Oil and Marble

Author: Stephanie Storey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 2018
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In her brilliant debut, Storey brings early 16th-centure Florence alive, entering with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters, create a stunning art history thriller.

From 1501-1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty year old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties, desperate to make a name for himself. 

Michelangelo is a virtual unknown when he returns to Florence and wins the commission to carve what will become one of the most famous sculptures of all time: David. Even though his impoverished family shuns him for being an artist, he is desperate to support them. Living at the foot of his misshapen block of marble, Michelangelo struggles until the stone finally begins to speak. Working against an impossible deadline, he begins his feverish carving.

Meanwhile, Leonardo's life is falling apart: he loses the hoped-for David commission; he can'ta seem to finish any project; he is obssessed with his ungainly flying machine; he almost dies in war; his engineering designs disastrously fail; and he is haunted by a merchant's wife, whom he is finally commissioned to paint. Her name is Lisa, and she becomes his muse.

Leonardo despises Michelangelo for his youth and lack of sophistication. Michelangelo both loathes and worships Leonardo's genius.

Oil and Marble is the story of their nearly forgotten rivalry.

Review: I don't know why I chose this novel. I'm not an art fanatic, and the 16th century is well outside the time frames I usually choose in the historical fiction genre. I saw Michelangelo's Pieta, and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while visiting Rome in 2000. I don't recall seeing any of da Vinci's work in person.

At any rate, my plan was to read a chapter or two of this novel and if I wasn't drawn in, set it aside, perhaps to listen to later. I was surprised. I loved this novel. I didn't read it quickly or for hours at a time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now all I need to do is figure out when I'm going to Florence to see it for myself.