Leonardo The Boy Wonder

About the Book

Leonardo Da Vinci was a child prodigy whose development can be traced from age five to the beginning of his adolesence, two years before he entered Verrocchio’s workshop. In a stunning visual exploration, John Holgate offers a guided tour of Leonardo’s boyhood from 1457 to 1464 using possible paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the artist’s younger years to identify the main personages who influenced his early life. The seeds of his future genius can be glimpsed in his initial depictions of animals and family members, early landscapes and folksy Vinci cameos, Madonnas and biblical scenes, a moving portrayal of Albiera di Amadori and her daughter, the dramatic seascape of the beleaguered carracks in the Port of Naples, a witty Donatello sketch, and the poignant double portrait of the Renaissance giants, Alberti and Toscanelli. Through the magic of digital photography, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Boy Wonder leads art aficionados back into the hidden childhood of a Renaissance maestro to rediscover the origins of his genius.

About the Author

John Holgate is an information scientist and writer on philosophy, informational aesthetics, and Renaissance art. Since 2018, he has focused his research on the life and works of Leonardo Da Vinci using optimal photographic magnification to discover the hidden worlds within his known and unknown works. Holgate is also a multiple national Scrabble champion, an award-winning screenwriter, and an occasional director of short films.