We specialize in hard to find items
(1)
Leonardo's Shadow: Or, My Astonishing Life as Leonardo da Vinci's Servant
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Leonardo's Shadow: Or, My Astonishing Life As
Product Description The amazing story about the most celebrated artist who ever lived and a young man without a past who will stop at nothing to learn the truth about his life. Milan, 1497. The height of the Renaissance. And for Giacomo, servant of the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci, it's the most difficult time of all. His Master has been working on the Last Supper, his greatest painting ever, for nearly two years. But has he finished it? He's barely started! The all-powerful Duke of Milan is demanding that it be completed by the time the Pope visits at Easter. And Giacomo knows that if Leonardo doesn't pick up his pace, the Duke may invite a young genius -- Michelangelo -- to finish the painting instead. Which means that Leonardo won't be paid, which means that Milan's shopkeepers (to whom he owes massive amounts) will take drastic measures against him. It's all down to Giacomo, and whether he can come up with a brilliant solution. And if he does, will his Master go for it? After all, Leonardo still doesn't seem to trust him. He refuses to teach Giacomo how to paint; he won't help him find his parents; nor will he discuss the significance of the medallion, ring, and cross that Giacomo was carrying when Leonardo found him. But with the secret arrival of a powerful stranger, Giacomo is about to discover much more than the answers he has been looking for. And he will also receive an invitation to help arrange a meeting that could change his life. . . and the future course of history. With more twists and turns than a spiral staircase, this thriller is as unique as its two heroes -- the most celebrated artist who ever lived, and a young man without a past, who will stop at nothing to find the truth about his life. Review The Historical Novels Review The ongoing popularity of Leonardo da Vinci in fiction often obscures his preeminent place as the Renaissance's most gifted and versatile artist. Likewise, the presence of fictional or semi-fictional characters interacting with Leonardo to their own ends usually reduces the artist to a cliché or foil for the plot in question. Fortunately, in Christopher Grey's young adult novel Leonardo's Shadow, these obstacles are delightfully overcome. Though written for the adolescent market, this book has a depth that makes it accessible for older persons interested in Leonardo and 15th century Italy, and is indeed better written than several adult offerings set in the same era. The voice of the novel is Giacomo, a youth without a past rescued by Leonardo and set to work for him as a servant. Giacomo yearns to discover who he truly is, as well as to secretly learn the art of painting (which Leonardo refuses to teach him); but it is his devotion to his master, as well as his wry insight into Leonardo's idiosyncratic temperament and procrastination while working on the The Last Supper, which give the novel its heart. Giacomo's sardonic observations of daily life in Milan and the artist's struggles with penury, his capricious patron Il Moro, and all the clamoring merchants eager to exchange credit for immortality are woven with refreshing wit into a tale that deepens in scope when Giacomo finds himself thrust into a plot to save Leonardo from his own debts. A host of well-drawn characters that include a menacing alchemist, a sage housekeeper, and a lovely discarded ducal mistress, as well as the always imposing but astonishingly human presence of Leonardo himself, only serve to exalt the exuberant soul and courage of a boy who matures into far more than his master's titular shadow. -- C.W. Gortner Publishers Weekly This exciting first novel, set in 1497 Milan, Italy, revolves around Leonardo da Vinci and the painting of his masterpiece, The Last Supper. 'It's not an easy life, a servant's. You'll see,' promises teenage narrator Giacomo, who knows whereof he speaks, as a servant to the Renaissance master himself. Shopkeepers continually demand payment for goods and the
