Painter, inventor, architect, scientist and engineer: Leonardo da Vincis remains one of the most brilliant human beings who ever lived. Whether it is the smallest arteries of the heart, exquisite biblical scenes or the distant constellations of the universe, discover his insatiable quest for knowledge, ingenuity and beauty.

A renaissance man

The unstoppable curiosity and imagination of the brilliant da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), who filled notebook after notebook with sketches, inventions and theories, is not only one of the most exceptional draftsmen in the history of art, but also a genius and a visionary who anticipated some of the greatest discoveries of human progress, sometimes centuries before their material realisation.
From the smallest arteries of the human heart to the distant constellations of the universe, Leonardo understood that nature and science were unequivocally connected. His fields of enquiry and inventiveness spanned philosophy, anatomy, geology and mathematics, from the laws of optics, gravitation, heat and light to the construction of a flying machine.
Leonardo took painting beyond the Middle Ages with works such as The Last Supper and the famous La Gioconda (or the Mona Lisa), depicting not only physical appearance, but also a captivating depth and psychological intrigue that continue to draw crowds of visitors to Paris, Milan, Washington, London and Rome who are fascinated by these masterpieces.
This book offers a collection of the most remarkable works of Leonardo, a genius of infinite curiosity, feverish imagination and sublime artistic ability who has often been said to have "not enough worlds to conquer and not enough lives to live" (Alan Woods).

About the author

Frank Zöllner wrote his doctoral thesis on an ancient subject in the theory of art and architecture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (1987), and took his professorial examination on the movement studies of Leonardo da Vinci (published in 2010). He is the author of numerous publications on Renaissance art and art theory, as well as on 20th century art. Since 1996, he has been Professor of Art History of the Middle and Modern Ages at the University of Leipzig. He is the author of the monographs on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo in XL format published by TASCHEN.

Publisher: Taschen