BIBLIOGRAPHY
Krull, Kathleen. 2005. GIANTS OF SCIENCE:LEONARDO DA VINCI. Ill. by Boris Kulikov. New York: Viking. ISBN 067005920
PLOT SUMMARY
Leonardo, the illegitimate son of a wealthy man developed his love of learning from his kind uncle that raised him. His unsavory beginnings kept Leonardo from gaining an education, respect, or a notable profession. After finally becoming an apprentice to a leading Florence sculptor and painter, Leonardo blossomed as an artist. From him Leonardo learned that "an artist should be capable of rendering anything in nature." This lesson created the link between art and science that would last a lifetime. Leonardo was encouraged to study anatomy in order to accurately portray humans in paintings. This quickly led to a new found in interest in the sciences. Later he left for Milan, where he designed weapons of destruction for a Duke. The Black Plague soon struck, Leonardo designed a city that would be clean and disease free. The plans went no where, but he was promoted to engineer-architect for the Duke of Milan. Leonardo was now financially stable and informally adopted a son. Leonardo began keeping notebooks on his ideas and discoveries; he even wrote the information in a mirror-image so no one could steal his ideas and receive credit for his work. He became more and more interested in science. During his lifetime, he studied astronomy, zoology, geology, botany, and paleontology. He only continued to accept art commissions to finance his experiments and his assistants completed those. He had notions of using steam and solar power and of humans one day taking flight. At the end of his life, Leonardo realized that he must incorporate all of his notebooks into one encyclopedia so that his ideas and findings could educate others. Leonardo said, “Avoid studies of which the result dies with the worker.” The pages of his notebooks were very disorderly and many times random thoughts on different areas or topics would appear on the same pages. Organization would be a daunting task. After his death, he left all of his notebooks to his dear friend, Melzi. Melzi did not fully realize the importance of what he had been given. He took them to his family home where he allowed visitors to come read the notebooks and take away pages for souvenirs. The notebooks quickly disappeared. In the years to come, many scientists took Leonardo’s work as the basis for their own and received the credit for it. The notebooks are said to be all over the world and many have not yet been re-discovered. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is said to own one book about water.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a well-written piece on the life of Leonardo da Vinci. It leaves out his career as an artist to focus on his life as a scientist. The author’s matter-of-fact style would engage a young reader, and the information on life in the Middle Ages is interesting. However, there is not a list of sources used for this work and accuracy is a key point when evaluating a biography. The book jacket says it is recommended for ages 10 and up, but the accusations of Leonardo being homosexual and the arrest for allegedly having sex with a male prostitute may offend many readers and their parents. The book's organization follows the life of the genius and the index at the back allows the reader to find a subject of interest easily. Boris Kulikov’s line drawings are great and the drawing on the cover with Leonardo attempting flight with his own drawings making up the wings goes right along with the very subject matter at hand. Each drawing included in the book perfectly compliments Leonardo's accomplishments.
Krull does manage to convey the man as a brilliant scientist nearly 100 years ahead of his time. Young readers will surely express a new found interest in science.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “she [Krull] shows the workings of a scientific mind and the close connection between science and art. Kulikov's stylish and exacting line drawings are engaging and incorporate many of the items and interests found in Leonardo's notebooks.
BOOKLIST: “A very readable, vivid portrait set against the backdrop of remarkable times.”
CONNECTIONS
There are numerous websites and other books on Leonardo da Vinci included in the back of the book to further explore.
Other books in Krull’s Giants of Science series:
Krull, Kathleen. MARIE CURIE. ISBN 0670058947
Krull, Kathleen. ISAAC NEWTON. ISBN 0670059218
Krull, Kathleen. 2005. GIANTS OF SCIENCE:LEONARDO DA VINCI. Ill. by Boris Kulikov. New York: Viking. ISBN 067005920
PLOT SUMMARY
Leonardo, the illegitimate son of a wealthy man developed his love of learning from his kind uncle that raised him. His unsavory beginnings kept Leonardo from gaining an education, respect, or a notable profession. After finally becoming an apprentice to a leading Florence sculptor and painter, Leonardo blossomed as an artist. From him Leonardo learned that "an artist should be capable of rendering anything in nature." This lesson created the link between art and science that would last a lifetime. Leonardo was encouraged to study anatomy in order to accurately portray humans in paintings. This quickly led to a new found in interest in the sciences. Later he left for Milan, where he designed weapons of destruction for a Duke. The Black Plague soon struck, Leonardo designed a city that would be clean and disease free. The plans went no where, but he was promoted to engineer-architect for the Duke of Milan. Leonardo was now financially stable and informally adopted a son. Leonardo began keeping notebooks on his ideas and discoveries; he even wrote the information in a mirror-image so no one could steal his ideas and receive credit for his work. He became more and more interested in science. During his lifetime, he studied astronomy, zoology, geology, botany, and paleontology. He only continued to accept art commissions to finance his experiments and his assistants completed those. He had notions of using steam and solar power and of humans one day taking flight. At the end of his life, Leonardo realized that he must incorporate all of his notebooks into one encyclopedia so that his ideas and findings could educate others. Leonardo said, “Avoid studies of which the result dies with the worker.” The pages of his notebooks were very disorderly and many times random thoughts on different areas or topics would appear on the same pages. Organization would be a daunting task. After his death, he left all of his notebooks to his dear friend, Melzi. Melzi did not fully realize the importance of what he had been given. He took them to his family home where he allowed visitors to come read the notebooks and take away pages for souvenirs. The notebooks quickly disappeared. In the years to come, many scientists took Leonardo’s work as the basis for their own and received the credit for it. The notebooks are said to be all over the world and many have not yet been re-discovered. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is said to own one book about water.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a well-written piece on the life of Leonardo da Vinci. It leaves out his career as an artist to focus on his life as a scientist. The author’s matter-of-fact style would engage a young reader, and the information on life in the Middle Ages is interesting. However, there is not a list of sources used for this work and accuracy is a key point when evaluating a biography. The book jacket says it is recommended for ages 10 and up, but the accusations of Leonardo being homosexual and the arrest for allegedly having sex with a male prostitute may offend many readers and their parents. The book's organization follows the life of the genius and the index at the back allows the reader to find a subject of interest easily. Boris Kulikov’s line drawings are great and the drawing on the cover with Leonardo attempting flight with his own drawings making up the wings goes right along with the very subject matter at hand. Each drawing included in the book perfectly compliments Leonardo's accomplishments.
Krull does manage to convey the man as a brilliant scientist nearly 100 years ahead of his time. Young readers will surely express a new found interest in science.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “she [Krull] shows the workings of a scientific mind and the close connection between science and art. Kulikov's stylish and exacting line drawings are engaging and incorporate many of the items and interests found in Leonardo's notebooks.
BOOKLIST: “A very readable, vivid portrait set against the backdrop of remarkable times.”
CONNECTIONS
There are numerous websites and other books on Leonardo da Vinci included in the back of the book to further explore.
Other books in Krull’s Giants of Science series:
Krull, Kathleen. MARIE CURIE. ISBN 0670058947
Krull, Kathleen. ISAAC NEWTON. ISBN 0670059218
Picture credit: Barnes and Noble.com
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