The holiday brings new things into library that I will quickly consume over the course of a month. This book, or should I say compendium, will not be completed in a few years for the fear that I otherwise be accused of hubris. TASCHEN’s “Leonardo da Vinci – The Complete Paintings and Drawings” is a 12 pound, 695 page, 15.4″x10.2″x2.4″ collection of his life’s work. Do not be led to believe that this even begins to scrape the surface of Leonardo’s 13,000 known notebook pages. To my knowledge, there is no single source for all of his works. We are still finding pieces (even underneath other works) after almost 500 years.
The collection is primarily an art book and is divided in three sections: a biography of his life and work, a catalogue raisonné of paintings, and a selection of his graphic works.
The pieces are presented as they are, with a little information on the bibliographical sources to accompany them. The paintings for the most part can be appreciated and studied as they are presented, which are sometimes duplicated in a cropped and zoomed two-page spread. One of the areas where the book shines is including the under-sketches and practice drawings hat went into the paintings. The scientific discussions and mechanical drawings leave me wanting more though. Translations and commentary would make this volume indispensable. Quote Leonardo: “Let no man who is not a Mathematician read the elements of my work.” It does include references in the back of the book for concurrence of numbering systems between different volume, as well as a huge bibliography.
TASCHEN, overall did a great job compiling this quality book. The size, glossy pages, and ordered presentation are appreciated for studying his work in detail. At $45, it’s almost a steal.
