BOOK REVIEW: Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan.

BOOK REVIEW: Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley.

BOOK REVIEW: A Visitor's Guide to Victorian Englan.

In addition, she guides the reader step-by-step through the creation of these two masterpieces so that they are almost visible on the page. The author knows the subject matter well and is able to make the historical events and the rivalry between the two great masters come alive. The politics of the times influence the city’s patronage of the artists. Their policies will affect the people of Florence. In the greater world, popes die and new popes are named. The city is threatened by Borgia’s army and by followers of the Medici. There is a lot going on in Florence besides the workings of these two.

From her, he learns something about emotional depth that softens his rough edges. He is enchanted by her and, after a time, is able to wring a commission from her husband to paint her.

Leonardo is saved, to some extent, by a chance meeting with a merchant’s wife. Michelangelo, un-charming though he may be, comes across as the better man in this novel. He’s able to respect Leonardo’s work even if he hates the man. He craves the love and respect of his family and has a few close friends, but he is not the gadabout that da Vinci is. He’ll do whatever is necessary to complete it. When he wins the commission to carve a new statue of David from a massive block of damaged marble, the task consumes him. Michelangelo is young, uncouth, largely unknown, devout, and passionate only about his art. When he sees a young artist as a potential competitor, he does everything he can to humiliate and thwart him. When he doesn’t get a commission he wants, he sells himself and his ideas for war machines to Florence’s enemies. He’s vain and selfish, self-important and condescending. He’s always looking for that next project rather than completing what he has begun. As a result, he has left a string of unfinished works in his wake. However, he’s also a dabbler, often more interested in his scientific and engineering endeavors, particularly his dream of inventing a means for human flight, than he is in his art. He is charming, well-liked, and is known as a profligate lover and seducer of many of those who commission work from him.

Leonardo is in his fifties and is at the height of his fame.

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey