Vitruvian Man Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Atalay, Bulent. Math and the Mona Lisa: the art and science of Leonardo da Vinci. Washington: Smithsonian, 2004.

This book was written about the connections between math, science and art. It takes a closer look at the math and science that lies beneath Leonardo’s art work. It examines the proportions, symmetries, patterns and shapes that are evident in Leonardo’s masterpieces and how there is a strong connection in that to science and nature. This book was very interesting and provided a more uncommon but fascinating view of the examination of Leonardo’s works. It uses Leonardo da Vinci as a model for the perspective that science is significantly influenced by art and art by science.

Kemp, Martin. Leonardo. New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 2004.

This book takes an in depth look into Leonardo’s life. It describes in detail Leonardo’s childhood and adolescence, and examines some of the events that occurred to him that led to the beginning of his career as an artist. Throughout the rest of the book, Kemp explores Leonardo’s interests, ideas, writings, drawings and other works of art. Kemp breaks down Leonardo’s unique life and offers the reader a captivating look into the mind of one of history’s most innovative thinkers. This book was very helpful in gaining an understanding and appreciation of the many accomplishments of Leonardo da Vinci.

Phillips, Cynthia and Shana Priwer. The Everything Da Vinci Book: Explore the life and times of the ultimate Renaissance man. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2006.

This book is a chapter by chapter breakdown of Leonardo’s life. It starts out with the early days of his childhood and moves into his life throughout the Renaissance. The chapters are then broken down into all of his different interests and areas of expertise, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, science, architecture, inventions and other accomplishments. This book offered insight into how well-rounded of a man Leonardo truly was, and was very helpful in understanding the complexity his life.

“Renaissance Man”. Museum of Science. Boston, MA: 2010. http://www.mos.org/leonardo/bio.html.

This website offered a good overview of information, and was a useful starting point for the more in depth research that other four sources had to offer.

Teisch, Jessica with Tracy Barr. Da Vinci For Dummies. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing Inc, 2005.

This book is a great tool and starting reference for gaining information about Leonardo da Vinci. It gives specifics about his life and tries to explain his works of art as well as other accomplishments he made throughout his life. This book was particularly useful when researching and trying to understand Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man. It also listed places to find Leonardo’s original works of art as well as listing other sources of where one can find more information on Leonardo da Vinci.