Inventing Leonardo [Paperback]

Leonardo da Vinci (Author), Richard A. Turner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520089383 | ISBN-13: 978-0520089389 | Publication Date: October 6, 1994

As he examines the changing views of Leonardo since the sixteenth century, A. Richard Turner both gives the reader a cultural history in brief of western Europe during this period and provides a context for examining Leonardo's relevance to our own ways of perceiving and interpreting the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A masterpiece of critical thinking, this eloquent and wide-ranging study aims to create an outline history of Western thought by reviewing the life and legacies of a great master. Turner explores Leonardo da Vinci's reputation throughout the past four centuries, chronicling his evolution from little-known and misunderstood theoretician to revered icon present in all artistic hagiographies. In addition to many others, the writings of Paul Valery and Walter Pater regain a prominence they've long lacked, and Giorgio Vasari's famous early biography receives a thorough examination. Turner's eloquence builds up to the final section, "Leonardo Now," which brilliantly caps the book by looking at the artist through the lens of 1990s philosophical issues--the "late modern" age considering the early modern. Central to Turner's thesis is his assertion of Leonardo's relevance, given the present-day obsession with individual autonomy and order in an increasingly violent and disunited world. Despite the ambition of his project, Turner has gracefully avoided making excessive generalizations and has produced a fascinating and learned historical investigation. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.
- Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A clever conceit--how each century creates its own version of Leonardo, revealing truths about both the painter and the evolution of culture--artfully constructed. Turner (Fine Arts/NYU) begins with the familiar facts of Leonardo's life--illegitimate birth in 1452; apprenticeship to Verrocchio; years of wandering, etc.--making the important point that Leonardo's skills focused almost obsessively on engineering, painting, and human anatomy. Nonetheless, when Giorgio Vasari whipped up the Leonardo legend in the 16th century, his subject became known as the Renaissance man par excellence, a universal genius who brought order and measure to all human knowledge. In the 17th century, Leonardo was celebrated as a master technician and the greatest theoretician in the history of painting. Two hundred years later, he was acclaimed as an early scientific genius. The Victorians, especially Walter Pater, cited his freshness of vision. Paul Val‚ry and Sigmund Freud tried to fathom his mind (Turner calls Freud's psychobiography of Leonardo ``Romantic fiction''). And what of our age? For Turner, Leonardo expresses a belief in the ``autonomous I'' and the ``observant eye'' that we no longer hold, but he finds the painter to be impressively modern in his trust in the body. The future will discover its own Leonardos, for he was ``the consummate private man''--a receptive medium for the concerns of any age. Kinetic intellectual history, colorfully daubed, of a painter every bit as evocative as...say,...the Mona Lisa. (Sixty-nine illustrations--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (October 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520089383
• ISBN-13: 978-0520089389
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An in depth look at Da Vinci, March 1, 2005

By 

William D. Tompkins (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inventing Leonardo (Paperback)

Not a book for a reader to explore Davinci for the first time--but more of an advanced look at the style and creativity of the subject. The most interesting analysis of the book is the fact that Davinci could not help himself to learn and explore. He was driven to it almost to the point of addiction. Even when the church got in his way he figured out to circumvent the obstacles.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lively look at Leonardo in fact and myth., May 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Inventing Leonardo (Paperback)

Unlike just another standard biography or monograph, this book makes a useful contribution to the already crowded arena of Leonardo studies. The black-and-white illustrations are barely adequate, but there is a particularly helpful bibliography. Recommended for art history faculty and advanced students.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Philosophical Look At The Maestro, September 18, 2000

By 

Jeff Marzano (Essex Junction, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inventing Leonardo (Paperback)

This book attempts to summarize the vast amount of information that has been written about Leonardo during the 500 or so years since his death. I bought it after seeing the author on the A & E Biography episode about Leonardo.

On the show the author indicated that Leonardo was not at all like a modern scientific thinker.

I think people can relate to Da Vinci more easily than they can to someone like Einstein. Einstein could not have painted the Mona Lisa but then Leonardo didn't invent the theory of relativity either.

But the Mona Lisa is something that the average guy on the street can relate to while the theory of relativity can only be understood mainly by scientists.

Da Vinci may not have been so much a genius as someone who did many things well and had a very active and energetic mind. He represents as much the spirit of achievement as actual achievements. He seemed to have so much mental energy that learning was something he simply had to do. It was not optional for him.

What makes Da Vinci interesting is the unique combination of artistic and scientfic interests that he had. Some of Leonardo's notebooks were recovered relatively recently from a historical point of view so the idea of da Vinci as a Renaissance genius is a pretty new idea.

At the end the book he attempts to maybe clarify and expand on the earlier material so that Leonardo can be re-invented hopefully more accurately for our era. In fact if Leonardo da Vinci had never existed someone probably would have invented a fictional person like him. Someone who knew basically everything which of course Leonardo did not but people sometimes like to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Quite a bit is said about the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa appears to be a self portrait by Leonardo, not of his physical life as Leonardo, but of his soul. Old, peaceful, content, mysterious.

It also talks about a painting of some guy with snakes crawling out of his head which was mistakenly (?) attributed to Leonardo for many years. Leonardo had some problems.

The author expresses some resentment that the fields related to the humanities are held in low esteem these days by some people. The author's writing style indicates he's into philosophy. This is not a book for someone trying to get a general idea of what Leonardo was interested in and why he is considered by some to be a genius. It's more about understanding the maestro from a philosophical point of view.

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