REVIEW: Walter Isaacson's Leonardo da Vinci
Throughout my life, I have spent a great deal of time trying to carve out a comprehensive study of Leonardo's life. The bits and pieces that I had learned through documentaries, cursory mentions in some courses, footnotes, or just chatting with friends did not seem to clarify what I already knew. Like most collectors, one craves the complete set of what one is assembling, and not just odds and ends; it makes the objective worthy of the collector. I feel that gathering insight into the life of a historical figure is analogous to stamp collecting, supplementing the collection with the next acquisition; my knowledge was incomplete. My understanding of Leonardo's life was like a jigsaw puzzle composed primarily of one colour (a snowstorm, for example). I knew that it would involve an enormous investment of time and effort if I were to garner a complete timeline of his life. Therefore, I applaud Mr. Isaacson's epic opus for he has relinquished this ardent task from my hands onto his, and in doing so has given me the benefit of time to digest this marvellous account of one of history's most significant minds.
REVIEW: Walter Isaacson's Leonardo da VinciLife for Leonardo begins as the result of a relationship his father (Piero) had had with a local peasant girl (Caterina) from Vinci. Born out of wedlock to a young woman from a lower social class and a slave of questionable ancestral linage, Leonardo lacked the guidance of a father. His father, Piero, enjoyed some station in life as a notary, a position that carried with its prominence as well as respect, and so he was expected to marry within his social scale. Fortunately, Leonardo had a large extended family, and his wellbeing was never in question. What was in question, though, was Leonardo's heritage. Peiro never legitimized Leonardo's familial station, hoping to eventually sire legitimate children of his own to advance his genealogy.
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Andrea del Verrochio 1435 - 1488 Italian painter, sculptor, and goldsmith |
While apprenticing at the Verrochio studios, Leonardo begins to develop variations in the technique of applying diluted thinner coatings of paint. The use of highly diluted pigment in thin translucent layers allowed shades to evolve with each stroke. Leonardo would also liberally use his fingers ( a technique which would later contribute to the forensic identification of some of his paintings). Included in many of his works of art are recurrent themes such as imaginary landscapes, the introduction of emotional narrative, intense drama, Madonna restraining the Christ child, as well as hints of commissioned pieces ( the Medici symbolic crystal ball for example). Many of these new applications to the art form would become signature recurrent themes for Leonardo throughout his life. Verrocchio's station as an artist was in the way of sculpture, through this medium Leonardo learned how to depict the sculptured elements of painting, that is to say, how a body twisted in motion or the flow of robes and gowns. Leonardo also experimented with Anamorphosis (tricks of perception), The Annunciation.
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| The Annunciation |
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| Ginevra de' Benci |
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| La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) |
As Leonardo matured, so did his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding about art and science. In Leonardo's mind, these two disciplines existed in tandem, becoming a fundamental theme that involved "interconnectedness of nature" that is to say, nature and geometry, the "unity of pattern" or even how the human body simulates the Earth. Leonardo's never-ending fascination with the swirling turbulence of water: a theme he would indulge until the end of his life.
Leonardo habitually carried a tethered lanyard notebook ("zibaldone") around his waist, and in doing so, maintained daily observations of the world around him as they played out. These entries appear somewhat cramped due to the enormous cost of paper, so it was not unusually for every space available to be jammed in willy nilly, and thus give the impression of confusion. His many observations included: variations of an older man with enormous chin and nose (the nutcracker), the unity of nature, the branching of rivers, leaves, and trees, hints to the similarities of life, for example, the branching of veins in trees and humans, trying to solve the circle in the square. There is also an early example of "lamination," and an idea for a city built around sanitation. And true to the Leonardo spirit, many thoughts were left incomplete. His notebooks allow us to glance at Leonardo's left to right " spatial thinking." His most poignant observations came from the study of deaf-mutes. He observed how minute facial expressions and hand gestures among deaf-mutes compensated for the lack of words. For the painting of The Last Supper, Leonardo studied monks at mealtimes where verbalization was forbidden, so they spoke with gestures, their eyes and exaggerated theatrical expressions. These facial nuances, Leonardo incorporated into his paintings, lending them hidden emotions generally overlooked by the casual observer. And so, what was a deficit to some, in Leonardo's capable hands, became an asset.
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| Some Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci |
If Leonardo was so aware of the world around him and so insistent on observation, why then did he leave so many works of art unfinished? There are a variety of reasons based on Leonardo's level of skill and personality. One possibility is that the task at hand may have been too overwhelming for a man who was a perfectionist. The explanation rendered by Vasari (biographer) was that Leonardo's conceptions were "so subtle and so marvellous" that they were "impossible to execute with any level of his grade of faultlessness." It's entirely possible that his hands could not achieve the desired level of perfection that he imagined. Within Leonardo's concept of art, he detected faults in offerings that to others seemed a miracle. An additional possibility is that in attempting to achieve "coherent narration," the principles of optics, the power of light and colour, gradations of shadow, the elimination of random isolated characters, and the balance of light between subjects became dauntingly laborious. He could not ignore an optical problem! One of the most salient points contributing to his artistic delinquencies was that Leonardo preferred the "conception to the execution" of a project; he was easily distracted. It wasn't effortless for him to concentrate on the present when the future was continually beckoning. This was the basis that led to the idea that if a painting were temporarily terminated, in time, better materials, techniques or additional inspiration would happen along ideally contributing to the mastery of the piece. "He was a genius undisciplined by diligence."
While in Milan, his employment centred around plays and pageants, primarily set designs, costumes, scenery, mechanisms, choreography, automatons, gadgets, and music. Leonardo was no stranger to music. He invented a five-stringed lyre called a "lira da braccio," which was often used by poets to accompany themselves when singing their verses. This same instrument was featured in paintings of angels by such artists as Raphael. However, the most significant aspect of his time spent in creating sets and sundries for pageants was how this spurred his interest in birds and flying machine designs. Both, based on the props he was building for the sake of entertainment. This engagement stimulated his fascination in the arts and engineering.
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| Sample of "Codex in the Flight of Birds" |
While living in Florence, his initial observations lead to comprehensive studies of bird flight motion in an eighteen-page folio entitled: Codex in the Flight of Birds. Within this Codex, he explores such concepts as gravity and density. These studies involving the mechanics of bird flight and anatomical design were singular in his idea of flying machines. But, remaining true to the Leonardo foible, the treatise was never completed. Leonard's interests lay more within the scope of the concept than in the eventual publication of said subject. However, he continued to try and explain the science of bird flight in the air as analogous to wave motion in the water. Leonardo was on the cusp of understanding the principles of fluid dynamics. Leonards's hurdle came in the guise of turning insight into plausible theories. However, take into consideration, Leonardo's fundamental theories foreshadowed those of Galileo, Newton and Bernouilli's. Bernouilli's alone by two hundred years.
Often enough, Leonardo would tire of his ambition of achieving self-propelled flight, and direct his efforts into that of gliders. One such da Vinci prototype ( shown to have a functional design), and its reconstruction made credible under the auspices of ITN TV (British network) five hundred years after its initial concept.In addition to the myriad of fascinations, Leonardo made links to machines and human mechanics of motion. He often equated humans to apparatus: the designation of action through cords and sinew. Conclusion: humans as analogous to mechanized tools or devices. His intense study of human anatomy allowed him to cross-reference to engineering, that is, the motion transferred from gears and levers to wheels and pulleys — man in motion.
One can not discuss Leonardo without mentioning "the most spellbinding narrative painting in history": The Last Supper. Here, Leonardo employs everything that is Leonardo, that is, the artful staging of a drama, exaggerated movements, tricks of perspective, theatrical hand gestures, the pinnacle freeze-frame moment. Leonardo's genius in this masterpiece is the use of multiple elements. In a quote from Kenneth Clarke: " a stationary snapshot of crafted gestures." The rest speaks for itself.
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| The Last Supper |
An additional noteworthy work of art was The Battle of Anghiari. This painting is exceptional, but not in the ordinary sense of the word. The Battle of Anghiari depicts an intense theatre of marital conflict. Leonardo described it as "a most beastly madness.", espousing his pacifist sentiments. This painting, like many other of Leonardo's commissions, never saw the light of day. Failure of completion: possible paint adhesion problem, as his final act; he gave up. Invariably, this meant he would never warrant a commission ever again. History now sees him as an "obsessed genius rather than a reliable master painter." Maurizio Seracini, an Italian high technology expert in the use of ultraviolet, infrared imaging technology and ultrasound, believes that Anghiari is hidden behind Varasi's mural Battle of Marciano in Vai di Cchiana. Tests showed that fragments of glaze were the same as those used on the Mona Lisa and St. John the Baptist. In 2012 the investigation was ceased citing conflicting views from several interested parties. The panting has gained prominence due to controversy instead of its completion.
Apart from doing a stint for Cesare Borgia as a military engineer, some time in Rome, Leonardo spent the rest of his days in France. At the age of 64 at the behest of King Francis I of France,
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| Virgin and Child with Saint Anne |
Conclusion:
Leonardo da Vinci, genius, procrastinator, artist. What more can be said of a man who embodied, embraced and defined the Renaissance movement? A man, born uncertainty of caste who was to achieve dynamic plateaus of world-altering genius in profound thought and reasoning, the epitome of the "universal mind." He was a genius, not a craftsman, nor an artisan since so many things were left undone. He enjoyed the challenge of concept, leaving creations idle while being distracted by wholly new projects to which his imagination and intellect were aroused. A man who had problems with mathematics but was able to enjoy visual acuity; like Einstein, he cultivated the thought experiment concept when applied to the unsolvable. He developed a mechanical view of the world, foreshadowing that of Newton. He took advice from his friend Machiavelli, all the while enduring destructive, spiteful criticism from Michelangelo. Later was a friend and intellectual advisor to King Francis I. Leonardo made it a point not to espouse religion during his lifetime, but instead replaced religion with scientific knowledge, in essence, science became his religion. Profound sensitivity made him a pioneer of humanity. A man whose intellectual reward superseded that of any monetary wealth or worldly possessions. The inability to separate fantasies from reality essentially meant to him that fantasies invariably leads to reality. Though this may have been responsible for some of his failings, Leonardo believed that true visionaries are willing to set lofty goals where disappointment is often its only reward.This biography by Mr. Issacson is a fascinating primer into the life of Leonardo da Vinci; however, this should not stop the reader from exploring additional texts, for example, large oversized books designed to study his arts.
This essay, written with complete deference to both Leonardo and Walter Issacson, does not replace reading the book.
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