Walker Company | ISBN:0802717055 | File Type: PDF, 352 pages | File size: 70.Mb | Oct. 30th, 2012
General History: Early in 1495 Leonardo da Vinci began work in Milan on what wod become one of history s most influential and beloved works of art The Last Supper After a dozen years at the court of Lodovico Sforza the Duke of Milan Leonardo was at a low point personally and professionally at forty three in an era when he had almost reached the average life expectancy he had failed despite a number of prestigious commissions to complete anything that try ffilled his astonishing promise His latest failure was a giant bronze horse to honor Sforza s father His 75 tons of bronze had been expropriated to be turned into cannons to help repel a French invasion of Italy The commission to paint The Last Supper in the refectory of a Dominican convent was a small compensation and his odds of completing it were not promising Not only had he never worked on a painting of such a large size 15 high x 30 wide but he had no experience in the extremely diffict medium of fresco In his compelling new book Ross King explores how amid war and the political and religious turmoil around him and beset by his own insecurities and frustrations Leonardo created the masterpiece that wod forever define him King unveils dozens of stories that are embedded in the painting Examining who served as the models for the Apostles he makes a unique claim that Leonardo modeled two of them on himself Reviewing Leonardo s religious beliefs King paints a much more complex picture than the received wisdom that he was a heretic The food that Leonardo a famous vegetarian placed on the table reveals as much as do the numerous hand gestures of those at Christ s banquet As King explains many of the myths that have grown up around The Last Supper are wrong but its true story is ever more interesting Bringing to life a fascinating period in European history Ross King presents an original portrait of one of the world s greatest geniuses through the lens of his most famous work
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