Summary of Ross King's Leonardo and the Last Supper

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 In 1494, King Charles VIII of France entered an Alpine pass with an army of more than thirty thousand men, intent on marching through Italy and seizing the throne of Naples. The French king was short, myopic, and so ill proportioned that he seemed more like a monster than a man.

#2 The city of Milan was the center of Lodovico’s empire, and it was a huge fortress with cylindrical towers on its northeast edge. It had been turned into Italy’s greatest by Lodovico’s wealth and determination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822537064

IRB Media

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Insights on Ross King's Leonardo and the Last Supper

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In 1494, King Charles VIII of France entered an Alpine pass with an army of more than thirty thousand men, intent on marching through Italy and seizing the throne of Naples. The French king was short, myopic, and so ill proportioned that he seemed more like a monster than a man.

#2

The city of Milan was the center of Lodovico’s empire, and it was a huge fortress with cylindrical towers on its northeast edge. It had been turned into Italy’s greatest by Lodovico’s wealth and determination.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Leonardo da Vinci was a painter and engineer who came to Milan in 1493. He was extremely handsome and elegant, and he amused the court by performing tricks such as turning white wine into red.

#2

The bronze horse was a huge monument that Lodovico il Moro wanted to erect to commemorate the exploits of his father, Francesco Sforza. It was to be the eternal honor and glory of the Sforza family.

#3

The equestrian monument of Francesco was planned by Galeazzo Maria in 1473, but was never installed. Lodovico Sforza commissioned a history of Francesco’s career from a scholar named Giovanni Simonetta, and planned to have heroic scenes from his father’s life frescoed in the ballroom of Milan’s castle.

#4

Leonardo was given the commission to create a statue of Francesco Sforza. He planned on creating a horse that would be more than twenty-three feet high, three times larger than life. It would testify to the glory of Francesco Sforza, but more importantly, it would be a demonstration of his tremendous abilities.

#5

Leonardo began work on the equestrian statue in 1489, but the project took a lot of time and effort to complete. He was constantly distracted by private interests and projects.

#6

By the end of 1493, the full-size clay model of the horse was near completion. It was a marvel, but the problem of how to cast such a monstrosity needed to be faced. Leonardo learned a time-honored method of casting bronze in the Florentine studio of Verrocchio.

#7

The French invasion of Italy in 1494 was different from previous Italian campaigns. The French were equipped with siege weapons that had been shipped by boat to La Spezia