Synopses & Reviews
The genius non-specialist: From key points in anatomy to plans for vehicles, planes, helicopters and submarines One of the most fully achieved human beings who has ever lived, Leonardo remains the quintessential Renaissance genius. Creator of the world’s most famous painting, scientist, philosopher, builder, he is credited with defining the accomplishments of the great flowering in human consciousness.
Leonardo's extraordinary curiosity is recorded in his thousands of notes and sketches where he not only demonstrates his remarkable graphic precision but also anticipates some of the greatest discoveries and inventions that would follow him, from key points in anatomy - such as the principles behind blood circulation - through to planes, helicopters and submarines. Leonardo also advanced numerous artistic techniques, achieving a particular psychological depth in paintings such as the
Last Supper and the enigmatic
La Gioconda or
Mona Lisa.
This book brings together all of Leonardo's autograph paintings alongside a selection of his most significant and impressive drawings, celebrating the man that not only anticipated much of modernity, but influences and inspires it to this day.
About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
Synopsis
The genius non-specialist: From key points in anatomy to plans for vehicles, planes, helicopters and submarines One of the most fully achieved human beings who has ever lived, Leonardo remains the quintessential Renaissance genius. Creator of the world's most famous painting, scientist, philosopher, builder, he is credited with defining the accomplishments of the great flowering in human consciousness.
Leonardo's extraordinary curiosity is recorded in his thousands of notes and sketches where he not only demonstrates his remarkable graphic precision but also anticipates some of the greatest discoveries and inventions that would follow him, from key points in anatomy - such as the principles behind blood circulation - through to planes, helicopters and submarines. Leonardo also advanced numerous artistic techniques, achieving a particular psychological depth in paintings such as the
Last Supper and the enigmatic
La Gioconda or
Mona Lisa.
This book brings together all of Leonardo's autograph paintings alongside a selection of his most significant and impressive drawings, celebrating the man that not only anticipated much of modernity, but influences and inspires it to this day.
About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:
- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
About the Author
Frank Zöllner wrote his doctoral thesis on motifs originating from Antiquity in the history of art and architecture of the Medieval and Renaissance periods (1987). He is also the author of a postdoctoral treatise on motion and expression in the art of Leonardo da Vinci, published in 2010. He has published numerous works on Renaissance art and art theory, and on 20th-century art. Since 1996 he has been Professor of Medieval and Modern Art at the University of Leipzig. For TASCHEN he has authored the XL monographs on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.