Yes, writing is a solitary affair. But belonging to a community of writers dispels some of the loneliness. I consider myself extraordinarily blessed, calling as my own the most talented, caring, helpful, and funny community of writers: C. W. Gortner, Stephanie Dray, Diane Haegar, Kate Quinn, Anne Easter Smith, David Blixt, Heather Webb, Christy English, Marci McGuire Jefferson, Nancy Bilyeau, Lynn Cullen, Sophie Piernot, Kris Waldherr, Leslie Carroll and more. Love you guys!
And to my family…my mother Barbara Di Mauro Russo, without whom my life would exist somewhere in a cardboard box. My sons, Devon and Dylan…I know it couldn’t have been easy growing up with the emotional, turbulent, manic creature that is a writer, but we always had fun, didn’t we. You’ve been “in” so many of my books because you are my greatest motivation. I haven’t been able to give you the world; I only hope I taught you how to get it for yourself. And my dear partner, Carl; oh the places we will go. To my family, I not only give thanks, I also love and cherish you.
Bibliography
Learning never ends, it is always the beginning.
Books
Alberti, Leon Battista. 1435. On Painting. Trans. Cecil Grayson. 1991. London, England: Penguin Books.
da Vinci, Leonardo. 15th Century. Philosophical Diary. Trans. Wade Baskins. 2004. New York, NY: Barnes and Noble Books.
Dersin, Denise. Editor. 1999. What Life Was Like at the Rebirth Of Genius. Richmond, VA: Time Life Inc.
Earls, Irene. 1987. Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Field, D. M. 2002. Leonardo da Vinci. New York, NY: Barnes and Noble Inc., By arrangement with Regency House Publishing Ltd.
Fine, Elsa Honig. 1978. Women and Art: A History of Women Painters and Sculptors from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. Montclair, NJ: Allanheld, Osmun & Co. Publishers Inc.
Machiavelli, Niccolò., History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy from the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo de’ Medici; with an introduction by Hugo Albert Rennert, Ph.D., from a Universal Classics Library edition, published in 1901. No translator was given. Presented in eight books comprising 55 chapters and an introduction.
Lemaitre, Alain J; Lessing, Erich. 2003. Florence and the Renaissance. Paris, France: Finest SA.
Martines, Lauro. 2003. April Blood. London, England: Random House.
Mee, Jr., Charles L. 1975. Daily Life in Renaissance Italy. New York, NY: American Heritage Publishing Co.
Najemy, John M. 2006. A History of Florence 1200-1575. West Sussex, England: Blackwell Publishing/John Wiley & Sons.
Rogers, Mary and Tinagli, Paola. 2005. Women in Italy, 1350-1650: Ideal and Realities. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press.
Simonetta, Marcello. 2008. The Montefeltro Conspiracy. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Toman, Rolf, Editor. 2011. The Art of the Italian Renaissance. Postdam, Germany: h.f.ullman.
Vasari, Gregorio. 1550. Lives of the Artists. Trans. Julia Conway Bondenella and Peter Bondenella. 1991. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Internet
R. Burr Litchfield, Online Gazetteer of Sixteenth Century Florence. Florentine Renaissance Resources/STG: Brown University, Providence, R.I., 2006.
“Lorenzo de’ Medici.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (September 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404704367.html
The Museums of Florence: http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/medici_riccardi_palace.html#
Castle Sforzesco: http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/medici_riccardi_palace.html#
Reading Group Guide
“Many is the pearl hidden in the oysters.”
In chapter 1, mention is made of the long years after the death of his brother Giuliano wherein Lorenzo de’ Medici did not allow festivals, new construction, and public art commissions. Can grief be so all-consuming as to last so long? What other possibility—what other form of grief—might Lorenzo have been suffering from?
Mattea says, in chapter 3, “my mother will be livid.” But she does so with a smile. Where does her amusement stem from? Is it an attitude of the era or one of every era?
Also in chapter 3, Leonardo da Vinci tells the Disciples (a documented quote), “Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness.” What did he mean in the context of this story? What does it mean in life?
It is said of Viviana, in chapter 5, that she “cared little for riches; to her honor held far more value than gold, no matter how much of it there was.” Is this in keeping with her character, even in consideration of her actions in Portrait of a Conspiracy? Why or why not?
In chapter 8, Marcello reveals to his mother that Carina is a painter. Why? Was it surprising that he did so? If so, why? Were his intentions appropriate, even knowing of Da Vinci’s Disciples and what they had done?
In chapter 12, when Fabia di Salvestro talks about learning to write poetry from Lorenzo de’ Medici’s mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, what does it also say about women of the era, of Lucrezia’s era? Is it a surprising conclusion? If so, why?
In chapter 14, it is written that Leonardo da Vinci considered the Duke of Milan to be “another who knew of vultures.” What does he mean? Why would that draw him to the duke’s court?
What is meant by this sentence, in chapter 15, “To this man and his brother, Leonardo was ever a threat, a threat to their own notion of themselves.” Did other men feel this way and, if so, why? What did it mean to Leonardo? What action in the same chapter supports the contention of the sentence?
In chapter 16, Isabetta responds to Lorenzo de’ Medici by saying, “Of course we are afraid. But fear is but a spark to light great fires.” What did she mean? Is there truth in such words, and if so, why?
A passage in chapter 18 speaks to the quality of the work the Disciples must produce: “They knew, as women, that it must be not only better, but brilliant; eyes would look upon their work differently than upon any other, and far more harshly than St. Peter’s at the gates of Heaven; they must work harder than any man.” Is this surprising? Why or why not? Does it apply to today’s woman?
At the beginning of chapter 20, Leonardo and his Disciples discuss “the war of art.” Define what this means. What does it mean to these women? Is their war a greater one and, if so, why? In this chapter, Leonardo brings Verrocchio and Botticelli to see the women’s work, but does not allow any of the women to accompany them. Why?
In chapter 21, Sansone assumes he and Viviana will marry. Her reaction is not what he hoped for. What is her hesitance? Is it understandable in the context of her life? If so, why?
Throughout the book, more truths of the life of Leonardo da Vinci are revealed. Discuss what some of them are. What, if anything, came as a surprise?
Discuss this passage in chapter 26: “Who is to say who uses who?” Isabetta said within the shelter of Viviana’s solicitude. “I have known the pain of loving one I cannot have. I promise you it has hardened me against doing so ever again.” What does Isabetta truly mean by her first statement? Who has she loved before in vain?
Natasia and Mattea are accosted in chapter 31. During the assault, Mattea’s exasperation leads her to question, “Why is it always me?” How is the dagger hitting her hand the answer? What is the larger force at work in these events? How does it relate to a conversation between Viviana and Leonardo earlier in the book?
In chapter 33, Patrizia and Carina find out more about each other, and discuss the courage they will need. Why do they need this courage? How may things differ for them in contrast to the original Da Vinci’s Disciples?
Discuss the meaning of this passage from chapter 37: “For an artist, one of any creative sort, to finish a creation meant losing possession of it; it lived no longer in the artist’s heart and mind, but in the world. Finishing then became both exhilarating and mournful, for it could never belong to the artist alone ever again. The artist could never again live in the world of that piece of art. Such a separation could be
disconcerting indeed.”
The “unnamed” woman who sneaks to churches and other places alone, as glimpsed by Viviana, turns out to be Natasia. Were there clues that it was her? What were they? Why did she feel so strongly about her mission? Was the mission worthwhile?
When the truth of Lapaccia is revealed at the end of the book, did it come as a surprise? Why or why not?
The book ends with Fiammetta telling the Disciples that Friar Savonarola is coming to Florence. What are the possible reasons for ending the book in this manner? What could it mean?
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