The pursuit of beauty and its opposite was one of the central themes of Leonardo da Vinci's life. This book looks in detail at 75 drawings of the divinely beautiful and the grotesquely ugly from the unrivalled collection preserved in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
In his introductory essay, Martin Clayton explores Leonardo's life-long urge to create such drawings. Individual entries then look at each of the selected works, placing them in the context of contemporary attitudes to beauty, notions of perfect proportion, popular images of the comically ugly, and accepted modes of artistic creation and social behaviour. Among the drawings are studies for Leonardo's masterpieces such as the Last Supper and Leda and the swan, imaginary heads drawn to capture the perfect profile, satirical grotesques, dissections of the head, portraits of Leonardo's associates, designs for masks and festival costumes and much else.
Leonardo's studies of heads are some of the most fascinating and idiosyncratic works ever produced by this archetypal genius. This is the first book to explore the subject fully. With 149 illustrations, 92 in colour.
Leonardo Da Vinci : The Divine and the Grotesque
by Clayton, Martin; Leonardo, da VinciFormat: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2002-11-01
Publisher(s): W W NORTON & CO INC
List Price: $48.15
Rent Book
Select for Price
New Book
We're Sorry
Sold Out
Used Book
We're Sorry
Sold Out
eBook
We're Sorry
Not Available
How Marketplace Works:
- This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
- Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
- Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
- Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
- Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.
Summary
Author Biography
Martin Clayton is Deputy Curator of the Print Room in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle.
Table of Contents
| An Outline of Leonardo's Life | p. 7 |
| A Note on Leonardo's Drawings and Manuscripts | p. 9 |
| Introduction | p. 11 |
| The Profile Sheet (Cat. 1) | p. 16 |
| The Divine Body (Cats. 2-14) | p. 21 |
| Ideal Types (Cats. 15-25) | p. 51 |
| The Grotesque (Cats. 26-41) | p. 73 |
| Portraits (Cats. 42-6) | p. 101 |
| Expression (Cats. 47-50) | p. 115 |
| The Last Supper (Cats. 51-5) | p. 127 |
| Women (Cats. 56-61) | p. 143 |
| Fantasy and Costume (Cats. 62-75) | p. 157 |
| Bibliography | p. 183 |
| Concordance | p. 189 |
| Index | p. 190 |
| Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved. |
An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.
This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.
By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.
Digital License
You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.
More details can be found here.
A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.
Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.
Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.