Leonardo Da Vinci
by Walter Isaacson
Related videos
2:07
Bill Gates shows & discusses pages from Leonardo’s notebooks
1.1M
35K
May, 2018
Spoiler:
Bill Gates shows preserved pages of drawings and observations that Leonardo made while investigating such things as the muscles of the body and how a fetus is positioned in the womb. He reminds viewers that Leonardo’s brain was not any different from ours, and that anyone can follow the artist’s habit of being curious and letting investigations of one thing lead to another thing. Gates says that what makes Isaacson’s book different is that it’s not an art book but rather a chronological look at Leonardo’s life and what made him unique.
52:33
Author shows slides at Politics and Prose bookstore + Q&A
49K
908
Dec, 2017
Spoiler:
The author observes that the subjects of his biographies— Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Leonardo, and to an extent Benjamin Franklin—have in common that they either dropped out of formal education or didn’t pursue it at all, letting their natural curiosity guide them. He says that Leonardo was curious “about knowing everything that could be learned about every subject that was knowable.” He also speaks in depth about the painting Salvator Mundi, the only Leonardo in private hands, that was to be auctioned about a week after the bookstore event.
5:17
Author live appearance on CBS This Morning + Leonardo slides
34K
708
Oct, 2017
Spoiler:
Describing him as “a different kind of genius,” the author uses images from Leonardo’s notebooks to show the breadth and variety of the artist’s investigations (although Isaacson notes that he thought of himself not as an artist but as an engineer). Isaacson says that unlike Mozart, who was a musical genius, Leonardo was a genius across multiple fields. The author considers it fortunate that Leonardo wasn’t allowed to go to university (because he had been born out of wedlock) and therefore could self-develop in so many areas.
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Walter Isaacson is a bestselling American author, journalist, and history professor at Tulane University. He has been the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time. Isaacson is a graduate of Harvard University and Oxford University. He received the National Humanities Medal in 2023.
Other books by Walter Isaacson
Publications
Gates Notes: Tinker, painter, sculptor, guy: Leonardo is one of the most fascinating people ever
The Guardian: Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography by Walter Isaacson review – unparalleled creative genius
The New York Times: Walter Isaacson’s ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ Is the Portrait of a Real Renaissance Man
The Washington Post: How to unlock your inner Leonardo da Vinci
The Times: Book review: Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography by Walter Isaacson
Forbes: Walter Isaacson: What We Can Learn About Innovation From Leonardo da Vinci
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