The Last Supper is an image familiar to everyone, the story of its execution is not. In Leonardo and the Last Supper, the best-selling author of Brunelleschi's Dome tells that extraordinary story
Ross King is the highly praised author of Brunelleschi's Dome, Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, The Judgment of Paris, Machiavelli: Philosopher of Power, and two novels, Ex Libris and Domino. He lives just outside Oxford.
[A] richly entertaining tale of how Leonardo came to paint The Last
Supper. King, who had previously written acclaimed accounts of
Brunelleschi's Florentine dome and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
ceiling, has an infectious relish for the gaudy, brutal and
brilliant world of the Italian Renaissance
*The Mail on Sunday*
King draws attention to overlooked iconographic details such as the
supper menu, and he profits from the mural’s misfortunes in a
brilliant history of its afterlife as restorers perform cosmetic
surgery on it
*The Observer Books of the Year*
King deftly explains how Leonardo developed each element as well as
his quirks and those of his patron Ludovico ‘”il Moro” Sforza. This
account is a good deal more vivid than the ghostly fresco
itself
*The Guardian, Books of the Year*
The story of Leonardo's creation of the work has now found an ideal
chronicler in Ross King ... King has the gift of clear,
unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair
*Guardian*
Extraordinary
*Sunday Times 'Must Reads'*
Enthralling ****
*Daily Mail*
Mr. King gives us a gripping account of how that painting was
created and how it represents, in his view, one of the few times in
Leonardo’s life that he managed to “harness and concentrate his
relentless energies and restless obsessions” ... King deftly
deconstructs the ways the painter broke with tradition and stamped
a familiar and much depicted subject with his distinctive
vision
*Michiko Kakutani, International Herald Tribune*
King writes evenly and engagingly … We learn a great deal about the
middle-aged artist, and his persistent fear of failing to complete
commissions … King deftly situates both his subject and the immense
appeal of the work in our own day ... The book will bring new
insights to all who have visited Milan, and will encourage others
to make that pilgrimage
*Church Times*
Forget Dan Brown’s reading of the painting – King shows expertly
how perspective and patronage shaped one of the most famous
paintings in the world
*Sunday Herald*
[A] richly entertaining tale of how Leonardo came to paint The Last
Supper. King, who had previously written acclaimed accounts of
Brunelleschi's Florentine dome and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
ceiling, has an infectious relish for the gaudy, brutal and
brilliant world of the Italian Renaissance * The Mail on
Sunday *
King draws attention to overlooked iconographic details such as the
supper menu, and he profits from the mural's misfortunes in a
brilliant history of its afterlife as restorers perform cosmetic
surgery on it * The Observer Books of the Year *
King deftly explains how Leonardo developed each element as well as
his quirks and those of his patron Ludovico '"il Moro" Sforza. This
account is a good deal more vivid than the ghostly fresco itself *
The Guardian, Books of the Year *
The story of Leonardo's creation of the work has now found an ideal
chronicler in Ross King ... King has the gift of clear,
unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair *
Guardian *
Extraordinary * Sunday Times 'Must Reads' *
Enthralling **** * Daily Mail *
Mr. King gives us a gripping account of how that painting was
created and how it represents, in his view, one of the few times in
Leonardo's life that he managed to "harness and concentrate his
relentless energies and restless obsessions" ... King deftly
deconstructs the ways the painter broke with tradition and stamped
a familiar and much depicted subject with his distinctive vision *
Michiko Kakutani, International Herald Tribune *
King writes evenly and engagingly ... We learn a great deal about
the middle-aged artist, and his persistent fear of failing to
complete commissions ... King deftly situates both his subject and
the immense appeal of the work in our own day ... The book will
bring new insights to all who have visited Milan, and will
encourage others to make that pilgrimage * Church Times
*
Forget Dan Brown's reading of the painting - King shows expertly
how perspective and patronage shaped one of the most famous
paintings in the world * Sunday Herald *
King (Brunelleschi's Dome) celebrates Leonardo da Vinci in this engaging biography centered on the artist's creation of one of his masterpieces, The Last Supper, in Santa Maria della Grazia in Milan. He touches upon some of the major forces of Leonardo's time: Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, who commissioned the painting to glorify the Sforza dynasty; Charles XIII of France, whose troops invaded and, for a time, ruled parts of Italy; as well as the ecclesiastic fabric of Renaissance life, which supported the creation of many great works of art. King explores Leonardo's painting techniques and explores many factors that may have figured into its creation such as the divinely inspired proportion of the golden section (knowledge derived from Leonardo's relationship with the mathematician Luca Pacioli) as well as an explication of the various poses of the figures in the painting itself, which King speculates might be based on gestures commonly used by 15th-century Italians. VERDICT A fascinating and in-depth story of one of the world's most famous works of art that will appeal to general readers as well as academics. Highly recommended.-Ellen Bates, New York (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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