101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci

by Priwer, Shana

• ISBN13: 9781593373467
• ISBN10: 1593373465
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-01
• Publisher: Adams Media Corp

Summary

Thanks To The international bestseller The Da Vinci Code, people are more fascinated with Leonardo Da Vinci than ever. This multitalented man--arguably the greatest genius of all time--was not only a magnificent artist, scientist, and inventor, but also a politically minded radical who defied convention and participated in secret societies. This engaging, entertaining book reveals all the secrets about this wildly gifted man, from his prescient inventions and his lost art to his animal rights activism and his sexual preferences--not to mention his enemies and allies in the dark, turbulent world of his time. Readers learn everything they didn't know about the quintessential Renaissance Man the easy way, thanks to the fun, breezy style of 101 Things You Didn't Know about Da Vinci.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Part 1: In the Beginning	1	(60)
Where it all began: Vinci, Italy	3	(2)
The mamas and the papas, and everyone in between	5	(2)
``Current events'' in fifteenth-century Italy	7	(2)
The life you're born into	9	(2)
Siblings of a genius	11	(3)
It's all relative	14	(1)
Youthful adventures	15	(2)
Get to work! Leonardo's early training	17	(2)
What did they do before there were bookstores?	19	(1)
Apprenticeship, or learning from your elders	20	(3)
Turning dust into gold: Early painting experience	23	(2)
Getting off to a good start	25	(3)
The Company of Painters: Membership has its privileges	28	(2)
Striking out on his own	30	(2)
The rebirth of Italy	32	(2)
Renaissance religion	34	(3)
Don't forget the golden oldies	37	(2)
Show me the money!	39	(2)
The importance of being sponsored	41	(3)
The Lorenzo the Magnificent	44	(2)
Playing up to the duke	46	(2)
Look out, it's Cesare Borgia!	48	(2)
The best of the Louis	50	(3)
Don't mess with the pope	53	(2)
Francois I, King of France and friend of Leonardo	55	(2)
Da Vinci University	57	(4)
Part 2: The Best of the Best of the Best	61	(46)
Early sculpture: A celebration in three dimensions	63	(2)
Form, function, and the whole nine yards	65	(2)
A horse is a horse, of course, of course	67	(2)
Draw up a chair!	69	(3)
The scene behind the scene	72	(2)
Finish that painting! Leonardo and the fine art of completion	74	(3)
Building the scene-scape	77	(2)
An architecture of the imagination	79	(1)
It's all in the details	80	(2)
Monks and lawyers and artists, oh my!	82	(2)
The life and times of The Last Supper	84	(3)
There's something about Lisa	87	(2)
Oldies but goodies	89	(3)
Building the Renaissance	92	(2)
The Milan dome	94	(2)
Order in the Church!	96	(2)
San Giovanni Church: Closer to heaven	98	(2)
Build it and they will come: Designs for other public structures	100	(2)
Military architecture, the design of defense	102	(2)
He built this city	104	(3)
Part 3: What It's all About	107	(46)
Observe and understand	109	(2)
Love that body!	111	(2)
From the inside out: Studies of human systems	113	(2)
Fawning over flora	115	(2)
The perfect man	117	(2)
Getting physical with science	119	(2)
It's all in the circle game	121	(2)
Before planes, trains, and automobiles	123	(2)
War games	125	(2)
Building a better...cannon?	127	(3)
Leonardo's robot	130	(1)
Chutes (we already covered ladders)	131	(2)
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a flying machine!	133	(2)
Leonardo's whirlybird	135	(1)
The world before Xerox	136	(3)
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea	139	(2)
Containing the forces of nature	141	(2)
Harnessing the power of water	143	(2)
The ocean liners of the future	145	(2)
Around and around we go	147	(2)
Gone with the Schwinn	149	(2)
A coach fit for a king	151	(2)
Part 4: Writing, Drawing, and Music	153	(20)
The Leonardo diaries	155	(2)
Every binder needs a few dividers	157	(2)
And the lucky winner is...	159	(3)
Decoding the codices	162	(3)
Say cheese!	165	(2)
It's like looking in a mirror	167	(2)
Write to the point	169	(2)
Bringing down the house	171	(2)
Part 5: Who, What, Where, and What Else	173	(20)
Michelangelo: The Renaissance's ``other great artist''	175	(2)
The young master Raphael	177	(2)
Botticelli on a half-shell	179	(3)
Titian: His own personal giant	182	(2)
Machiavelli: The literary prince of the Renaissance	184	(3)
Talking about a religious revolution	187	(2)
Center of the universe	189	(2)
Leonardo on the analyst's couch	191	(2)
Part 6: The Writing on the Wall	193	(42)
Vegetable soup for a gentle soul	195	(2)
Highly personal accusations	197	(2)
Amigos, compadres...lovers?	199	(2)
Let's talk about sex	201	(2)
Warning: Genius at work	203	(2)
Minor errors of a major genius	205	(2)
Why be normal?	207	(2)
Crazy like a fox	209	(3)
More than meets the eye	212	(2)
``R-e-s-p-e-c-t''	214	(3)
Sincerest form of flattery	217	(2)
A horse of a different color	219	(3)
In the beginning, there was religion	222	(2)
It's all in the name!	224	(2)
In sickness and in health	226	(2)
Leonardo da Vinci: The Renaissance man	228	(2)
The real deal on The Da Vinci Code	230	(5)
Works Cited	235	(2)
Index	237