Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Clear, readable, engaging, and a few details that are truly revealing (for instance, that Da Vinci really wanted to build armaments, but settled for sculptures and paintings while he sought those military commissions). The account of the construction of the Last Supper is fascinating, and King carefully contextualizes the painting and its legacy. But I found myself more fascinated by the archeological work that King uses to undergird his narrative—the myriad shopping lists, notes, letters and other bits of historical data that reveal the everyday existence of the artist.
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