelo's David were unveiled. One can easily infer a sort of disdain between the two that blossomed into bitter rivalry.
March 2, 2019
The author doesn’t claim to present new facts, nor does he dispute the agreed upon ones. He simply offers another interpretation and doesn’t seem to mind if you disagree. I loved the way it was written and especially appreciated the effort to provide context. We were provided rich detail about the ongoing wars, living conditions, disease, surroundings, religious beliefs, societal expectations, weather and even smells. The detail brought to life this time period like never before and provided context that is often missing from books about these famous artists and their paintings.
May 30, 2017
This author, Mike Lankford, has succeeded in making Leonardo live again -- as the real, breathing man that he was and not the construct I learned about in art history classes. A man who would have loved sticky notes, Leonardo lives in an age and place we moderns can't truly conceive of, but it's a joy to try through whimsical eyes of the author. Thank you, Mike, for this eccentric, sometimes serious, sometimes humorous (sometimes gory) journey back in time.
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November 22, 2021I've heard the learned speak their insights about Leonardo, now I hear the voice of someone unusual, a creative type, a jazz musician wearing many hats, much like Leo himself. And the novel insights pile up. Mostly conjectured in a conversational tone as between gigs, but there are lots to consider: his late, late start; happenstance counterbalanced with inevitability; and weirdness.
This isn't the definitive book on Da Vinci, but it is a necessary one.
This isn't the definitive book on Da Vinci, but it is a necessary one.
November 18, 2017
Right mix of history with a contemporary writing style
highly recommend. enjoyed contemporary language added to renaissance topic. appreciated that where details were not know, author stated that-instead of winging it. good historic look at de vinci. right amount of details for this art history buff.
highly recommend. enjoyed contemporary language added to renaissance topic. appreciated that where details were not know, author stated that-instead of winging it. good historic look at de vinci. right amount of details for this art history buff.
July 6, 2020
Not really a biography, but not a novel either. A fascinating extended essay on the life and work of Leonardo. More of a commentary and reflection on what we know, what we don't, who Leonardo hung out with. And what a cast of characters! Leonardo, the Medicis, Machiavelli, Leo X, Louis XII, and much more. A perfectly enjoyable read.
June 12, 2019
I borrowed this work of nonfiction from the library. Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist, mathematician, and engineer. He was also very strange, and the author has great insight into what made Leonardo what he became to the world. Recommended.
March 29, 2018
Loved it. Someone finally wrote down what I've been reading between the lines for years. Kudos to Mike Lankford for writing the in the reverse of traditional perspective.
May 28, 2018
Way too much conjecture
September 25, 2020
I really enjoyed this one and learned a lot. Easy read.
May 1, 2021
Light art history reading... a look at the genius and how it all came to be. It was delightful!
September 20, 2022
Review
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only learning about the life of De Vinci but what other renaissance events were happening and the influence it had on De Vinci.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only learning about the life of De Vinci but what other renaissance events were happening and the influence it had on De Vinci.
March 12, 2018
This is hard to review!! I'm so glad I read it. In terms of being worth the time, I would say 5 stars! But, there were certain things that irritated me...
The Good: Fascinating look into his life, based on what facts are available, as well as a lot of best-effort-supposition. I really think Lankford tried his best to keep his guesswork as probable as possible...It's not his fault so little is actually known. I thought he did a great job (most of the time) at being clear about what is fact and what is him filling in the blanks. Very interesting to learn about that time in history, especially where Leonardo's history connected with other historical figures/events.
The Less-Good: Lankford repeatedly used the words "superstitious" and "religious" as if they are synonyms. They are not, and this lessened his credibility in being able to analyze past events without super-imposing modern ways of thinking onto things. (Besides just being pretty condescending!) Also, there were times when he lost his self-restraint and went off hypothesizing without making it clear what is based on fact, and what are his own ideas. I'm big on historical works being clear on this point, out of fairness to the actual people being represented. I would be pretty annoyed if someone wrote about my life, my motives, my hopes and thoughts and dreams as if they knew me, when really they were way off course! As I said above, he usually kept this very clear, which allowed his suppositions to be interesting, rather than buggy.
All in all, I was, to be honest, a little disappointed in Leonardo! My idea of him was quite different than how it turns out he actually was (even going just off the facts, and leaving guesswork aside). I still find him fascinating, but much more human than I guess I had created him to be in my mind...aren't we all :)
I really enjoyed the reading - he's a talented writer. But if you are expecting a David McCullough-esque biography, reset your expectations before you begin!
The Good: Fascinating look into his life, based on what facts are available, as well as a lot of best-effort-supposition. I really think Lankford tried his best to keep his guesswork as probable as possible...It's not his fault so little is actually known. I thought he did a great job (most of the time) at being clear about what is fact and what is him filling in the blanks. Very interesting to learn about that time in history, especially where Leonardo's history connected with other historical figures/events.
The Less-Good: Lankford repeatedly used the words "superstitious" and "religious" as if they are synonyms. They are not, and this lessened his credibility in being able to analyze past events without super-imposing modern ways of thinking onto things. (Besides just being pretty condescending!) Also, there were times when he lost his self-restraint and went off hypothesizing without making it clear what is based on fact, and what are his own ideas. I'm big on historical works being clear on this point, out of fairness to the actual people being represented. I would be pretty annoyed if someone wrote about my life, my motives, my hopes and thoughts and dreams as if they knew me, when really they were way off course! As I said above, he usually kept this very clear, which allowed his suppositions to be interesting, rather than buggy.
All in all, I was, to be honest, a little disappointed in Leonardo! My idea of him was quite different than how it turns out he actually was (even going just off the facts, and leaving guesswork aside). I still find him fascinating, but much more human than I guess I had created him to be in my mind...aren't we all :)
I really enjoyed the reading - he's a talented writer. But if you are expecting a David McCullough-esque biography, reset your expectations before you begin!
May 12, 2020
This was my eighth book while in quarantine. This book has been on my shelf for a while, and I was eager to read it. I knew nothing about the facts of Leonardo Da Vinci's life, and I was not familiar with this author. This book is categorized as a biography, but I'm not sure I would agree with that. This is a book that verges on historical fiction. It's like listening to a charismatic academic lecture on a subject he has spent years pondering, so there is much to enjoy here. I don't know how much actual information exists about the life of Da Vinci, but this is a highly speculative book. For better or worse, there is a strong authorial voice here. When I began this book, I thought it was helpful because it offered context and interpretation for events I was unfamiliar with. As I read along, it started to feel intrusive. I began to feel like I was being told what to believe. By p. 200, it started to feel overbearing. I was talking back to the book, saying, "You don't know that." I could not help but think that if there was going to be so much editorializing, a voice with gay sensibility would be far more appropriate. While this facet of Leonardo's life is mentioned, it is essentially unexplored. For me, that was a real disappointment.
March 15, 2023
I loved this book! Not only because I have a background in Art History, am Italian, but because of the style in which Lankford renders a personal and plausible character in Leonardo. So much is written about Leonard, but this book provides a real, often jarring, context in which Leonardo lived and worked. Renaissance times were repleet with creativity and genius, but the violence and circumstances in which all this progresive thought moved forward was stifling!
The book is engaging, humorous, and written from a different perspective than the factual and historical accounts from which most know the Master, Leonardo!
The book is engaging, humorous, and written from a different perspective than the factual and historical accounts from which most know the Master, Leonardo!
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