The da Vinci Legacy: How an Elusive 16th-Century Artist Became a Global Pop Icon

Written by Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown

Narrated by P.J. Ochlan

Virtually everyone would agree that Leonardo da Vinci was the most important artist of the High Renaissance. It was Leonardo who singlehandedly created the defining features of Western art: a realism based on subtle shading; depth using atmospheric effects; and dramatic contrasts between light and dark.

But how did Leonardo, a painter of very few works who died in obscurity in France, become the internationally renowned icon he is today, with the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper the most visited artworks in the world, attracting nearly a billion visitors each year, and Salvator Mundi selling as the most expensive artwork of all time, for nearly half a billion dollars?

This extraordinary volume is the first book to unravel these mysteries by diving deep into the art, literature, science, and politics of Europe from the Renaissance through today. It gives illuminating context to both Leonardo and his accomplishments; explores why Leonardo's fame vastly overshadowed that of his contemporaries and disciples; and ultimately reveals why despite finishing very few works, his celebrity has survived, even thrived, through five centuries of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781630156435

Jean-Pierre Isbouts

Jean-Pierre Isbouts is an art historian and a professor emeritus at Fielding Graduate University. He is the author or coauthor of multiple history books, including Mapping America, Mapping the Holy Land, National Geographic’s The Ultimate Visual History of the World, The Biblical World, In the Footsteps of Jesus, and The Story of Christianity, which together have sold more than two million copies, and together with Christopher Heath Brown, the coauthor of the art books The da Vinci Legacy: How an Elusive 16th-Century Artist Became a Global Pop Icon, The Mona Lisa Myth, and Young Leonardo, and the coproducer of The Search for the Last Supper and The Search for the Mona Lisa specials shown on Public Television. Dr. Isbouts has been on numerous radio and TV shows, is the host of several series for The Great Courses, and has directed several programs for Disney, ABC, Hallmark, and the History Channel, working with actors such as Leonard Nimoy, Charlton Heston, Dick van Dyke, and Morgan Freeman, and produced recordings with orchestras around the world. Dr. Isbouts lives in Santa Monica, California.