- Hardcover: 600 pages
- Publisher: Taschen; illustrated edition edition (Feb 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 3822817341
- ISBN-13: 978-3822817346
- Product Dimensions: 50.8 x 33 x 9.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 9 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#712,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #39 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( D-F ) > Da Vinci, Leonardo
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Lying open, this unutterably wonderful book is almost the size of the Mona Lisa and about as hefty as a slab of The Last Supper's monastery wall. All 34 paintings are here (including what we know of the lost ones), many with huge and immensely illuminating details, plus 663 drawings. The reproductions are stunning, on paper sturdy enough to serve as wings on some of the flying machines depicted on pages 644 to 671. The precision of the images amazes: the delicate petals fingered by the larger-than-life-size baby Jesus in Madonna of the Carnation; the wailing, dismembered victims of Leonardo's scary scythed chariots; Mary's transparent drapery in the Annunciation; the bands of sunlight streaking each swirling curl of Ginevra de Benci; Mona Lisa's gossamer veil and intricately embroidered gown; even, unless my eyes deceive me, one of the fingerprints Leonardo famously left while daubing paint by hand. The text by Frank Zollner (and Johannes Nathan, who discusses the drawings) teases out meanings and sketches historical context without overloading his scholarly brush. Without it, one might have overlooked the dim crucifix on which St. Jerome fixes his blazing gaze, and quite misunderstood the sexist Hippocratic delusions that inform The Sexual Act in Vertical Section: "A tube-like duct leads from the woman’s breasts to her womb, while the male organ is directly linked not only to the testicles but also…to the brain." (Zollner’s discussion of the erotic subtext of some of the artwork suggests that Leonardo's male passion was not necessarily so rational.) The brief accounts of Leonardo's esthetic combat with Michelangelo and Raphael suggest that you don't need a scythed chariot to cut off an opponent at the knees. The famous quotes by everyone from Nietzsche to Warhol are well selected, especially Freud diagnosing Leonardo's genius as residing in his childlike sense of play. That's a key to the spirit of this book: it's more fun than a week in the Louvre. –Tim Appelo
Book Description
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This XXL-format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo's masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes.
* Part I explores Leonardo's life and work in ten chapters, drawing upon his letters, contracts, diary entries, and writings. All of his paintings are presented and interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on large double-spreads.
* Part II comprises a catalogue raisonni of Leonardo's paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation. Each and every painting that can be justifiably attributed to Leonardo is included here; thanks to new findings and scientific research, this is the first time his definitive painting oeuvre is being published.
* Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc). Over half of the drawings included were provided by Windsor Castle, marking the first time that the Castle has allowed a publisher to reproduce so many of their drawings.
This sumptuous TASCHEN offering is the most thorough and beautifully produced Leonardo book ever published.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mammoth achievement,
By A Customer
This review is from: Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings and Drawings (Hardcover)
Not much more to add to what's already been said. This is a big investment of space as well as money, but I'm glad I have it, I've never seen an art book that compares, for Leonardo or any artist for that matter. Absolutely beautiful.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing,
By David Sulkers (Winnipeg) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings and Drawings (2 Vol.) (Paperback)
This is simply a stunning book. The pictures are of amazing quality and the text I found to be informative and easy to understand. Highly recommended.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hold on to your books on the paintings!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings and Drawings (Hardcover)
I was literally aghast when I opened this giant, lavish production to see page after page of the paintings bound right down the center and into the spine of the book. I can't imagine what the publisher was thinking. Tashen books are never really good books, but could they really exercise such poor judgement when using such a large amount of resources?On the positive side, the drawings are excellently reproduced and are rarely split. Fortunately, they constitute the vast majority of the book. However, the book should be purchased for the drawings only. The treatment of the paintings is offensive. So much for a comprehensive source on Leonardo. Hold on to those books on the paintings, when you buy this one!
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