Description

Book Synopsis
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the preeminent figures of the Italian Renaissance. He was also one of the most paradoxical. He spent an incredible amount of time writing notebooks, perhaps even more time than he ever held a brush, yet at the same time Leonardo was Renaissance culture's most fanatical critic of the word. When Leonardo criticized writing he criticized it as an expert on words; when he was painting, writing remained in the back of his brilliant mind. In this book, Joost Keizer argues that the comparison between word and image fueled Leonardo's thought. The paradoxes at the heart of Leonardo's ideas and practice also defined some of Renaissance culture's central assumptions about culture and nature: that there is a look to script, that painting offered a path out of culture and back to nature, that the meaning of images emerged in comparison with words, and that the difference between image-making and writing also amounted to a difference in the experience of time.

Leonardo's Paradox: Word and Image in the Making

    Product form

    £39.14

    Includes FREE delivery

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Thu 20 Aug 2026.

    A Hardback by Joost M. Keizer

    10 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Leonardo's Paradox: Word and Image in the Making by Joost M. Keizer

      Publisher: Reaktion Books
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 11/02/2019
      ISBN13: 9781789140699, 978-1789140699
      ISBN10: 1789140692
      Also in:
      The Arts

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the preeminent figures of the Italian Renaissance. He was also one of the most paradoxical. He spent an incredible amount of time writing notebooks, perhaps even more time than he ever held a brush, yet at the same time Leonardo was Renaissance culture's most fanatical critic of the word. When Leonardo criticized writing he criticized it as an expert on words; when he was painting, writing remained in the back of his brilliant mind. In this book, Joost Keizer argues that the comparison between word and image fueled Leonardo's thought. The paradoxes at the heart of Leonardo's ideas and practice also defined some of Renaissance culture's central assumptions about culture and nature: that there is a look to script, that painting offered a path out of culture and back to nature, that the meaning of images emerged in comparison with words, and that the difference between image-making and writing also amounted to a difference in the experience of time.

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account