Inventing Leonardo / Edition 1

by A. Richard Turner

Overview

As he examines the changing views of Leonardo since the sixteenth century, A. Richard Turner both gives the reader a cultural history in brief of western Europe during this period and provides a context for examining Leonardo's relevance to our own ways of perceiving and interpreting the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520089389
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	10/06/1994
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

A. Richard Turner is Professor of Fine Arts at New York University and the author of The Vision of Landscape in Renaissance Italy and co-author of The Art of Florence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments    
Introduction    

PART I
A WORKING LIFE
Chapter 1 The Making of an Artist-Artisan    
Chapter 2 Ducal Servant in Milan    
Chapter 3 The Itinerant Engineer    

PART II
THE ANATOMY OF A LEGEND
Chapter 4 Giorgio Vasari Invents Leonardo    
Chapter 5 Playing by the Rules    
Chapter 6 Leonardo Goes Public    
Chapter 7 Leonardo the Harbinger of Modernity    
Chapter 8 The Mind of the Maker    

PART III
LEONARDO NOW
Chapter 9 The Triumph of the Eye/I    
Chapter 10 Possessing the World    
Chapter II The Body as Nature and Culture    
Chapter 12 A Blessed Rage for Order    

Epilogue: 1492-2019    
Bibliography    
Index   

Editorial Reviews

A masterpiece of critical thinking, this eloquent and wide-ranging study aims to create an outline history of Western thought by reviewing the life and legacies of a great master. Turner explores Leonardo da Vinci's reputation throughout the past four centuries, chronicling his evolution from little-known and misunderstood theoretician to revered icon present in all artistic hagiographies. In addition to many others, the writings of Paul Valery and Walter Pater regain a prominence they've long lacked, and Giorgio Vasari's famous early biography receives a thorough examination. Turner's eloquence builds up to the final section, ``Leonardo Now,'' which brilliantly caps the book by looking at the artist through the lens of 1990s philosophical issues--the ``late modern'' age considering the early modern. Central to Turner's thesis is his assertion of Leonardo's relevance, given the present-day obsession with individual autonomy and order in an increasingly violent and disunited world. Despite the ambition of his project, Turner has gracefully avoided making excessive generalizations and has produced a fascinating and learned historical investigation. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.-- Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., Cal.

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