LEONARDO DA VINCI - Flights of the Mind. A review.

This is has to be one of the most thorough biographies about Leonardo ever written. The most widely read biography, Leonardo: The Artist and the Man"(1988) by the Florentine, Serge Bramly, first translated by Jean-Claude Lattes into French, then later translated into English by Sian Reynolds, and published in England in 1995, was highly considered to be the definitive work on the quintessential renaissance man. Having read Bramly's work in 1996, I considered it to be rough going, strangely dense throughout; due, I expect because of its two translations from the original Italian. Reading translations and not knowing the original language can be a dubious experience for the ignorant reader, as particular words and phrases at times appear out of place. That said, reading Nicholl's passionate and adeptly written life history of Leonardo, combining historical investigation with literary speculation, one would have to admit that this work far out shines its predecessor in terms of its accessibility, detail and style. This is a formidable study of the great man and his work.

Nicholl's certainly did his research on his subject, pouring over Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus, that displays much of da Vinci's multi-varied interests, ideas and doodles, which reveals the linear and non-linear flow of his mind. The master had so many thoughts and ideas endlessly flowing that it is no wonder that he failed to complete many of his projects and paintings. Nicholl, unlike so many speculators before him, refrained from psychoanalyzing this great genius. His method was more to submerge his consciousness into Leonardo's native environment, walk the paths that he walked, and emotionally submerge his soul into the paintings, sculptures and sketches. 

Nicholl spent years physically, mentally and spiritually with Leonardo, sometimes peering at a particular work for hours on end, to possibly catch a true glimpse into the master's mind. Nicholl's approach was to combine scholarly methodology with literary imagination - and reading his work certainly proves that he has paved new insight into the character of this renaissance genius.

This is what makes this work special: Nicholl seems to have left no stone unturned in his analysis of da Vinci's life and work. As he places many of Leonardo's works in the chronological context in which they were created, speculating on da Vinci's stage of "maturity" and the social and political events manifesting at the time, we get a real sense of the man, and the developing stages of his work, ending in his self-imposed exile and dignified death with the French king, Francois I.

The text includes well-produced mono and color images of da Vinci's work. Nicholl's Notes and Bibliography are relatively extensive and valuable for the student of the master, and the renaissance as a whole.

This biography is an entertaining and gripping study of one of the most fascinating artists in history.