Leonardo

This fascinating exploration of Leonardo da Vinci's life and work identifies what it was that made him so unique, and explains the phenomenon of the world's most celebrated artistic genius who, 500 years on, still grips and inspires us. Martin Kemp offers us exceptional insights into what it was that made this Renaissance man so special, and the 'real' meaning behind such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Tracing Leonardo's career in all its variety, we learn of his unfulfilled dreams, relationships with powerful patrons, and the truth about his views on God, humans, and nature. The famous notebooks are the key to understanding the secret of Leonardo's success and genius, as they clearly reveal the workings of his mind and display the true innovative and investigative nature of his creative vision. Over 20,000 pages of drawings and notes detail his incredible discoveries and inventions - from the workings of the human eye to designs for flying machines and giant crossbows. Bringing the story up to the present day, Martin Kemp considers what he means to us today,investigates the 'Leonardo industry', and speculates about what he would be doing if he were alive today.This updated edition of Martin Kemp's best-seller is the first book on Leonardo to include two newly discovered works, the most important such discoveries in over a hundred years.

Kemp does an excellent job.

Martin Kemp FBA is Emeritus Professor in the History of Art at Trinity College. Oxford University. Previously based at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, he is a former British Academy Wolfson Research Professor (1993-98) and has held visiting posts in Princeton, New York, North Carolina, Los Angeles, Montreal and Harvard (I Tatti). He has published extensively on Leonardo da Vinci, including the prize-winning Leonardo da Vinci. The marvellous works of nature and man (1989 and 2006). His book on the newly discovered Leonardo portrait, La Bella Principessa, written with Pascal Cotte. His most recent book, Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon, is being published by Oxford University Press in 2011.