Leonardo by Leonardo
Martin Kemp
Callaway (2019)
In his first book devoted exclusively to the paintings, Martin Kemp delivers a volume rich with the information and insights expected of a top da Vinci scholar. Kemp analyzes each work with a skillful balance between compelling origin stories, debatable attributions and ambiguous provenances, along with da Vinci’s incorporation of keen observations of nature and profound scientific findings into his art.
“Da Vinci radically reformed every genre of painting that he touched.”
Visually handsome, the book features attractive graphics—including da Vinci quotes pulled from his notebooks that bolster Kemp’s insights—alongside high-resolution photographs revealing many painterly details. Kemp asserts that da Vinci "radically reformed every genre of painting that he touched" (p. 6), and highlights these innovations within the context of the Italian or Western art traditions. These include the emotional intensity of the figures in Adoration of the Magi, the unifying tonality of light and colors in the original Virgin of the Rocks, and the positioning of subjects in portraits and Madonna compositions.
Among the more contentious works Kemp includes are the Salvator Mundi and the ink-chalk portrait of Bianca Sforza. He even spotlights Verrocchio's silver relief, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, questioning aloud whether the young da Vinci’s hand may be detected in its execution.