Submitted by Bethanne on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 4:16pm
Right now on Another Television Station there's a wonderful series called "Doing Da Vinci." Centuries after his death, Leonardo da Vinci's singular genius and myriad accomplishments continue to fascinate the world. Perhaps that's because he took advantage of every aspect of his own world, and author Bulent Atalay beautifully lays out those aspects in his new book Leonardo's Universe: The Renaissance World of Leonardo da Vinci, co-authored by Keith Walmsley, from National Geographic Books.
Atalay is himself quite the "Renaissance man," having begun his career as an art student and artist, becoming an Oxford PhD in physics, and now teaching full-time at Virginia's University of Mary Washington. Not only does Atalay continue to paint; his books include a gorgeous survey called "NAME TK," commissioned, as he mentions oh-so-casually, by Queen Elizabeth II.
During our conversation, Atalay brings up subjects from the only Da Vinci outside of Europe (guess where it is!), European men's ties, why I have something in common with Leonardo (who knew?), and why there's genius, and then there's genius. Atalay, who is working on two books about that concept, explains why certain people transcend even their most accomplished contemporaries.
I hope you enjoy this interview, and I encourage you to take a peek at Leonardo's Universe. You'll definitely learn something!
Authors mentioned in this post:
Books mentioned in this post:
Leonardo's Universe: The Renaissance World of Leonardo DaVinci
Interview of Dr. Atalay
I found “A Conversation with Bulent Atalay” spellbinding. The same day I ordered Leonardo’s Universe, Atalay’s book co-authored with Keith Wamsley.
The masterfully written prose, complemented by the National Geographic’s exquisite photographs, succeeds in presenting a balanced treatment of Leonardo’s art, science and technology. I think it is a masterpiece that I think would have impressed Leonardo himself. It will have a treasured place on my coffee table. Thank you National Geographic Books, thank you Bethanne for airing this interview.
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