Leonardo Da Vinci

Giunti, Florence, 2005, harcover, illustrated, exquisite colour imagery, 640 pages, 12.5 cms x 15.6 cms x 4.9 cms, condition: as new.

 Although the book excludes the Madonna Litta and Salvator Mundi, it includes all the other paintings as well as a choice selection of the preparatory drawings and sketches he made for them.

Additionally, it has examples of his inventions for both war and peace, aerial maps, anatomical drawings, landscapes, water studies, plants, proportional studies of men and horses, and architectural designs. In other words, nearly every field of endeavor he was interested in or involved with during his life is touched upon.

Best of all, despite the smaller pages, the book offers a few pages of enlarged details from each painting. This is the only way to truly see Leonardo because he included such tiny, intricate details in his work that can only be seen when looking at the original painting or at an enlargement. For example, in the details of many portraits, one can see Leonardo actually painted individual hairs in their curls! All the reproductions are excellently done, as is always the standard with Giunti publications.

The text for all the art presented is clearly and concisely written. This book does the Maestro Leonardo justice. As such, you can't own anything better unless you're lucky enough to have one of his paintings!