Mona Lisa and the Elusive Art of Leonardo da Vinci’s Paintings Paperback – July 11, 2022

In this provocative book, art historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts (Young Leonardo, The Da Vinci Legacy) offers a radically different view of Leonardo’s creative arc, bolstered by his argument that Leonardo painted not one but two Mona Lisa portraits, and not one but two versions of the Last Supper—including a full-size canvas painted for the French King Louis XII, which Isbouts traced to a remote abbey in Belgium. The book is particularly focused on Leonardo’s most creative decade, from his second period in Florence (1503-1506) to his work at the Vatican court of the Medici Pope Leo X (1513-1516). The Rome period, which Isbouts argues has long been dismissed by historians as a mere coda to Leonardo’s career, is presented here as the culmination of the master’s oeuvre, for it is in Rome that Leonardo painted his most important work: the Louvre Mona Lisa, while also completing the Saint Anne. Isbouts writes with his signature style that made him a bestselling National Geographic author; his narrative is both highly accessible and deeply immersive, backed by compelling evidence (including never-before published ultraviolet X-ray images) to satisfy both the connoisseur and the casual reader. The book is richly illustrated with color reproductions of paintings and drawings, and introduced with a foreword by renowned art historian Ross King. Read more