The Leonardo Da Vinci Chess Set - from Luca Pacioli's De Ludo Scachorum - AncientChess.com
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- Опубликовано: 7 ноя 2012
- New reproduction of the chess set depicted in Luca Pacioli's book of 1500, De Ludo Scachorum. Dedicated to the Countess Isabella d'Este, this book complements Da Vinci's portrait of the Countess, both created approximately 1500, as Da Vinci and Pacioli sought refuge together in Mantua -- while the French army stormed Milan. The book, just discovered in 2006, presents over 100 illustrations of this fascinating set of chessmen. They are recreated here, in careful detail and in the style of the High Renaissance.
How fascinating and insightful. I never knew da Vinci designed a chess set. Hats off to you for all your research and lovely realization of the great Renaissance man's idea. And I especially love how you found and pointed out the "king" and "queen" in one of his paintings. This is art, history and chess all rolled into one - a lovely combination!
Thanks for the great comment. I think its unlikely that Da Vinci actually designed this set ... but there are some great speculations now that Pacioli's manuscript has been discovered! It's a pleasure to hear from you.
very beautiful set and great idea recreating them.
Thanks for the good comment. I agree, it is a set well worth bringing back to life! Players today usually have no idea of the rich ideas and aesthetics that have gone into chessmen in centuries gone by.
Very interesting. I think I have commented on almost every video. But I just have to let you know your doing a great job.
Thanks! Really want to make more, just have to find the time ...
yes, most of the things on my videos can be found at my site, AncientChess com . This particular set is the third item in the second column. ... I just checked it and found it was temporarily unlisted. This happens every month, my listings come down and I have to re-list them ... I'll get it right back up. Let me know if you have any difficulty finding it --- Rick
Thanks for the good comment!
Awesome reproduction!
Yay! This is awesome. XD Saw this years ago and remembered it after seeing the organ that was built from his notes.
Thanks, good to hear from you again :)
Interesting question and supportive comment! This would generally be considered the old form of chess, 'ancient chess' or 'medieval chess' .. but as you suggest, we do tend to use the name 'shatranj' for the old chess in general. It's really just the Arabic word for chess, and still is the name for (modern) chess in many places (including Turkey .... and Sri Lanka...) This set was probably used for both the old and new way of playing, so another technical complication. So much to consider :)
Beautiful
Thanks for the nice comment. Send your thoughts any time
Very interesting. I have a question for you. Most of the pieces have a rounded shape except by the rook. It looks like a profile. I think it should look more three dimensional than two dimensional. What do you think? perhaps you did it using the other Renaissance game as reference. Greetings from Peru.
Thanks, really excellent question. When I designed these, based on the sketches in the book, I was relying on known desings of that time, such as the Embriarchi set in the Ashmolean Museum. I allowed the well-known design of traditional Muslim "mushroom" pieces to affect my interpretation of the bishop and knight, but maintained the flat rook, since most medieval sets seem to have some variation of that.
But as the years go by, I have to admit that I am not confident of my choices. I cannot say for sure what the 3-D forms of the bishop, knight and rook should be -- and I have seen examples of sets (not exactly circa 1500 AD) that suggest either rounded or flat interpretations of all of them. I would be very interested to see any further evidence of sets from that era and location!
is there any way i can purchase those pieces?
Is this completely sold out? I couldn't find it on the website.
Sorry, yes, sold out. It will take a while for me to get these again...
sensacional.
Thanks for the good comment! Send messages or questions any time.
Rick
AncientChess.com
Hey what book do you start the video with?
The Great Painters of the Italian Renaissance, Vol. 2 (of 2), H.F. Ullmann, publisher. Each volume weighs 10 pounds. Monstrous!
www.amazon.com/Great-Painters-Italian-Renaissance-Architecture/dp/0841603464/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Rick Knowlton Thankyou Rick much appreciated.
Davinci would have loved it! Good job!
Thanks! I do wish we had more evidence that Leonardo was actually involved in this booklet ... in any case, a fascinating moment in chess history!
so i deleted my comment, but i found yer reply in my notifications. i suppose similar to mail chess [moves are mailed whenever by letter, a four move opening might take several weeks] the threads can start with any ole subject. movies, games, opinions, books, quotes, impressions, styles, chess related of course, but art and war and technique have a role in the mix. i write on the side, but as you've probably noticed they're all searching for the answers while neo and trinity are searching for the question. but both answer and question are all looking for that one thing. will anyone ever be a better writer than moses and get this ball rolling? hmm. what are your ideas of a good consummating chat? :) -msi
I like talking about chess :) How about you?
chess sounds great. so both b j fischer and morphy came from the united states. and i've read the marc sloan book several times. :) -msi
Thanks for the message. I'm really into chess, as you will see if you check out my many videos. I don't know the Marc Sloan book .. can you tell me about it? ... My book is coming up soon, A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations
hey ancientchess. that sloan book i mentioned was over 20 years ago. i checked the web and apparently the author might have been sam sloan not marc sloan. but what i remember the book was about covered more than the chinese elephant chess [with the river in the middle]. it was my first intro to shatranj and makruk and japanese shogi. near the end he says something about a certain henry fook who loves to mystify his opponent with the famous long fan ma defense. and how henry would pay anyone 500,000 dollars [usd] if he could beat his long fan ma defense. mr fook [i checked the web] has since passed away, so the offer is probably revoked.
which brings up [perhaps] the point of the staunton versus morphy game never materializing. in one article i read that staunton avoided the match, because he wouldn't play anyone [as the euro-champ] unless they put down a sizable resource [funds] to cover the incurred expenses and purse for the winner.
glad to have you aboard AC. i've checked out a few of yer vids so far. i can remember dragon chess, and shuuro, and that new viet-river challenge, and the luca puzzles. til then, -msi :)
Thanks M, yes, I have Sam Sloan's book Chinese Chess for beginners. Very interesting and informative, though I haven't read it for quite a while. Sam is an interesting character -- I've never met him in person, but have heard from people who have. His article about the origin of chess takes the lead in the controversial argument that chess originated in China. www.anusha.com/origin.htm
From what little I've read of Staunton/Morphy, most writers seem to think Staunton chickened out. I haven't really looked into it. Many great dramas in the intrigue of great chess masters of the past!
Yes, I have many videos! They are all listed at ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
I haven't posted a new one in almost a year! About time, right?