Leonardo: A Restless Genius

ISBN-13: 9781509518524 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 344 str.

Lucinda Byatt

Opis

A visionary scientist, a supreme painter, a man of eccentricity and ambition: Leonardo da Vinci had many lives. The child of a fleeting affair between a country girl and a young notary, Leonardo was never legitimized by his father and received no formal education.

Recenzje

A captivating account of one of the most enigmatic figures in history. This beautifully written and well–documented biography is creative non–fiction at its very best. Based on the facts as we know them, it reads like an enthralling novel.
Patricia Fortini Brown, Professor Emerita of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University

As one might expect from Forcellino, this book is written with verve, it brings major and minor individuals back to life, and it presents an original perspective on Leonardo s art and on his relationships to other artists. While Forcellino′s greatest strength is his close analysis of particular paintings, he deals with the whole range of Leonardo′s work, from his mechanics, optics and anatomy to his most famous paintings and frescoes. This concise but comprehensive book on a many–sided man deserves to be widely read.
Peter Burke, Professor Emeritus of Cultural History, University of Cambridge

"Forcellino s book is outstanding not merely because of the extent to which he incorporates a wealth of new insights on and research pertaining to Leonardo s life at all stages, and to the constantly roiling social and political climate in which lived and worked, but also because of the profundity of detail he so ably provides to lure readers deep beneath the surfaces of Leonardo s works paintings, unfinished paintings, and drawings alike. Where he does so thematically or allegorically as an art historian might not always shed novel light on matters of interpretation, but his prose and pacing are by and large so casually gripping that those details are no less irresistible than the true gifts he provides his readers punctilious, scrutinizing descriptions of process and materials. This is where Forcellino s book truly shines, and where his work as a restorer of artworks informs his analysis in penetrating ways, allowing readers to feel that they re learning key aspects of the secrets of the trade."
Paul D′Agostino, Hyperallergic

Spis treści

• Prologue
• Part One. ILLEGITIMATE SON
• 1. The Summer Child
• 2. In Florence
• 3. Verrocchio s Workshop
• 4. Drawing
• 5. Early Experiments in the Workshop
• 6. Epiphany
• 7. Rebel Without a Cause
• 8. The Accusation
• 9. The Kite and the Vulture
• 10. Other Distractions
• 11. The New Humanity
• 12. Leonardo s Technique
• Part Two. IN MILAN
• 1. Virgins and Lovers
• 2. At Ludovico s Court
• 3. The Virgin of the Rocks
• 4. Portrait of a Legend
• 5. Anonymous Portraits
• 6. Theatre and Science
• 7. The New Science
• 8. Salai
• 9. The Phantom Horse
• 10. The Last Supper
• 11. Addio Milan
• Part Three. BACK TO FLORENCE
• 1. A Fatherless Family
• 2. The Madonnas of the Yarnwinder
• 3. The Human Beast
• 4. Real Wars and Mock Battles
• 5. Waiting for Glory
• 6. Body and Soul
• Part Four. IN EXILE
• 1. Rome. The Great Illusion
• 2. A Modest Apartment
• 3. Leonardo and Rome
• 4. The Three Paintings shown to Cardinal Luigi d Aragona
• 5. A World of Women
• 6. The Mysterious Woman
• 7. The End
• 8. Inheritance
• Notes
• Plate Credits
• Index

O autorze

Antonio Forcellino is a leading European authority on Renaissance art who has restored works of inestimable value, including Michelangelo s Moses and the Arch of Trajan in Benevento. He is the author of Michelangelo: A Tormented Life (Polity, 2009) and Raphael: A Passionate Life (Polity, 2012).