For those who are interested in the highly controversial world of art conservation/restoration, this book is a must. For the first time in English, we have an in-depth account of the 20-plus year intervention on Leonardo's masterpiece, the Last Supper. The project, applauded by some and decried by many, is documented here with hundreds of color illustrations and an essay by the chief conservator of the project. This is largely the Italians' point of view, which is highly controversial. But as the English-language editors say in their preface, it is important that all informed voices be heard in the debate as to the originality of Leonardo's hand and just what sort of intervention was appropriate to this situation.

The focus of this book is the controversial restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, an icon of Renaissance art and a fresco that was in trouble from the time Leonardo painted it using nontraditional fresco techniques. The difficulty of the restoration just completed lay in the problems of the original, which began to flake and and self-destruct soon after its completion. A number of attempts at restoration over the past several hundred years resulted in the destruction and/or replacement of a good deal of the original, and the contemporary restoration was an attempt to undo past mistakes and reveal as much as possible of the remaining original while preserving the piece. The extraordinary color images in this book depict virtually every square inch of the fresco before, during, and after the just-completed restoration. It is the best documentation we will ever have of a remarkable work and the struggle to keep it from vanishing.

The book Leonardo da Vinci in my opinion was a truly remarkable book. Unlike most biographies this book focused more on the achievements and ideas of da Vinci rather than his entire life story. It told about the many inventions and philosophies written down in da Vinci's journals. If you like reading informational books and you like Leonardo da Vinci, then I strongly recommend that you get this book and actually read it.

I have long believed that the most talented person who ever lived is Leonardo Da Vinci. The phrase "Renaissance Man" could have been coined simply as a response to his accomplishments. One of the greatest artists of all time, he also anticipated many products used in both war and peace. However, it is not well-known that he was also a writer of fables for children.
While his fables are not of a caliber that will match his efforts in other areas, they are very good and most have morals along the line of the classics by Aesop. Very few are more than a page and are brilliantly illustrated although not by Da Vinci. I began reading the book and was so captivated by the tales that I completed it in two settings separated only by a required trip to a children's performance.
This is another one of the books that I have placed on the required reading list that I keep for my children. It describes situations that adults face every day in a non-frightening way and in a language that children can relate to.

This is just plain fun. I kind of expected it to be die-cut, punch out kind of stuff, but it was actually something of challenge. That's fine by me because I build paper models as a hobby. I guess the scissors across the front cover should've been a clue.

The finished products look great on your desk and the screened color and detail look quite realistic.

My only gripe with this excellent piece is that it doesn't include Leo's most intriguing work, his winged flying machine!

Ritchie Calder's book provides a lovely introduction to the life's work of Leonardo DaVinci. It's suitable for readers of all ages.
The author (1906-1982) specialised in books introducing people to science and all its adventures, and although he traces the development of Leonardo's art, the science angle is what the book focuses upon.
Especially interesting is the story of Leonardo DaVinci's explorations of anatomy (note - they had no refrigerators in those days...!)
I believe this book gives a balanced introduction to DaVinci - I know it encouraged me to seek out more information on him in books and on the Web.
Even a brief perusal of what Leonardo did, and of how he observed the world, encourages the thought that we are lucky to live in such a beautiful and interesting world.

This book is a very informative book about Leonardo. It has all the details about his life, his paintings, his family, his models etc. I say everyone should read this imformative book. If anyone wants to learn about Leonardo, I suggest this book to read.

In my mind, there is no doubt that Leonardo da Vinci was the most talented person who ever lived. To the joy of us all, he was also one of the most prolific, drawing and painting everything in sight. Children need to learn about such people and how they enrich our lives from generation to generation. In this book, Hart and illustrator Susan Hellard capture the essence of da Vinci in a manner that is clear to children of elementary age. His passion for art and his diverse nature of exploration are clear and show how amazing he was. One can only wonder at how many patents he would have been awarded had there been such a thing when he lived. This is a book that should be read by all children.

In this media-saturated age, young children are surely not be deprived of images to watch. But how many are encouraged to reflect on the beauty and power of art?

As the mother of a six year-old, I'm grateful for the appearance of this series, The Life and Work of... There aren't many art books for children this age; most are simply too long and involved for young children. Leonardo Da Vinci is filled with large type text, beautiful reproductions, attractive illustrations that advance the story, photos of Italy and France, and, most important, a colorful narrative that is sure to appeal to children 4-8. Given the helpful glossary at the end, I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't add a pronunciation guide for names like Andrea del Verrochio. Still I won't take a star away from this series for the error, because I believe the book is more profitably shared by parent and child than read on its own.

If you don't know much about art but know what you like, this might be the sort of book for you. Leonardo's life is described in this basic biography, focusing on his famous works of art (finished and unfinished) and on his supporting works as well (sketches, architectural and mechanical ideas). The book is printed on glossy high grade magazine paper with color illustrations on almost every page. It brings the artist and his works to the reader in a presentation that caters to those who enjoy have an appriciation, though not an expertise, for art.

This calendar contains some of Leonardo's classic paintings, mainly the ones that deal with Mary, the Christ child, and some angels.

It includes the Mona Lisa but on the page that has the last four months of 2002.

'The Madonna Of The Rocks' is a true masterpiece.

I don't think it has anything from The Last Supper.