Leonardo: The Artist and the Man [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Serge Bramly (Author), Sian Reynolds (Translator), Leonardo Da Vinci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

With the aid of Leonardo da Vinci's note books, as well as a wide variety of sources, this biography covers the full life of the great Renaissance painter and architect. It is an account of Leonardo, both as an artist and as an individual. The book charts the artist's family background, childhood and apprenticeship, successes and failures, patronage, travels, interests and friendships. The book include b&w reproductions of paintings and sketchings by da Vinci. All surviving paintings are listed in the text, and there are family trees of Leonardo's family.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140231757
• ISBN-13: 978-0140231755
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Renaissance

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Divine Da Vinci, April 28, 2003

By 

Bruce Loveitt (Ogdensburg, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leonardo: The Artist and the Man (Paperback)

Serge Bramly is a man of his word. The subtitle of this book is "The Artist And The Man," and that is what we get, in a very evenhanded account. There are many fascinating anecdotes and tidbits concerning both the work and the personality of Leonardo. My favorite story concerned the painting of "The Last Supper." Mr. Brambly explains that Leonardo liked to base his figures on real people. He strolled the streets of Milan and sketched many faces in order to come up with the models for Christ's disciples. It was smooth sailing until he tried to find someone "evil" looking enough to base Judas on. Apparently Leonardo dragged his feet on completing the fresco for a year while he searched for "his Judas." The prior of the convent who was keeping tabs on the notoriously slow-working Leonardo finally complained to the Duke of Milan regarding the delay. Called in front of the Duke to explain himself, Leonardo had this to say: "...I have been going every day to the Borghetto, where Your Excellency knows that all the ruffians of the city live. But I have not yet been able to discover a villain's face corresponding to what I have in mind. Once I find that face, I will finish the painting in a day. But if my research remains fruitless, I shall take the features of the prior who came to complain about me to Your Excellency and who would fit the requirements perfectly. But I have been hesitating a long time whether to make him a figure of ridicule in his own convent." In this quote, we get an idea of both Leonardo's working method and his sense of humor. (The Duke, by the way, was delighted by this reply and took Leonardo's side in the matter.) It is impossible to convey the richness of this book in a short review, but Mr. Bramly manages to convey the richness of his subject in what, at 400 pages, is a relatively brief biography. The author discusses Leonardo's famous "mirror writing" and states that it was not an attempt to conceal what he was writing, as Leonardo's notebooks were workbooks rather than diaries. Mr. Brambly says that left-handed people commonly can write from right to left. (I am not an expert and cannot judge this assertion.). The author also discusses Leonardo's homosexuality, his proposed inventions, his forays into architecture and civil engineering, his insatiable curiosity (he performed over two dozen dissections to teach himself anatomy, as well as learning Latin and mathematics in middle-age), and even his diet (Leonardo came to believe in the sanctity of all life, not just human life, and became a vegetarian). Mr. Bramly is not blind to his subject's faults: Leonardo was to some extent lazy (he hated to get up in the morning...something many of us can identify with!); he started many projects but completed very few (he was more interested in the conception than in the completion, plus his mind tended to wander from topic to topic); and he seemed to be pretty much disconnected from "real life" and other people and lost in his dreams and work. A bonus of the book is that Mr. Bramly gives wonderful descriptions of some of the famous people whose paths crossed Leonardo's, such as Cesare Borgia and King Francois I of France. I also can't say enough good things about the quality of the translation from French to English done by Sian Reynolds. There is not one clunky sentence in the entire book. The book is also peppered with many interesting reproductions (mostly black-and-white, but a few color), including an alternate, nude, version of "The Mona Lisa!" Many sketches from Leonardo's notebooks are included, as well. I came away from this book knowing a lot more about Leonardo's work and personality. When this work was first published in Great Britain in the early 1990's it was selected as one of the best books of the year by "The Sunday Times." It's not difficult to see why.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING BLEND OF BIOGRAPHY AND ART HISTORY, April 21, 2000

By 

STEPHEN MATTOX - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leonardo: The Artist and the Man (Paperback)

"Just as a well-filled day brings blessed sleep, so a well-employed life brings a blessed death." These are the words of Leonardo da Vinci, and according to the author, Serge Bramly, would have made the best epitaph for him. What is staggering about Leonardo is not just the volume of what filled his days, but the amazing range of pursuits that filled them. And this must pose a unique challenge to his biographers - a challenge Bramly rises to beautifully. As the title suggests, the primary focus of the book is on art. Bramly examines Leonardo's paintings from technical and aesthetic standpoints, as well as psychologically analyzing the paintings. He cites others who previously did such analysis, including Freud himself. The passages concerning the paintings are simply some of the most enjoyable art history I've read. What is most remarkable is that gradually an image of Leonardo the man emerges through his art. Leonardo's other pursuits (military engineer, city planner, architect, sculptor, anatomist, inventor, to name but some) are also of great interest of course. In these areas, Bramly devotes much space to examining the famous notebooks of Leonardo, and I can say that I have a much better understanding as to the significance and nature of these notebooks than before. The biographical details of Leonardo's life also prove to be quite entertaining. A virtual Who's Who of Renaissance Italy parades through his life, and Bramly gives us an idea of the sort of relationships Leonardo had with them as well as with his own family. Some of the terrain of Leonardo's life is difficult to traverse, his illegitimacy, his homosexuality, his failure to complete so much of what he started, and these issues are dealt with in a straightforward, honest fashion. Bramly's doesn't follow as strict a timeline as most biographies do; he skips around the years quite a bit. But I think this is necessary given Leonardo's wide range of pursuits. He never worked on just one project at a time, and the fact that Bramly follows these pursuits rather than a strict timeline makes the book more coherent than it would be otherwise. There are dozens of black & white illustrations throughout the book, as well as eight pages of color illustrations of some of his more notable paintings. I think that probably 4 pages should be added to the color illustrations. Among the paintings that should be, but are not, shown in color are the Mona Lisa, St. John the Baptist, and the Turin self-portrait. But that's a minor complaint (and one directed more at the publishers than the author). In short, this biography takes a mythical figure and shows him as a man; it takes the miracle of his paintings and other lifework and makes it comprehensible as being the work of that man. The resulting picture is that of a man whose life was more amazing and inspiring than any myth or miracle.

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for passing interest, but..., May 30, 2000

By 

"smucci" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leonardo: The Artist and the Man (Paperback)

The author of this book does a great job in writing this book such that it is fluid and readable without becoming bogged down in dates, details, and other hard to track minutiae. However, if research level detail, in depth analysis and commentary are required, then take a pass on this one as, at best, it can only be used to corroborate facts from other sources.

It also seems as if the author is resisting the tempation to avoid writing his book in such a way that it does not seem to be a hagiography, but unfortunately his efforts falter and crack throughout the book.

In summary, this is a good book for those with a passing interest in Leonardo, or in the period, as it is very readable. But for those looking for research material, this is not the book for you. The book "Leonardo da Vinci, Scientist, Inventor, Artist" by Otto Letze and Thomas Buchsteiner would be more suitable for such a task.