Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image
by Lester, Toby
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine DJ
- ISBN 10
- 1439189234
- ISBN 13
- 9781439189238
- Seller
-
Eunumclaw, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
EVERYONE KNOWSTHE IMAGE. NO ONE KNOWS ITS STORY. This is the story of Vitruvian Man: Leonardo da Vincis famous drawing of a man in a circle and a square. Deployed today to celebrate subjects as various as the nature of genius, the beauty of the human form, and the universality of the human spirit, the figure appears on everything from coffee cups and T-shirts to book covers and corporate logos. In short, it has become the worlds most famous cultural icon, yet almost nobody knows anything about it. Leonardo didnt summon Vitruvian Man out of thin air. He was playing with the idea, set down by the Roman architect Vitruvius, that the human body could be made to fit inside a circle, long associated with the divine, and a square, related to the earthly and secular. To place a man inside those shapes was therefore to imply that the human body was the world in miniature. This idea, known as the theory of the microcosm, was the engine that had powered Western religious and scientific thought for centuries, and Leonardo hitched himself to it in no uncertain terms. Yet starting in the 1480s he set out to do something unprecedented. If the design of the body truly did reflect that of the cosmos, he reasoned, then by studying its proportions and anatomy more thoroughly than had ever been done beforeby peering deep into both body and soulhe might broaden the scope of his art to include the broadest of metaphysical horizons. He might, in other words, obtain an almost godlike perspective on the makeup of the world as a whole. Vitruvian Man gives that exhilarating idea visual expression. In telling its story, Toby Lester weaves together a century-spanning saga of people and ideas. Assembled here is an eclectic cast of fascinating characters: the architect Vitruvius; the emperor Caesar Augustus and his body of empire; early Christian and Muslim thinkers; the visionary mystic Hildegard of Bingen; the book-hunter Poggio Bracciolini; the famous dome-builder Filippo Brunelleschi; Renaissance anatomists, architects, art theorists, doctors, and military engineers; and, of course, in the starring role, Leonardo himselfwhose ghost Lester resurrects in the surprisingly unfamiliar context of his own times. Da Vincis Ghost is written with the same narrative flair and intellectual sweep as Lesters award-winning first book, the almost unbearably thrilling (Simon Winchester) Fourth Part of the World . Like Vitruvian Man itself, the book captures a pivotal time in the history of Western thought when the Middle Ages was giving way to the Renaissance, when art and science and philosophy all seemed to be converging as one, and when it seemed just possible, at least to Leonardo da Vinci, that a single human being might embodyand even understandthe nature of everything.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Keeper of the Page (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 350756
- Title
- Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image
- Author
- Lester, Toby
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine DJ
- Edition
- First Edition NL with 1
- ISBN 10
- 1439189234
- ISBN 13
- 9781439189238
- Publisher
- Free Press
- Place of Publication
- USA
- Date Published
- 2012
Terms of Sale
Keeper of the Page
Store Policies Payment Methods Accepted We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Paypal, Refunds If something is wrong with your order, please email Orders@keeperofthepage.com, we have a passion for quality service! Returns All returns must be pre-authorized by Customer Service. Please email Orders@keeperofthepage.com within 30 days before returning any purchase. Partial Refunds Partial refunds will be issued for the following items, as well as a 50% restocking fee: � Unauthorized returns � Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery � Any item that is returned in a condition less than it was when shipped Returning Items You Didn't Order If you received an extra item in a shipment, or items were delivered to you that you didn't order, please email Orders@keeperofthepage.com right away. Packing & Sending Your Return � Pack the item(s) along with the return authorization email securely in a box or padded envelope. � Address the return to Keeper of the Page Returns, 3155 Porter Street, Enumclaw, WA 98022. � Suggested shipping method: USPS Media Mail with delivery confirmation. General Information Please remember used books do not always have the same Publisher, Print date, ISBN or Cover. Used books may be older editions. Any known differences are clearly stated. Please check the comments carefully. If there are special shipping, cover art, edition or ISBN requirements contact us prior to shipment. Unless otherwise requested, we ship within 2 business days via the United States Postal Service Media Mail. Please email Orders@keeperofthepage.com with any concerns, questions, returns, etc. Estimated Shipment Times Media Mail can take 4-14 business days for arrival. Depending on your location. Priority Mail can take 3-6 business days for arrival. Depending on your location. Please allow up to 60 days for all international shipments
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Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...