A fascinating read that's well researched. The author makes several "pronouncements" or statements that, I expect, arise from his research, but I wasn't always so certain that the author ought to have been so certain. Just the same, I enjoyed this book - it's actually a biography of da Vinci (it covers his childhood to his death) without being a biography in the usual sense (in that the focus is on his art, his inventions and his apparent lack to finish much. But it's amazing that of the little work he did finish, two of his pieces of art, The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa are probably the most famous pieces of art in the western world.

"In Leonardo and the Last Supper, acclaimed Canadian author Ross King focuses his narrative skills and historical expertise on the Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Providing a fascinating portrait of Leonardo's character, details about his technique, and intriguing history of Milanese politics, King explains how the great mural of Jesus' last supper with his disciples was commissioned - and executed in a mere three years." Biography and Memoir December 2012 newsletter http://www.nextreads.com/Display2.aspx?SID=5acc8fc1-4e91-4ebe-906d-f8fc5e82a8e0&N=581155

So far so good. Full with lots of information about the 1400s back in Italy. I have to say that I am really enjoying this book so far. In a couple of hours I am already up to the second chapter.

The Library Journal extract is incorrect, it should reference Charles VIII, not XIII.

Really enjoyed this. It’s the kind of engaged, focused, penetrating (yet nuanced) exploration I devour. The fourth book by Ross King I’ve read, Leonardo and the Last Supper is the best so far. (I have to say he’s better at European art history than Canadian. Even if I wasn’t knowledgeable in that subject area, I would have found Defiant Spirits disappointing because it’s reductive and uncritical. Not confronting the Group of Seven’s narrow and elitist Anglo-Canadian boosterism effectively promotes it.) King does a good job here, however, of acknowledging his topic’s complexity and of representing the intricacies of Italian politics at the end of the quattrocento. He’s forthcoming about the lack of documentation re: some aspects of the fresco, but his speculations are informed and judicious. A recently discovered and detailed copy of the painting by one of Leonardo’s students is very useful in that regard. Went to the authors talk at the VAG, and he’s a personable, perspicacious and entertaining speaker. With half a dozen historical works to his credit to date, he may be coming into his own as a non-fiction writer. Can’t wait for the next one.