Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a Genius

From Barnes & Noble

His apprenticeship began in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. Through study with the famous Florentine sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci encountered the system of art patronage and developed his lifelong fascination with form in nature. The only study of its kind, Leonardo Da Vinci: Origins of a Genius is a revealing look at the formation of the Renaissance master who changed the face of art, science, and a dozen other disciplines. The book includes an extensive bibliography, notes, and index.

Andrew Butterfield

...David Alan Brown illuminates Leonardo's early career better than anyone has previously....To say anything intelligent and new about Leonardo requires a great deal of looking and a certain measure of daring. Brown's book exhibits both of these virtues.
—New Republic

William E. Wallace

. . . beautiful book. . . . The refreshingly clear writing is complemented by outstanding black-and-white illustration and nearly 100 high-quality color reproductions, including many ravishing details. -- Washington Times

Library Journal

In an effort to understand the developmental processes that culminate in mature works, researchers have long focused on the early years of the creative genius. This may well be the first such inquiry into the young Leonardo, and Brown, an eminent da Vinci scholar and curator of Italian Renaissance Painting at the National Gallery, has done a masterly job of tracing early influences and the emergence of da Vinci's intense curiosity about nature and ability to re-create it in drawing and painting. The chapter on "Ginevra de'Benci" is a splendid example of how art history and contemporary scientific techniques can be combined in the examination and attribution of a painting. The excellent full-page reproductions and small detail examples are carefully placed within the text for ease of reference, something too often lacking in works of this type. The bibliography is extensive, and the index is a guide not only to the text but to the additional notes as well. A fine critical study accessible to both interested lay readers and scholars; highly recommended for large general collections and all art libraries.--Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York

Andrew Butterfield

...David Alan Brown illuminates Leonardo's early career better than anyone has previously....To say anything intelligent and new about Leonardo requires a great deal of looking and a certain measure of daring. Brown's book exhibits both of these virtues.
— The New Republic