Leonardo da Vinci
In Leonardo da Vinci, Walter Isaacson tells the life story of the Renaissance artist and inventor, drawing heavily on the thousands of pages of notebooks Leonardo left behind. Isaacson presents Leonardo as a man whose genius came from relentless curiosity, careful observation, and a refusal to stay within one field, moving freely between painting, anatomy, engineering, and the study of light and water. He examines famous works such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper alongside Leonardo's many unfinished projects and private investigations. The book ties together art and science to show how the two fed each other in Leonardo's mind. Published in 2017, it became a bestseller and continued Isaacson's series of biographies of creative and innovative figures.
Also by Walter Isaacson
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Walter Isaacson's biography of Leonardo da Vinci, drawn from his notebooks, art, and restless scientific curiosity.
He drew heavily on the thousands of surviving pages of Leonardo's notebooks, along with his paintings and the historical record of his life and work.
Isaacson presents him as a figure whose genius came from relentless curiosity and observation, blending art and science across painting, anatomy, and engineering.
Leonardo da Vinci was written by Walter Isaacson, published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster.
Leonardo da Vinci is 599 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Leonardo da Vinci takes most readers 9 to 13 hours to finish.
Leonardo da Vinci is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.