You have seen the image hundreds of times. It has been copied and parodied relentlessly for over five hundred years. It shows Jesus at the center of a dining table, flanked by six disciples on either side. Everyone knows _The Last Supper_, but few know as much about it as Leo Steinberg, who has looked and written and thought about it for thirty years. The result of these decades of concentration are poured out in _Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper_ (Zone Books), as close an examination of a painting as you will ever find. The book is not about the painting's history, its decay, or its restoration; it is, in astonishing detail, about the looks of the picture itself and a demonstration of how it continues to be an "incessant" font of thought and speculation as to its meaning. Steinberg's big book is wonderfully well illustrated, with details from the original, a generous gatefold to show it in its current restored state, pictures of how it looks within the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, how Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and a host of others copied the painting (and how they left out significant parts, and what the omissions mean), and plenty of diagrams to show such things as the lines of perspective and the effects of matrices and diagonals on Leonardo's meticulously planned original.

Steinberg has chapters on the disciples, on feet and hands, on the disciples, and more. The main figure, that of Jesus, bears, of course, the closest examination, and Steinberg details the history of thought about it, with writers weighing in on the meaning of the pose and the timing within the Gospel story of the scene depicted. Over and over, Steinberg shows that to seek a meaning and a timing is in vain. Leonardo has deliberately engineered his work so that any explanation involving a single meaning will be an oversimplification. Jesus's right hand is downturned in a gesture of apprehension. It is close to a mirror image of the left hand of Judas as they reach simultaneously towards the dish by which Jesus will designate his betrayer. It is also gesturing towards the wine, so that it marks the institution of the Eucharist; after reading Steinberg's work, the idea that Leonardo drew these two separate parts of the story together and told them as one is only one of the multiple meanings that seem natural on further reflection. Jesus's left hand is upturned, gesturing toward the bread. It also underlies the portentous hand of Thomas, hovering directly above it. Thomas's hand has an index finger pointing up, continuing the upturn theme of Jesus's left, and indicating, of course, higher things. It is Thomas's index finger that would soon be feeling around for confirmation of Jesus's wounds.

To read this book is to appreciate a hundred telling details in the painting which one did not notice before, and consequently to admire Leonardo's genius anew. It is also to admire the fruition of the decades of Steinberg's close study. His readers may feel a sense of humility that there was so much to see that had previously escaped them, but his witty, sure, and genial expertise will welcome them into seeing _The Last Supper_ with new vision.

this man is an excellent artist. he has his own style of painting, and that's what like most about him. i have two of his drawings in my house. they just bring out my whole house.

In this pathbreaking book Masters challenges the traditional view on the origin of modern science, or more precisely, technology. The traditional view is that the notion of science directed to conquest of nature, rather than contemplation, derives from Bacon. In contrast Masters argues that Baconian conquest of nature, though admittedly in a limited guise (Masters emphasizes that for Machiavelli man can control fortune only "half" the time), is present in Machiavelli, whose scientific principles were heavily influenced by his encounter with Leonardo.

The limited character of Machiavellian conquest of nature is the pivot of Masters's own thought. He sharply contrasts Machiavelli's limited conquest of nature, a conception that left ample room for political prudence, with the total conquest of nature that eliminated human contingency altogether. The latter view he attributes to Bacon and Hobbes, and other later moderns.

Masters's ultimate aim is to return to Machiavellian point in modernity which melded political prudence and science. In other words, it is an attempt to purify science with political prudence. Masters's own lifelong attempt to integrate science and politics, which he takes up in this work as well, should be viewed in this light. He wants to make those skeptical of scientific treatment of politics, like myself, reconsider the potential benefits of science, provided it is circumscribed by wisdom.

Indeed Masters is right that the difference between Machiavelli and Bacon, if it exists, is fundamental. But in my opinion the difference does not exist. A careful reading of works such as NEW ATLANTIS would have made Masters recognize that Bacon too wished to wisdom to rule over science (cf. Laurence Lampert, NIETZSCHE AND THE MODERN TIMES). As Jerry Weinberger and others have shown, Bacon did not subscribe to Baconian conquest of nature.

I would like to submit that my assertion of the convergence of Machiavelli and Bacon is at least as important as Masters's articulation of their difference. If Masters is right, there is salvation for science and our ills are simply the missteps taken by Machiavelli's disciples. If I am right, science cannot be redeembed by wisdom. It is an unruly demon that will instead enslave its human masters. The difference between my own and Masters's view seems to be also the difference between Leo Strauss and Alexandre Kojeve, in their legendary debate concerning the goodness of modernity.

The reading may seem dry at times,but learning about this brilliant man is so awe-inspiring, that it overcomes any barriers you may encounter. Centuries ahead of his time, he developed theories for inventions that would not be thought of again for ages. Simply Brilliant.

Tommy's daddy is working on his latest invention, the Flying Dactar. But of course, like his other inventions, it doesn't work very well. He leaves it, and the babies crawl in. Before they know it, the Dactar transports them back to Florence, Italy, in the sixteenth century.... and then breaks down, stranding them in the past. While Angelica decides to find a palace, the others decide to search for the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci, hoping he can fix their broken machine. Along the way, they see the sights of the historic city and eventually meet Michaelangelo and da Vinci, and thanks to Angelica, fall under suspicion of being spies. I reccomend this very funny and very cute book to all fans of Rugrats, whatever their ages.

One of the problem confronting anyone trying to explain the artistic uniqueness of Leonardo Da Vinci is that relatively few of his works of art remain and some of them, such as "The Annunciation," were not recognized as his work for centuries. This explains one of the reasons why Richard Muhlberger has to use unfinished works, such as "The Adoration of the Magi," as well as Da Vinci's drawings, to make his case. However, despite these limitations, this is another excellent volume from The Metropolitan Museum of Art that allows you to take an art appreciation course in your own home. Muhlberger keeps the focus on how Da Vinci was a revolutionary Renaissance master, indeed, the quintessential if not original "Renaissance Man." Beginning with the an angel the apprentice Da Vinci painted in "The Baptism of Christ" by his master Andrea del Verrocchio, we study the growth of his style in paintings such as "Lady with an Ermine," "The Virgin of the Rocks," "The Last Supper," and the "Mona Lisa." Muhlberger focuses on the major theme of exploring the variety of nature, as well as Da Vinci's specific artistic techniques such as using deep shadows to make things look three-dimensional, painting gestures and expressions that conveyed real-life emotions, and using aerial perspectives. All of the books in this series are excellent, but this is really one of the best.

Translated from the French (the translation is fairly well done and readable), this is a good general bio of Leonardo's life. A primer rather than an in depth artistic analysis, it's geared towards the general reader and it does a fine job at that.

Da Vinci's life is followed from his small town upbringing by a father who was a notary (in the European sense not the American) and hence held a status higher than the average peasant or townsman.

Serge Bramly attempts some psychoanalysis of Da Vinci and if there is a main weakness to the book in my opinion it is that. His explanation of art workshops in the Renaissance era is interesting and informative. To be commended is his description of Da Vinci's relationships with his workers, friends and family. But best of all is Bramly's explanation of the relationships between the nobility who financed his projects and Da Vinci.

An informative and enjoyable biography; Leonardo: The Artist and the Man is worth a read.

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.

It's been a while since I read this book, but I wanted to write the review to spread the word that this is a fascinating biography, well worth reading. If you're a da Vinci expert, I don't know how much this will add to your knowledge, but for a painter and generalist like me, the art criticism, biography, and historical context were perfectly balanced. Da Vinci was more than just a visionary genius; he was a genuinely charming and hilarious guy. If there's anyone from the past I could meet, it would probably be he. And if there's anyone from the past who I wish could see the modern world, again it would be da Vinci, because his intellectual curiosity would have been so vindicated by what modern science has to offer. While da Vinci was too preoccupied with other projects to concentrate on painting for much of his career, he created a small number of paintings so profound that they have never been surpassed. Personally, I prefer his secular portraits to all others -- ah to have looked over his shoulder while he painted the magnificent Ginevra de' Benci or the Cecilia Gallerani (Lady with the Ermine)! Unfortunately, and I seriously doubt this is due to a defect in research, there isn't that much information available about da Vinci's emotional life, so the author makes careful but limited extrapolations based on fact. I love biography because it's the next best thing to meeting fascinating people, and it doesn't get much better than this.

I bought this book after seeing the author on the A & E Biography episode about Leonardo. On the show the author indicated that Leonardo was not at all like a modern scientific thinker. I think people can relate to da Vinci more easily than they can to someone like Einstein. Einstein could not have painted the Mona Lisa but then Leonardo didn't invent the theory of relativity either. But the Mona Lisa is something that the average guy on the street can relate to while the theory of relativity can only be understood mainly by scientists. da Vinci may not have been so much a genius as someone who did many things well and had a very active and energetic mind. He represents as much the spirit of achievement as actual achievements. He seemed to have so much mental energy that learning was something he simply had to do. It was not optional for him. What makes da Vinci interesting is the unique combination of artistic and scientfic interests that he had. Some of Leonardo's notebooks were recovered relatively recently from a historical point of view so the idea of da Vinci as a Renaissance genius is a pretty new idea. This book attempts to summarize the vast amount of information that has been written about Leonardo during the 500 or so years since his death. Then at the end the book attempts to maybe clarify and expand on the earlier material so that Leonardo can be re-invented hopefully more accurately for our era. In fact if Leonardo da Vinci had never existed someone probably would have invented a fictional person like him. Someone who knew basically everything which of course Leonardo did not but people sometimes like to give him the benefit of the doubt. Quite a bit is said about the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa appears to be a self portrait by Leonardo, not of his physical life as Leonardo, but of his soul. Old, peaceful, content, mysterious. It also talks some about a painting of some guy with snakes crawling out of his head which was mistakenly (?) attributed to Leonardo for many years. Leonardo had some problems. The author expresses some resentment that the fields related to the humanities are held in low esteem these days by some people. The author's writing style indicates he's into philosophy. This is not a book for someone trying to get a general idea of what Leonardo was interested in and why he is considered by some to be a genius. It's more about understanding the maestro from a philosophical point of view.

Unlike just another standard biography or monograph, this book makes a useful contribution to the already crowded arena of Leonardo studies. The black-and-white illustrations are barely adequate, but there is a particularly helpful bibliography. Recommended for art history faculty and advanced students.

This book is a great introduction to the artist, with a short biographical section, a section on his drawings, and then a series of colorplates that show paintings that he has done or those that he is associated with. There are 40 beautiful colorplates, and each is accompanied by a page of text (some of the colorplates are details). In addition, there are 47 images of his drawings and notes. Wasserman's commentary is intelligent and interesting as well. Still, it is more of a coffee table book than one to learn from.

I love this book and the way it speaks about all the work he did is exelent I woulld like to recomend this book to every reader. It is probly the best book on him I have ever read. If you would like to learn more about him I highly sugjest this book to you.

I was aware that in addition to being a master painter DaVinci was also a visionary scientist with ideas far ahead of his time, but I had no idea that he had made such remarkable leaps forward in the investigation of anatomy. This is a very interesting side of Leonardo that I'm glad to have learned more about. Even so, I don't know if it deserves to degree of focus this biography gives it.

This work gives a functional overview of the major events of DaVinci's life and dabbles a bit in the interpretation of a few of his more famous works of art. But it is first and foremost a biography of DaVinci the anatomist, to the detriment (it seems to me) of DaVinci the artist and DaVinci the mechanical engineer.

Beyond that, two things bugged me about this book. First, the author is a bit preoccupied with the idea of Leonardo's homosexuality and uses that as a tool to pschoanalyze many areas of his life. The speculations on his early childhood are almost exclusively retrospections guessed at by looking backward from an adult homosexual male.

The second thing that bothered me was the author's treatment of DaVinci's religious beliefs. I recognize that religion may not have been a central focus in DaVinci's life, but he does seem to have had a definite belief in God, whearas Nuland more or less apologizes for that fact whenever he is forced to bring it up and it seems that he would like to simply dismiss it as one of the areas in which DaVinci was a product of his times.

Heard the taped version of LEONARDO DA VINCI by Sherwin
Nuland, a concise but informative look at the man who was a
successful painter, architect, engineer, philosopher, mathematician, and scientist . . . how he accomplished all he did has always amazed me! . . . this book does a good job of helping to explain the basis behind Da Vinci's insatiable curiosity . . . the author, a surgeon and author, also helps explain his subject's longtime fascination with anatomy--first as the basis for his painting and then as the key component in his aim to systematize all knowledge of nature.

The focus of this informative biography is da Vinci the anatomist, not Leonardo the painter or proto-technologist. Indeed, this biography truly comes alive only when Nuland, a surgeon and author, describes the advances Leonardo achieved in his study of the body. In my opinion, Nuland's touch isn't so sure in other areas of Leonardo's achievement and there are, in fact, patches that sound like a product of rushed and unedited dictation. Still, I'd rate this as a superior introduction to a scientist centuries ahead of his time. This fine book, by the way, definitely enriched my experience at the da Vinci exhibit that is now showing at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.