The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Leonardo da Vinci (Author), Irma A. Richter (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0192838970 | ISBN-13: 978-0192838971

Throughout his life Leonardo da Vinci carried notebooks in which he scribbled down ideas and opinions as they occurred - personal, domestic, scientific, philosophical, artistic - frequently accompanied by explanatory sketches and diagrams. Surviving manuscripts contain drafts of letters, fanciful fables, rough treatises on the art of painting or the power of water, descriptions of the Medici courts, even jokes. The present selection gives coherence to this rich kaleidoscope of ideas. From it emerges the portrait of a true Renaissance man, whose habit of rigorous enquiry, observation, and experiment, grounded on a philosophic system, led him to conceive of the universe as an organized cosmos corresponding to a work of art.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an excellent selection, with a lot of breadth and depth!"--F.W. Blackwell, Washington State Univ.

"Excellent text for intermediate and upper level courses on the arts and man. Selections are adequate and edited well. Leonardo's ideas are difficult but the translations and brief commentaries at the beginning of each section are helpful to the student and make these ideals accessible to the average student."--Orville V. Clark, University of Wisconsin--Green Bay

"Excellent introduction to one of the most complex aspects of Leonardo's art."--Norman Land, University of Missouri

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192838970
• ISBN-13: 978-0192838971
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonardo's Masterworks, January 27, 2000

By 

rareoopdvds (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (Volume 1) (Paperback)

This 2-Volume collection published by Dover wonderfully exhibits Leonardo's works with his sketches, designs and ideas. If you ever wondered what Leonardo thought, then these are the books to get. The book is set up with the text in two columns; the left in the original Italian, and the right side in the translated English. In those words are written of Leonardo's philisophical ideas, lives of where he lived and his surroundings, his theories on color, perspective, proportion, architecture, foliage, physiology and so many other things that the Great One was curious about. Througout the book and amidst the text are Leonardos sketches, thumbnail sketches, workings of famous pieces such as the Last Supper, some anatomical drawings - and in those pages you can see Leonardo's handwriting which he tended to write backwards. The value and reference is endless, especially for the artist. This edition is reprinted from the 1833 version originally entitled "Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci." This is a 2-volume set, which is sold seperately, but for the price, it is so worth the money. Highly reccomended!

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a 2 Mb pdf, October 18, 2005

By 

Prasad R. Shirvalkar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (vols. 1 & 2) (CD-ROM)

this cd simply has a 2Mb pdf on it with 800+ pages of text.

It is a useful compendium of his works, but has NO images.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How can it be "complete" when there are no pictures?, February 16, 2006

By 

Mark David Martin "bikerdudenc" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (vols. 1 & 2) (CD-ROM)

This is the worst thing I have ever purchased from Amazon! Usually I am a very satisfied customer, but not today! If you are expecting drawings, sketches with this product, forget it! To me the title is very misleading to the point of almost being criminal.

I was expecting reproductions on CD of Lenardo's notebooks, including all of the drawings in those notebooks! Now that on PDF would be worth having. There should be very big warning labels on this page that there are no IMAGES on this CD! The title should be changed to "Incomplete" Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci!

This is nothing more than a CD with 2 pdf files, and one of them is an offer to become a reseller of this kind of material! The nerve! If I could rate this a negative 5 I would. I am so disappointed with this product!