Originally published on the 500th anniversary of the great master’s death, the landmark four-volume study Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered, offers a portrait of Leonardo as he has never been seen before. Internationally renowned Leonardo specialist Carmen C. Bambach unfurls new narratives, largely based on the most important, yet most misunderstood, body of evidence available: the artist’s drawings, paintings and manuscripts. In the manner of a biographer, Bambach combs through contemporary documents and more than 4,000 surviving sheets of Leonardo’s notes and drawings to extract details about his development as an artist and thinker that have never before been suggested.
In this blogpost, part of the 50 Years in 50 Books series for our 50th Anniversary, we are sharing an extract from the first volume of Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered, alongside a recording of the author discussing the book at the Italian Cultural Institute New York.
Read an extract from Volume I
Watch the author in conversation at the Italian Cultural Institute New York
View the book trailer
About the Book:
A groundbreaking, essential addition to scholarship, Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered continues this legacy while simultaneously reexamining the multifaceted artist’s life and work from the ground up. This authoritative, four-volume study marks the 500th anniversary of the great master’s death with a sweeping, up-to-date portrait of Leonardo as he has never been seen before.
About the Author:
Carmen C. Bambach is curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In 2019 she was awarded the Vilcek Prize for Excellence – created to honour immigrants who have had a profound impact on American society and world culture.
Further reading:
Yale University Press is celebrating 50 years of publishing in London. To celebrate, we have selected 50 important Yale London books from our past, present and future to tell the story of our publishing through a series of articles and extracts.
