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Illustrator brings da Vinci to life in new bio

Matthew Martin matthew.martin@stuff.co.nz

Donovan Bixley’s almost life-long obsession with one of the most influential and interesting minds in history has made it into print in the form of A Portrait of Leonardo.

And he hopes the book will help people shed the impression of Leonardo da Vinci as a ‘‘a drab, brown smock-wearing Renaissance Gandalf, and instead see him for who he was – a man ahead of his time’’.

Bixley, a Taupō based multi awardwinning illustrator and author, said his new illustrated biography for adults on the life, and the personality, that was Leonardo da Vinci had been more than 20 years in the making, and he was thrilled he could finally show it to the world.

The book has been a labour of love for Bixley, who initially said he was daunted by the task of tackling his greatest hero and had focused on his biographies of Mozart and Shakespeare as a ‘‘warm-up’’.

‘‘My research has seen me delve into thousands of pages of [da Vinci’s] notebooks, where Leonardo presents himself in an almost austere way, and I’ve tried to find those tiny chinks in his armour where he reveals different parts of his personality . . . think Alexander McQueen meets Sir Isaac Newton, with a dose of Billy Connolly on the side.’’

Bixley has won numerous awards for his picture books and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021 for services to children’s literature.

He also plays saxophone, piano and guitar and has performed on stage as Harry Bright in Mamma Mia, and Marius in Les Mise´ rables, and has worked as a set designer and painter, as well as a character designer and art director for animated series. While he said he’s definitely no da Vinci, he has drawn inspiration from Leonardo’s life and the fact he was ‘‘. . . an obscure nobody who made it big’’. ‘‘He wasn’t rich, or privileged, or sent off for special education. Leonardo was a bastard child from an insignificant village, yet he rose to become one of the greatest thinkers of all time. ‘‘Leonardo’s story gives inspiration and hope to all the creative dreamers out there, no matter where they’re from or who they are.’’

Bixley said he wanted to show people the man behind the masterpieces and for them to learn about the personality that drove one of the greatest minds in history.

‘‘I really hope that my book presents to the world a vision of the Leonardo I’ve come to know through my years of research – the curious child, the arrogant teenage upstart, the fantastical day-dreamer, a hilarious sharp-witted entertainer, a procrastinating painter, and a bloody–minded scientist who was defiant of authority and the status quo.

‘‘He was a colourful character with a fiercely independent personality and one of the greatest gay icons who ever lived.’’ Bixley will be holding a book launch and talk at the Taupō Library on Story Pl from 5.30pm on Thursday, June 9. Everyone is welcome.

‘‘Leonardo was a bastard child from an insignificant village, yet he rose to become one of the greatest thinkers of all time’’

Donovan Bixley

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en-nz

2022-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281608129057779

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