Spotlight on Leonardo Da Vinci (day, famous, artists, work)

[Cida]

Have you seen all the attention these days, apropos of Water Isaacson's new biography? I think I've seen him on at least four talk shows, and his stories are so interesting.

Leonardo da Vinci | Book by Walter Isaacson | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

https://charlierose.com/videos/31068

Do you have a favorite Da Vinci? I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, when Isaacson is instead praising the later works, but I've always liked the Ginevra De Benci. I know that her face seems blank and cold and even sullen, but I just somehow feel that it's uniquely hers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginevra_de%27_Benci

[banjomike]

I always like The Madonna of the Rocks a lot, but it's hard to pick out a favorite for me.

http://edhds11.umwblogs.org/files/20...-the-Rocks.jpg

It is interesting to see all the attention on Da Vinci right now; he was a genius for sure, but he has always been very famous, at least in my view. But maybe not so much to a new generation. Leonardo is one of those rare few who is always re-discovered with each passing generation.

Maybe his time comes when modern life gets drab, colorless, and uninteresting? While there are many other artists who I think were as accomplished in his time, only Da Vinci possessed such massive curiosity about so many different things, and was able to visualize them all so well they still attract us too, after so many centuries.

He shows us all the depth of human potential.

I guess that from time to time, we all need to be reminded of what we all could possibly accomplish if we were use ourselves to our fullest capacity.

[Cida]

I was just reading an article that mentioned something I hadn't realized before: That the portrait of Ginevra de'Benci was revolutionary, because it was the first time that a woman's portrait had ever been full-face. Prior to that, women were always only in profile.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by banjomike

I always like The Madonna of the Rocks a lot, but it's hard to pick out a favorite for me.

http://edhds11.umwblogs.org/files/20...-the-Rocks.jpg

It is interesting to see all the attention on Da Vinci right now; he was a genius for sure, but he has always been very famous, at least in my view. But maybe not so much to a new generation. Leonardo is one of those rare few who is always re-discovered with each passing generation.

Maybe his time comes when modern life gets drab, colorless, and uninteresting? While there are many other artists who I think were as accomplished in his time, only Da Vinci possessed such massive curiosity about so many different things, and was able to visualize them all so well they still attract us too, after so many centuries.

He shows us all the depth of human potential.

I guess that from time to time, we all need to be reminded of what we all could possibly accomplish if we were use ourselves to our fullest capacity.

Given some of his conceptual drawings for things like tanks and flying machines in his day along with his considerable artistic gifts I sometimes find it difficult to believe he really was a mere mortal.