Leonardo da Vinci (Isaacson book)

Leonardo da Vinci
AuthorWalter Isaacson
LanguageEnglish
GenreBiography
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
2017
Pages624 pp.
ISBN9781501139161

Leonardo da Vinci is a 2017 biography of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci. The book was written by Walter Isaacson, a journalist, biographer and former executive at CNN and president of the Aspen Institute.[1]

Contents

The book details Leonardo's life, paintings, notebooks, work on maths, science and anatomy, and his sexuality. It focuses primarily on his notebooks but also covers his paintings. The book tackles the controversies surrounding the attribution of the paintings La Bella Principessa and Salvator Mundi to Leonardo.[2] Isaacson has stated that the book does not contain any new discoveries about Leonardo.[3] At the end of the book, Isaacson gives a list of lessons to be learned from Leonardo's life. An example is "be curious, relentlessly curious".[4][5] The front cover has the portrait of Leonardo held at the Uffizi museum.[6]

Reception

The book became a number-one New York Times Best Seller on its 2017 list.[7][8] Robin McKie of The Guardian described the book as "sumptuous, elegantly written and diligently produced".[2] Bill Gates, who owns Leonardo's Codex Leicester, wrote "I've read a lot about Leonardo over the years, but I had never found one book that satisfactorily covered all the different facets of his life and work."[9] Joshua Kim of Inside Higher Ed theorized that the $450 million sale price of Leonardo's painting Salvator Mundi in November 2017 may have been influenced by the book.[10] Jennifer Senior of the New York Times wrote:[5]

I'm not sure the role of art critic suits him. Isaacson's enthusiasm is admirable, but he hails many of Leonardo's creations in the same breathless tone with which a teenager might greet a new Apple product. The words "brilliant," "wondrous" and "ingenious" come up a lot.

Senior also criticized Isaacson's "Learning from Leonardo" summary at the end of the book, describing it as a form of "TED-ism".[5] When comparing Isaacson's book to Mike Lankford's Becoming Leonardo (2017), Daniel J. Levitin of the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Mr. Isaacson's book feels cobbled together, as if written on deadline, while Mr. Lankford seems to have taken all the time he needed."[11] Alexander C. Kafka of the Washington Post wrote:[4]

Isaacson's approach, true to his background, is fundamentally journalistic. No intellectual peacocking for him, and though his writing is certainly graceful, it is never needlessly ornate. But make no mistake: He knows his stuff ...

Film adaptation

In August 2017 Paramount outbid Universal Pictures for the rights to turn the book into a film. It was decided that Leonardo DiCaprio (who is named after the polymath) would play Leonardo da Vinci.[12] This did not work out, so Universal bought the rights to it in 2023. (Universal had adapted Isaacson's 2011 biography of Steve Jobs into a film in 2015.)[13] Andrew Haigh was chosen to direct the Leonardo film.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "CNN: Head of news network to step down". The Chicago Tribune. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  2. ^ a b McKie, Robin (October 23, 2017). "Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography review – portrait of an easily distracted genius". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Morrison, Blake (December 16, 2017). "Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography by Walter Isaacson review – unparalleled creative genius". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Kafka, Alexander (October 12, 2017). "How to unlock your inner Leonardo da Vinci". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Senior, Jennifer (November 1, 2017). "Walter Isaacson's 'Leonardo da Vinci' Is the Portrait of a Real Renaissance Man". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Isaacson, Walter (2017). Leonardo da Vinci. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 450. ISBN 978-1-5011-3915-4.
  7. ^ "A Conversation with Walter Isaacson | Brunswick Group". www.brunswickgroup.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  8. ^ "Combined Print and E-book Nonfiction Books – Best Sellers". New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Gates, Bill. "Leonardo is one of the most fascinating people ever". gatesnotes.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Kim, Joshua. "Why I'm Pretty Sure the Isaacson da Vinci Book Is Behind the $450 Million Sale". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Levitin, Daniel (October 13, 2017). "Review: There Will Never Be Another Like Leonardo". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  12. ^ Fleming, Mike (August 12, 2017). "Update: Paramount Wins Leonardo Battle: Lands Walter Isaacson Da Vinci Book For DiCaprio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Kuta, Sarah. "A New Leonardo da Vinci Biopic Is Coming to the Big Screen". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (May 2, 2024). "Universal's Leonardo da Vinci Film to Be Directed by 'All of Us Strangers' Helmer Andrew Haigh (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "'All Of Us Strangers' director Andrew Haigh to helm Leonardo da Vinci biopic". The Hindu. May 3, 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved October 4, 2024.