A spirited glimpse at the childhood of one of the world's greatest artists and thinkers: Leonardo da Vinci.

"Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown depict Leonardo's seminal years in Milan from an entirely new perspective: that of the Sforza court. They show that much of the Sforza patronage was directed on vast projects, such as the Milan Cathedral, favoring a close circle of local artists to which Leonardo never gained entry. As a result, his exceptional talent remained largely unrecognized right up to The Last Supper and the fresco of the Crucifixion on the opposite wall, a work that up to now has fully escaped public attention. Finally, they present a sensational theory: that two long-ignored, life-size copies of The Last Supper, now in Belgium and the UK, were actually commissioned by the French king Louis XII and painted under Leonardo's direct supervision."--Publisher's description.

Leonardo da Vinci is often presented as the 'transcendent genius', removed from or ahead of his time. This book, however, attempts to understand him in the context of Renaissance Florence. Larry J. Feinberg explores Leonardo's origins and the beginning of his career as an artist. While celebrating his many artistic achievements, the book illuminates his debt to other artists' works and his struggles to gain and retain patronage, as well as his career and personal difficulties. Feinberg examines the range of Leonardo's interests, including aerodynamics, anatomy, astronomy, botany, geology, hydraulics, optics, and warfare technology, to clarify how the artist's broad intellectual curiosity informed his art. Situating the artist within the political, social, cultural, and artistic context of mid- and late-fifteenth-century Florence, Feinberg shows how this environment influenced Leonardo's artistic output and laid the groundwork for the achievements of his mature works.

Presents exciting, original conclusions about Leonardo da Vinci's early life as an artist and amplifies his role in Andrea del Verrocchio's studio This groundbreaking reexamination of the beginnings of Leonardo da Vinci's (1452-1519) life as an artist suggests new candidates for his earliest surviving work and revises our understanding of his role in the studio of his teacher, Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488). Anchoring this analysis are important yet often overlooked considerations about Verrocchio's studio--specifically, the collaborative nature of most works that emerged from it and the probability that Leonardo must initially have learned to paint in tempera, as his teacher did. The book searches for the young artist's hand among the tempera works from Verrocchio's studio and proposes new criteria for judging Verrocchio's own painting style. Several paintings are identified here as likely the work of Leonardo, and others long considered works by Verrocchio or his assistant Lorenzo di Credi (1457/59-1536) may now be seen as collaborations with Leonardo sometime before his departure from Florence in 1482/83. In addition to Laurence Kanter's detailed arguments, the book features three essays presenting recent scientific analysis and imaging that support the new attributions of paintings, or parts of paintings, to Leonardo.

Presents the childhood years, family life, early influences, inventions, and masterpieces of this renowned fifteenth-century inventor and artist.

This is the first in-depth look at the important connections between the arts and science specifically for early childhood education (pre-K–3rd grade). Highlighting their many commonalities, such as the processes involved in creative problem solving, the author draws on what we can learn from Leonardo da Vinci as the supreme artist-scientist. Every chapter begins with a vignette of Leonardo and relates his thinking to the development of children’s ideas in the arts and STEM (STEAM). This fresh look at the interdisciplinary connections of the arts and science offers early childhood teachers and administrators a spectrum of tools for connecting the creative arts (art, movement, drama, and music) to the STEM movement, 21st-century skills, and developmentally appropriate practice. “A coherent, well-researched argument for replacing meaningless activities with engaging creative art and STEM experiences.” —From the Foreword by Judy Harris Helm, president, Best Practices, Inc. “Mary Jo understands the many connections between science and art, and her materials and resources foster creativity and science learning with ready-to-use activities.” —Carrie Lynne Draper, founder & executive director, Readiness Learning Associates “Woven throughout the book are historical perspectives, current research, critical concepts, and activity ideas that provide a rich rationale and immediate applicability to the classroom.” —Julie Bullard, University of Montana

Offers a portrait of the artist, covering his life, creative process, and his art, presented in more than 295 illustrations that span the length and breadth of his career.