Rating: 
Summary: FASCINATING BLEND OF BIOGRAPHY AND ART HISTORY
Review: "Just as a well-filled day brings blessed sleep, so a well-employed life brings a blessed death." These are the words of Leonardo da Vinci, and according to the author, Serge Bramly, would have made the best epitaph for him. What is staggering about Leonardo is not just the volume of what filled his days, but the amazing range of pursuits that filled them. And this must pose a unique challenge to his biographers - a challenge Bramly rises to beautifully. As the title suggests, the primary focus of the book is on art. Bramly examines Leonardo's paintings from technical and aesthetic standpoints, as well as psychologically analyzing the paintings. He cites others who previously did such analysis, including Freud himself. The passages concerning the paintings are simply some of the most enjoyable art history I've read. What is most remarkable is that gradually an image of Leonardo the man emerges through his art. Leonardo's other pursuits (military engineer, city planner, architect, sculptor, anatomist, inventor, to name but some) are also of great interest of course. In these areas, Bramly devotes much space to examining the famous notebooks of Leonardo, and I can say that I have a much better understanding as to the significance and nature of these notebooks than before. The biographical details of Leonardo's life also prove to be quite entertaining. A virtual Who's Who of Renaissance Italy parades through his life, and Bramly gives us an idea of the sort of relationships Leonardo had with them as well as with his own family. Some of the terrain of Leonardo's life is difficult to traverse, his illegitimacy, his homosexuality, his failure to complete so much of what he started, and these issues are dealt with in a straightforward, honest fashion. Bramly's doesn't follow as strict a timeline as most biographies do; he skips around the years quite a bit. But I think this is necessary given Leonardo's wide range of pursuits. He never worked on just one project at a time, and the fact that Bramly follows these pursuits rather than a strict timeline makes the book more coherent than it would be otherwise. There are dozens of black & white illustrations throughout the book, as well as eight pages of color illustrations of some of his more notable paintings. I think that probably 4 pages should be added to the color illustrations. Among the paintings that should be, but are not, shown in color are the Mona Lisa, St. John the Baptist, and the Turin self-portrait. But that's a minor complaint (and one directed more at the publishers than the author). In short, this biography takes a mythical figure and shows him as a man; it takes the miracle of his paintings and other lifework and makes it comprehensible as being the work of that man. The resulting picture is that of a man whose life was more amazing and inspiring than any myth or miracle.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING BLEND OF BIOGRAPHY AND ART HISTORY
Review: "Just as a well-filled day brings blessed sleep, so a well-employed life brings a blessed death." These are the words of Leonardo da Vinci, and according to the author, Serge Bramly, would have made the best epitaph for him. What is staggering about Leonardo is not just the volume of what filled his days, but the amazing range of pursuits that filled them. And this must pose a unique challenge to his biographers - a challenge Bramly rises to beautifully. As the title suggests, the primary focus of the book is on art. Bramly examines Leonardo's paintings from technical and aesthetic standpoints, as well as psychologically analyzing the paintings. He cites others who previously did such analysis, including Freud himself. The passages concerning the paintings are simply some of the most enjoyable art history I've read. What is most remarkable is that gradually an image of Leonardo the man emerges through his art. Leonardo's other pursuits (military engineer, city planner, architect, sculptor, anatomist, inventor, to name but some) are also of great interest of course. In these areas, Bramly devotes much space to examining the famous notebooks of Leonardo, and I can say that I have a much better understanding as to the significance and nature of these notebooks than before. The biographical details of Leonardo's life also prove to be quite entertaining. A virtual Who's Who of Renaissance Italy parades through his life, and Bramly gives us an idea of the sort of relationships Leonardo had with them as well as with his own family. Some of the terrain of Leonardo's life is difficult to traverse, his illegitimacy, his homosexuality, his failure to complete so much of what he started, and these issues are dealt with in a straightforward, honest fashion. Bramly's doesn't follow as strict a timeline as most biographies do; he skips around the years quite a bit. But I think this is necessary given Leonardo's wide range of pursuits. He never worked on just one project at a time, and the fact that Bramly follows these pursuits rather than a strict timeline makes the book more coherent than it would be otherwise. There are dozens of black & white illustrations throughout the book, as well as eight pages of color illustrations of some of his more notable paintings. I think that probably 4 pages should be added to the color illustrations. Among the paintings that should be, but are not, shown in color are the Mona Lisa, St. John the Baptist, and the Turin self-portrait. But that's a minor complaint (and one directed more at the publishers than the author). In short, this biography takes a mythical figure and shows him as a man; it takes the miracle of his paintings and other lifework and makes it comprehensible as being the work of that man. The resulting picture is that of a man whose life was more amazing and inspiring than any myth or miracle.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for Renaissance scholars...
Review: I forced myself to finish this book before I reviewed it, and being through with it now, I feel as though I've learned very little. I had so many problems with this book, or rather the way of writing, mostly stemming from the completely pompous arrogance of the author, that this was a difficult read. In his defense, he is, in MOST things, very thorough. My main and overwhelming problem with this book was that the author was arrogant enough to believe that he could relay what Leonardo was (or as he sometimes put it "must have been") thinking or feeling. While I give Mr. Bramly credit as a man very much versed in his subject, in my opinion, that still gives him no right to use what I understood to be a faithful biography as a place to put forward his own views. Since he himself stresses that Leonardo's famous notebooks contain little to no personal thoughts or feelings, he has no basis for those statements and they are only his overconfident postulations. In the instances that there is a controversy over some area of Leonardo's life, the author is very good about stating that there is a dispute regarding the matter, but only puts forward his OWN opinion, and his reasons why he believes what he does, without explaining the opposite side of the matter. In this manner, he forces his thoughts on the reader without leaving them any choice in the matter. Sentences beginning with "I think" or "In my view" are not uncommon. He also makes certain assumptions about the reader, referring often to other artists' works with the assumption that the reader is as knowledgeable as he is about them. Also, he occasionally goes into great detail regarding a painting or drawing of Leonardo's, often drawing attention to coloring or texture, without ever showing it, though the book has many drawings and paintings throughout. The author is an undoubtedly intelligent, well-learned man, very erudite where Leonardo da Vinci is concerned, but entirely overbearing in his writing. Overall, unless you are well versed in the Renaissance artists and don't mind being pulled out of a book by the author's VIEWS, then I would HIGHLY suggest staying away from this one.
Rating:
Summary: Only for Renaissance scholars...
Review: I forced myself to finish this book before I reviewed it, and being through with it now, I feel as though I've learned very little. I had so many problems with this book, or rather the way of writing, mostly stemming from the completely pompous arrogance of the author, that this was a difficult read. In his defense, he is, in MOST things, very thorough. My main and overwhelming problem with this book was that the author was arrogant enough to believe that he could relay what Leonardo was (or as he sometimes put it "must have been") thinking or feeling. While I give Mr. Bramly credit as a man very much versed in his subject, in my opinion, that still gives him no right to use what I understood to be a faithful biography as a place to put forward his own views. Since he himself stresses that Leonardo's famous notebooks contain little to no personal thoughts or feelings, he has no basis for those statements and they are only his overconfident postulations. In the instances that there is a controversy over some area of Leonardo's life, the author is very good about stating that there is a dispute regarding the matter, but only puts forward his OWN opinion, and his reasons why he believes what he does, without explaining the opposite side of the matter. In this manner, he forces his thoughts on the reader without leaving them any choice in the matter. Sentences beginning with "I think" or "In my view" are not uncommon. He also makes certain assumptions about the reader, referring often to other artists' works with the assumption that the reader is as knowledgeable as he is about them. Also, he occasionally goes into great detail regarding a painting or drawing of Leonardo's, often drawing attention to coloring or texture, without ever showing it, though the book has many drawings and paintings throughout. The author is an undoubtedly intelligent, well-learned man, very erudite where Leonardo da Vinci is concerned, but entirely overbearing in his writing. Overall, unless you are well versed in the Renaissance artists and don't mind being pulled out of a book by the author's VIEWS, then I would HIGHLY suggest staying away from this one.
Rating:
Summary: Renaissance Sun
Review: I turned to this books to get a second opinion on Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code." I found this book very helpful in dispelling some of the myths that Brown advocates, such as the nature of the two "Virgin Of The Rocks," the mysterious knife in "The Last Supper," and several hypothesis of "The Mona Lisa."
By the way, there is no mention of the Priory of Sion.
Bramly is very engaging. He can tell a tale that grips you. I suggest reading the first chapter about DaVinci's wizened self-portrait. The whole books reads like it. Admittedly, he read emotions into DaVinci that we cannot verify. This is no different that what Steven Ambose or Fawn M. Brodie have done with their biographies. It helps the presentation of the material, even if fudges the facts a bit. People do have emotional lives, and we would react similarly in similar situations.
Another of Bramly's strengths is that he puts DaVinci's life in the context of Renaissance Italy. The Boot was very different than today, made up of the independent city-states. It was the milieu that Machiavelli wrote about in "The Prince." It was among these warring princes, and DaVinci's patronage by the Medic family that helped underwrite his famous works. DaVinci's life is almost a political thriller and he moves from city-state to city-state and mingling with the great men.
Other reviews have commented on this books scanty biography material, and the many diversion into politics and so forth. This is because we have so few detail's about DaVinci's day-to-day life. We do not have the usual memories, diaries, and documents that we would have for a contemporar5y person. All we have are the notebooks, the biography made a few years after DaVinci's death, and the masterworks themselves. To his credit, Bramly works around this paucity of material in such a way that you do not notice it.
This book has B&W images from his astounding notebooks, and several pages of color inserts. There is only one flaw-the Mona Lisa is one of the images in B&W. This is more than a shame, and I hope it can be corrected in future editions.
Bramly devotes a hefty section dealing with DaVinci's homosexuality. He also includes some rather graphic images from his notebooks, and a rudely funny homage to the male member. Parents who home school their children may want to use another biography of DaVinci, since this material is college level.
I recommend this book. His has the right vide and fell for DaVinci's life and history. I think one of his best moments what when he made a connection between Massacio's painting of the inverted Peter being crucified, and the Virtuvian Man. After tracking down the images on the internet, I was dumbfounded about how right he was. Thank-you Bramly.
Rating:
Summary: Leonardo - A True Renaissance Man
Review: It is the insights into Leonardo's unusual personality that I found most interesting in this book. As far as his actual technical ahievements this book doesn't get into that too much but as another reviewer pointed out this book is mainly about his art. It may be difficult to know all of what he accomplished due to the lack of accurate records back then. Leonardo was an odd ball and sort of an enigma who was unusual to the point of being almost mystical. He was said to possess almost superhuman strength and 'just to see him made you happy'. Leonardo was constantly learning and becomming more mature throughout his life so things said at a younger age may not reflect his thought processes later in life. Leonardo was not a homosexual... That was only a rumor. I suspect it was this subject that created the apparent rift between him and Michaelangelo. However maybe Leonardo and Michaelangelo did get along ok and the argument mentioned in this book was an isolated case. For all his genious and abilities Leonardo was melancholy sometimes and at one point became so angry about money that it became almost scandalous. Just being alive back then was a hardship due to the state of medical science and the high level of political corruption. Leonardo worked for people who got into power by murdering their political enemies. All in all he did ok. There were a lot of people back then who just died of the plague and nobody wrote any books about them. At least he didn't get burned at the stake by the Church or something like that for doing autopsies. That was around the time of the Spanish Inquisition when things were done to people that made battle hardened soldiers crynge with fear. Leonardo was somewhat of a mystery and his relationship with Salai only adds to this mystery. It seems that Leonardo was looking for a true friend in Salai but he did not find it. After Leonardo's death someone killed Salai. Salai did things that were basically wrong and this was a learning experience. "Study me reader, if you find delight in me, for on very few occasions shall I return to the world..." - Leonardo da Vinci (on painting)
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could have met him
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could have met him
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: An Enthralling Book on Da Vinci
Review: Normally I am not a fan of non-fiction books. Yet, this book somehow has managed to enthrall me in a way that no other non-fiction book ever has. This alone is the reason that I would recommend it to others. Then, the question of who I would recommend this book to must also be answered. In this case, I would say that I would recommend for a reading level of high school senior and beyond.
Overall, this was a very encapsulating book, covering numerous aspects of da Vinci's life. I throughly enjoyed the book and actually learned interesting information from it. I look forward to a time when I might be able to read it again to get even more information from it.
Rating:
Summary: The Divine Da Vinci
Review: 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.
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