Das grosse Leonardo-Buch

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), already an exceptional figure during his lifetime, became a legend just a few decades after his death through Vasari's famous "Vita" of the artist, with which our book begins. Since then, fact and fiction have become almost indistinguishable. The mythical elevation to a genius of humanity that Leonardo experienced over the centuries makes it nearly impossible today to separate facts from fiction and to create an authentic picture of his life.

Marianne Schneider, the editor and translator of our Leonardo edition, addresses this dilemma in a straightforward and consistent manner by composing her Leonardo biography exclusively from contemporary source texts. She carefully compiles official documents—from the birth certificate to Leonardo's will—correspondences, statements from friends, companions, and patrons, as well as self-testimonies from Leonardo's writings, providing thoughtful commentary to create a narrative that follows Leonardo's life path using the method of forensic investigation.

In the anniversary year, Marianne Schneider presents a revised new edition of her Leonardo biography, first published in 2002, supplemented by the latest research findings and rediscovered documents, particularly regarding Leonardo's time in Florence. Alongside the linguistic testimonies that bring an entire era to life, there are equally eloquent visual ones: Leonardo's drawings and manuscript pages are interspersed throughout the texts, and the plate section features color reproductions of all known paintings.

The last word in the book belongs to Leonardo: "When I believe I will learn to live, then I will learn to die."

Marianne Schneider translates literary texts from Italian and French into German. Among the authors she has translated are Carlo Collodi, Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Moravia, Roberto Calasso, Ignazio Silone, Luchino Visconti, Simone Veil, and Luc Boltanski.