Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind

It takes all kind of books to make you feel like a well-rounded reader… for instance, Charles Nicholl’s Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind which tells the story of the life of da Vinci.  This is a historical review of da Vinci’s life.  Not having much background, only surface material from history courses, I learned a great deal about the complex artist and inventor.  da Vinci’s life had humble beginnings, raised by his father from a one-night love affair, da Vinci never met his mother.  The author scoured many literary sources to piece together the latest book on the life of the man.  From Milan, Mantua, and Venice and finally back home again, da Vinci was a private man, could have been because of his sexuality (deemed punishable by death for some who were known to be homosexual at the time, c. 1470s – 1519).  Nicholls shares stories from his youth, the people who influenced his art and thinking about life, his apprenticeships, travels around Italy, his alleged affairs, his works of art, and various other thinkings that affected the world in his time.  I had no idea his drawings helped with the creation of airplanes and other mechanical devices which did not come to fruition until centuries after his life.  da Vinci was a Renaissance man who “hung” with the artists and deep thinkers of the time.   I loved how the author presented all of his art work and drawings in the book with the “back story” on how and why each was created.  I often forget how brilliant and influential da Vinci was to art from his Mona Lisa, The Vitruvian Ma, The Last Supper, St. John the Baptist, Virgin of the Rocks, and Madonna (to name a few).  da Vinci had numerous jokes written throughout his notebooks, some he may have penned himself!  Freud had a field day thinking about the life of da Vinci, probably loved this particular joke penned in one of his books: 

A woman was washing clothes, and her feet were red with cold.  A priest who was   passing by was amazed by this and asked her where the redness came from, to which the woman immediately replied that it was caused by a fire she had underneath her.  Then the priest took in hand that part of him which made him more priest than nun, and drawing near to her, asked her very politely if she would be kind enough to light his candle. 

Funny guy with a brain for seeing the beauty in things.  da Vinci turned back to the church upon his death bed.  Life has a way for some coming full circle.  His impact in the world of art is seen today and lives forever.  While the book was quite dense, art historians will revel in the stories and his experiences.  For me though, a bit too many anecdotes and connections to things that just are not that interesting to me.  I’d take a pass on this rather long and, at times, sleeper.