Lying open, this unutterably wonderful book is almost the size of the Mona Lisa and about as hefty as a slab of The Last Supper's monastery wall. All 34 paintings are here (including what we know of the lost ones), many with huge and immensely illuminating details, plus 663 drawings. The reproductions are stunning, on paper sturdy enough to serve as wings on some of the flying machines depicted on pages 644 to 671. The precision of the images amazes: the delicate petals fingered by the larger-than-life-size baby Jesus in Madonna of the Carnation; the wailing, dismembered victims of Leonardo's scary scythed chariots; Mary's transparent drapery in the Annunciation; the bands of sunlight streaking each swirling curl of Ginevra de Benci; Mona Lisa's gossamer veil and intricately embroidered gown; even, unless my eyes deceive me, one of the fingerprints Leonardo famously left while daubing paint by hand. The text by Frank Zollner (and Johannes Nathan, who discusses the drawings) teases out meanings and sketches historical context without overloading his scholarly brush. Without it, one might have overlooked the dim crucifix on which St. Jerome fixes his blazing gaze, and quite misunderstood the sexist Hippocratic delusions that inform The Sexual Act in Vertical Section: "A tube-like duct leads from the woman’s breasts to her womb, while the male organ is directly linked not only to the testicles but also…to the brain." (Zollner’s discussion of the erotic subtext of some of the artwork suggests that Leonardo's male passion was not necessarily so rational.) The brief accounts of Leonardo's esthetic combat with Michelangelo and Raphael suggest that you don't need a scythed chariot to cut off an opponent at the knees. The famous quotes by everyone from Nietzsche to Warhol are well selected, especially Freud diagnosing Leonardo's genius as residing in his childlike sense of play. That's a key to the spirit of this book: it's more fun than a week in the Louvre. –Tim Appelo

Associated Press, New York
"A scholarly work and a sensual delight...offering a moth's-eye-view and the ability to "enter" the works of art..."

Soloarte, London
"Sumptuously made and beautifully produced, is the most thorough Leonardo comprehensive survey ever published."

Brian Sewell, The Evening Standard, London
"[N]o better catalogue raisonné of the paintings - scrupulous in every respect - it has no equal currently in print."

artnet.com, New York
"[S]tart making serious room on your bookshelf. The XXL tome features supersized blowups of Leonardo's works.... A truly sumptuous undertaking."

World of Interiors, London
"...the wealth of Leonardo's surviving drawings provide an extraordinary direct and intimate view of the artist's hand...."

Book Description
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This XXL-format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo's masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes. * Part I explores Leonardo's life and work in ten chapters, drawing upon his letters, contracts, diary entries, and writings. All of his paintings are presented and interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on fold-out pages. * Part II comprises a catalogue raisonne of Leonardo's paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation. Each and every painting that can be justifiably attributed to Leonardo is included here; thanks to new findings and scientific research, this is the first time his definitive painting oeuvre is being published. * Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc). Over half of the drawings included were provided by Windsor Castle, marking the first time that the Castle has allowed a publisher to reproduce so many of their drawings. This sumptuous TASCHEN offering is the most thorough and beautifully produced Leonardo book ever published.

About the Author
Professor Frank Zollner wrote his doctoral theses on artistic and architectural theory (1987) and Leonardo da Vinci (1996). He has written numerous publications on the art and artistic theory of the Renaissance and on Paul Klee. Since 1996 he has been Professor of Renaissance and Modern Art at Leipzig University. He is also the author of TASCHEN's 1998 monograph on Leonardo da Vinci. Johannes Nathan studied art history at New York University (B.A.) and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (M.A.), where he earned his Ph.D. in 1995 with a dissertation on the working methods of Leonardo da Vinci. He has taught New York University and at the University of Berne, Switzerland, where he is now directing the "artcampus" project. He is the author of a range of publications on the art of the Italian Renaissance, as well as on artists' working methods.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This XXL-format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo's masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes. * Part I explores Leonardo's life and work in ten chapters, drawing upon his letters, contracts, diary entries, and writings. All of his paintings are presented and interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on large double-spreads. * Part II comprises a catalogue raisonn￯﾿ﾽ of Leonardo's paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation. Each and every painting that can be justifiably attributed to Leonardo is included here; thanks to new findings and scientific research, this is the first time his definitive painting oeuvre is being published. * Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc). Over half of the drawings included were provided by Windsor Castle, marking the first time that the Castle has allowed a publisher to reproduce so many of their drawings. This sumptuous TASCHEN offering is the most thorough and beautifully produced Leonardo book ever published. About the Authors:

Professor Frank Z￯﾿ﾽllner wrote his doctoral theses on artistic and architectural theory (1987) and Leonardo da Vinci (1996). He has written numerous publications on the art and artistic theory of the Renaissance and on Paul Klee. Since 1996 he has been Professor of Renaissance and Modern Art at Leipzig University. He is also the author of TASCHEN's 1998 monograph on Leonardo da Vinci. Johannes Nathan studied art history at New York University (B.A.) and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (M.A.), where he earned his Ph.D. in 1995 with a dissertation on the working methods of Leonardo da Vinci. He has taught New York University and at the University of Berne, Switzerland, where he is now directing the "artcampus" project. He is the author of a range of publications on the art of the Italian Renaissance, as well as on artists' working methods.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times