"For lovers of art history, this lavishly illustrated and well-written
book is an absolute gem." - Italia! Magazine
Leonardo da Vinci was the epitome of the Renaissance humanist ideal, a
logical polymath of epic proportions who excelled and had interests not
just in art but in invention, anatomy, architecture, engineering,
literature, mathematics, music, science, astronomy and more. His oeuvre
is astounding and he is rightly famed for his masterpieces of painting
such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and his astonishingly
technical and graceful drawings. The phenomenon that was Leonardo would
not of course have flourished to such an extent had it not been for the
patronage and sponsorship of the Medici family, who commissioned a large
proportion of the art and architecture of the era and fostered a fertile
climate for creativity. This sumptuous new book offers a broader view of
this master artist in the context of this environment, alongside the
work of other key artists who benefited from the Medicis, from
Brunelleschi through Donatello to Michelangelo and Raphael.