Leonardo da Vinci

Description

A painting by Leonardo da Vinci sold for $450.3 million at Christie’s in 2017 – by far the highest price for a work of art ever sold at auction. The amount illustrates the legendary place the great Italian artist occupies in our imagination.

Today, the term “genius” is used to describe pop stars, stand-up comedians and even football players. But Leonardo da Vinci truly deserves the description, explains Walter Isaacson in his lavishly illustrated biography. From world-famous paintings – the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper” – to designs for flying machines and groundbreaking studies of optics and perspective, Leonardo fused science and art to create works that have become part of human history.