From 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 YorkCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Andrew Butterfield, New Republic
David Alan Brown illuminates Leonardo's early career better than anyone has previously. . . . His account is learned and intuitive, and he presents his conclusions in clear and fearless prose. . . . 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.


Book Description
This beautiful book is the first full-length study of Leonardo's beginnings as an artist. It discusses his years in Verrocchio's workshop and his subsequent work on his own, the development of his technique, and the relationship of his early paintings to each other and to their sources.

FROM OUR EDITORS

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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This beautiful book presents the most complete account ever written of Leonardo's mysterious beginnings as an artist. David Alan Brown begins by examining Leonardo's first years in the Florentine workshop of the leading sculptor of the day, Andrea del Verrocchio, and then examines the paintings Leonardo completed in the early 1470s. Brown's book is a revealing and imaginative glimpse into the origins of Leonardo's sublime genius.

FROM THE CRITICS

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

Andrew Butterfield - New Republic

...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.

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 - The New Republic