Leonardo Da Vinci in His Own Words

by William Wray

This book captures the beauty and genius of Leonardo da Vinci's writings, which are accompanied by his evocative sketches and drawings. Discover the farsightedness and brilliance of the mind that brought us some of the greatest artwork and most incredible inventions from the Mona Lisa to the hot air balloon. The text is concentrated on four Science—observations of the physical worldMechanics—looking at wheels and weight, swimming and flightArt—color, form, light, proportion, and moreLife—tales and allegories, and the nature and meaning of life

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ella Fradgley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wholesome collection of quotes. I think what was most impactful for me was one of the quotes at the start where Leonardo had written “Seeing that I can’t find any object of great utility or pleasure, because the men who have come before me have taken for their own all useful and necessary themes, I will do like one who because of his poverty, is the last or arrive at the fair, and not being otherwise able to provide for himself takes all the things which others have seen and not taken but refused as being of little value.” To think Leonardo, at this early stage in Western art history felt all ideas had been exhausted, is comforting as it shows that at every stage it has felt impossible to imagine the next, that your ideas won’t be able to advance, and yet at every stage we do keep evolving.

[Analuabc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro com citações de Leonardo e apreciações e explicações das mesmas. Passa um pouco pelas várias facetas do trabalho e vida de Da Vinci.

[Dulce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um dos meus pintores, escultores e não só, favoritos e ter a oportunidade de ler os seus pensamentos, as suas palavras, pensamentos é estar um bocadinho mais próxima deste génio.

[Bibiana Krall · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions."

Leonardo DaVinci is my biggest, most ridiculous man-crush ever. He was an awe inspiring painter, a scientist, thinker, philosopher, a Renaissance man who inspired kings to create libraries, and support other artists and an avid student of the natural world. "Nature does not break her law; Nature is constrained by the logical necessity of her law which is inherent in her."

I could go on and on about how influential he still is today. His sketches and ideas for flying machines alone put him way ahead of his time. He was the first to discuss the science of flight with his "ornithopter" sketches in the 1480s and the inventor or at the very least inspiration for modern aviation as we know it today.

This book is a good introduction to a few of his bold and ground-breaking ideas.

It's not as in-depth as I had initially hoped, but it does have some gorgeous etchings, sketches and quotes that give the reader an inkling of the great mind known across the globe for his iconic and mysterious painting in the Louvre, La Gianconda or The Mona Lisa.

"Of the four elements water is the second in weight and the second in respect to mobility. It is never at rest until it unites with the sea..." This study of hydrology and the ideas behind it have long been a mystery to me. That anyone looked so closely at weather systems that they would make this conclusion during a time most people were not educated and leeches were still used by medical professionals for many health issues.

There are many more quotes and short chapters devoted to elements, light, the human body and many other things.

If you want to own a beautifully bound book with an introduction to Leonardo's brilliant mind, this is a wonderful choice. I am very happy to have it it my bookshelf. It would make a beautiful gift as well.

If Dr. Who ever shows up with The Tardis. Leonardo DaVinci is who I'm going to hang out with first, maybe forever.

[Meryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I've never taken such a GREAT interest in Da Vinci as a person, but I always liked his artwork. He's absolutely astounding! An actual genuis! The ways he tells things, how he will describe something in the quotes that are written all through this book, he's just incredible.

William Wray really writes little in this book though because it's mostly Leonardo quotes and pictures/paintings (which are beautiful). Seems like a Get Rich Quick way of publishing, but it was published (and I read it) so... yeah.

But anyone interested in REAL genuises will like this book. Just imagine him, Da Vinci, telling you the proper way of scrutinizing people ad analzing nature, appreciating an overturned leaf and the structure of a man body. There are some pretty amazing facts in here straight from the ambidextrous painter!

[Sarip Dol · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first worthy-of-display book for 2017. This is a brief glance through, a journey venturing into Da Vinci's development from the early years to his death.

A great book to understand this embodiment of Enlightenment, his art techniques as well as philosophy, to appreciate him and his innumerable legacies better.

An easy read, suitable for a chill evening or as an intersperse-reading. Would have given it 3.5 tho.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many sketches and quotes from his notebooks. It's not extensive, but a great introduction to his genius. This book does a good job of showing the insight he had in such a broad range of subjects. It's amazing how ahead of his time he was.

[Michael Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friends of the HHI Library find. A beautiful edited book of Da Vinci's illustrations with his writings on those subjects. Truly a genius on many levels.

[Velvetink]

http://en.bookfi.org/s/?q=Da+Vinci+&a... pdf