Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo by Stephanie Storey
In her brilliant debut, Storey brings early 16th-century Florence to life, delving with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters to create a breathtaking art history thriller. Between 1501 and 1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty-year-old in the prime of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties who was determined to make a name for himself.
Leonardo: Revised Edition by Martin Kemp
This fascinating look at Leonardo da Vinci’s life and work reveals what made him so unique and explains the phenomenon of the world’s most celebrated artistic genius, who, 500 years later, continues to captivate and inspire us.
Martin Kemp provides exceptional insights into what made this Renaissance man so unique, as well as the “true” meaning behind masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Tracing Leonardo’s career in all its facets, we learn about his unfulfilled dreams, relationships with powerful patrons, and the truth about his beliefs about God, humans, and nature.
The famous notebooks are the key to unlocking the secret of Leonardo’s success and genius, as they reveal the inner workings of his mind and demonstrate the true innovative and investigative nature of his creative vision. Over 20,000 pages of drawings and notes document his incredible discoveries and inventions, ranging from the workings of the human eye to designs for flying machines and giant crossbows.
Bringing the story up to date, Martin Kemp considers what he means to us today, investigates the “Leonardo industry,” and speculates on what he would do if he were still alive. This updated edition of Martin Kemp’s best-seller is the first book on Leonardo to include two newly discovered works—the most important such discoveries in over a hundred years.
