Young Leonardo The Evolution of a Revolutionary Artist, 1472-1499

The traditional view of Leonardo's early career is that he was recognized as a prodigy in the workshop of Verrocchio, enjoyed a promising start in Florence, and then moved to Milan to become the celebrated court artist of Duke Ludovico Sforza.This provocative book shows that the opposite is true. It reveals how Leonardo struggled against the strong Quattrocento "brand" of Verrocchio's work, was stymied in his efforts to finish his first masterpiece in Florence, and left for Milan on little more than a wing and a prayer. Once there, he was studiously ignored by Duke Ludovico, and only survived on the strength of his association with the de Predis brothers.Authors Isbouts and Brown ("The Mona Lisa Myth," 2013) also show that the first major commission that Leonardo did receive from the Sforza court ended in failure, and that in response, he had to satisfy himself with secondary projects, such as painting the portraits of Sforza's mistresses. Meanwhile, all the big ducal commissions went to Lombard artists that the Duke trusted. This book also argues that it was the prior of the Santa Maria dell Grazie, not the Duke, who chose Leonardo for the Last Supper project, and that only near the end of the Sforza regime, the Duke finally became convinced of Leonardo's exceptional talent. Among many other astonishing revelations, Young Leonardo uncovers the mysterious link between the Last Supper and the fresco of the Crucifixion on the opposite wall, a work that up to now has fully escaped public and scholarly attention. Written in a highly accessible narrative style, Young Leonardo offers a fascinating window on the mind of the young artist as he slowly develops the groundbreaking techniques that will transform the history of Western art.