Da Vinci's ghost
Subtitle: the untold story of the world's most famous drawing
By: Toby Lester
Publisher: Profile
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 277
ISBN-13: 9781846684548
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation
Description: Vitruvian Man is the world's most famous drawing, by one of the world's most famous artists. The image has become visual shorthand for artistic genius and scientific inquiry, and yet nobody knows anything about it. In Da Vinci's Ghost, critically acclaimed historian Toby Lester examines the forces that converged in 1490 to turn an idea that had been around for centuries into this iconic image, bringing the ghost of an unknown Leonardo da Vinci back to life. Rooted in little-known episodes of the artist's colourful career, and taking in ideas including theories of the cosmos, Roman land-surveying and the relationship between anatomy and architecture, the book tells the story of his evolving, lifelong study of the human body.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.