Tavis Smiley on PBS, The Arsenio Hall Show for CBS, and The Writers’ Room for the Sundance Channel. Readers will not only enjoy her fast-paced prose but will also appreciate the “Author’s Note” at the end of the novel which links historical facts to the novel’s imagined events.Īlthough this is her first novel, Storey had an award-winning career as a television producer for shows like Many Renaissance figures appear as minor characters, including Machiavelli, Botticelli, and Cesare Borgia. Details of the literature, religion, art, and architecture of the period give the text depth.

Stephanie Storey’s studies in fine art and art history at Vanderbilt University helped her to write Oil and Marble, which is subtitled “A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo.” She skillfully weaves together interesting historical and cultural details with art history and political intrigue. In the end, despite their artistic differences, both Leonardo and Michelangelo produce exceptional masterpieces during their time in Florence. He works on his sculpture of the famousĭavid for nearly three years. Michelangelo, a sculptor, eventually wins the commission and starts to work on the difficult task of bringing life to a flawed piece of marble. The two artists come into conflict over the commission to sculpt the Duccio Stone. Leonardo’s painting of Lisa becomes the famous When he loses the commission because of delays, he takes on other work: painting the portrait of Lisa Giocondo, a silk merchant’s wife, and directing a major engineering job to divert the Arno River. Leonardo is hired to create an altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata. Huge challenges face the artists in Florence. Is Florence big enough for these two artistic giants? With his masterpiece complete, Michelangelo decides to return to his home in Florence. One month later, 24-year-old sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti unveils his statue of the Him to flee Milan for a new home in Florence. Despite his fame, political problems cause Forty-eight-year old Leonardo is a Master and one of the most famous men in Italy. French tourists are clamoring to see the new fresco. It is December 1499, and Leonardo Da Vinci has just finished his masterpiece Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo Book review: Stephanie Storey's *Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo*

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey