NCW Libraries

A Wall Street Journal Book of the Year
A Spectator Book of the Year
 
“A truly intimate portrait of one of the greatest creators in human history,” this biography of Leonardo Da Vinci “has the pace, elegance, and authorial omnipresence of a novel,” bringing both artist and Renaissance Italy to life (Noah Charney, author of The Art of Forgery)
Why did Leonardo Da...

For more than thirty years-half his life-he was obsessively devoted to investigating everything in the natural world. Nothing escaped his interest-how our eyes see, why the sky is blue, what forces build mountains, how light travels, where water comes from, and-most fascinating of all to Leonardo-the inner workings of the human body. Nothing stopped him. It was illegal to dissect human corpses, so he did autopsies in secret, even devising a clever...

"He was history's most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us? The [bestselling biographer] brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography. Drawing on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity,...

One of the most high-achieving human beings who has ever lived, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is recognized the world over as a figure of infinite curiosity, feverish imagination and sublime artistic ability. This title provides the most comprehensive survey of the life and work of this master painter, sculptor, architect, scientist and inventor. Its catalogue raisonné of Leonardo's paintings covers both his surviving and his lost painted works....

"Milan, 1492: When a sixteen-year old beauty becomes the mistress of the Duke of Milan, she must fight for her place in the palace, and against those who want her out. Soon, she finds herself sitting before Leonardo da Vinci, who wants to ensure his own place in the ducal palace by painting his most ambitious portrait to date. Munich, World War II: After a modest conservator unwittingly places a priceless Italian Renaissance portrait into the hands...

Once again, three friends are sent back in time by a magic book and they meet Leonardo da Vinci and try to avoid becoming toilet scrubbers in a sixteenth-century Italian army.

Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world's favorite artist. Many TV shows and feature films have showcased this extraordinary genius but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art. Leonardo's peerless paintings and drawings will be the focus of the film present every single attributed painting, in Ultra HD quality, never seen before on the big screen.

"Five hundred and thirty years ago, a young woman sat for her portrait, which was to be painted by a tall, Grecian-nosed artist known as Leonardo da Vinci. Her name was Cecilia Gallerani, and she was the teenage mistress of the Duke of Milan. With shining hair and alabaster skin, and a thin veil framing her delicate features, Gallerani held a white ermine--an emblem of pregnancy and childbirth--close to her breast. Their slender bodies appeared almost...