Leonardo's Horse

From Publishers Weekly
Fritz (And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?) again calls upon her informal yet informative style to spotlight a scintillating sliver of history, recounted in two related tales. Her narrative opens as the ultimate Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, earns a commission from the duke of Milan to create a sculpture to honor the duke's father a bronze horse three times larger than life. Though this creative genius spent years on the project, he died without realizing his dream and, writes Fritz, "It was said that even on his deathbed, Leonardo wept for his horse." The author then fast-forwards to 1977: an American named Charles Dent vows to create the sculpture and make it a gift from the American people to the residents of Italy. How his goal was accomplished (alas, posthumously) makes for an intriguing tale that Fritz deftly relays. Talbott's (Forging Freedom) diverse multimedia artwork includes reproductions of da Vinci's notebooks, panoramas revealing the Renaissance in lavish detail and majestic renderings of the final equine sculpture. Talbott makes creative use of the book's format a rectangle topped by a semi-circle: the rounded space by turns becomes a window through which da Vinci views a cloud shaped like a flying horse; the domed building that was Dent's studio and gallery; and a globe depicting the route the bronze horse travels on its way from the U.S. to Italy. An inventive introduction to the Renaissance and one of its masters. Ages 5-up. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Gr 3-6-At times sad, silly, and telling, this is a wholly entertaining book. Not only a biography of Leonardo da Vinci, it also introduces another artist/dreamer-Charlie Dent. Although separated by centuries, the two men had a common dream-to create a giant horse for Milan. War and rain helped to ruin Leonardo's original clay work, and he died mourning what might have been. By the 1990s, Dent's efforts to create the horse paid off and the statue, a huge wonder, was presented to Italy. Biographical details of Leonardo's life are mentioned and much of his work is shown throughout the volume, including sketches of the statue. Talbott's mixed-media artwork enhances the engaging text. The Duke of Milan is portrayed gaping at Leonardo's clay model, scarcely able to believe the greatness of it, and there is an informative page of pictures detailing the creation of the statue in eight steps. In one illustration, the artist appears in the center of his Last Supper, attempting to draw Judas, while humorous caricatures fill the bottom of the page. Although there are quite a few books about Leonardo, none delve so deeply into the history of the statue. Even the design of the book is unique. A title that is sure to create a lot of interest among young art, history, and horse lovers.Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WICopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 4-7. The first part of this unusual book presents the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci, highlighting his work on a monumental statue of a horse, which, despite many sketches and the making, in 1493, of a 24-foot-high clay model, was never cast in bronze as planned. The story begins again in 1977, when American art lover Charles Dent read about Leonardo's horse. He dreamed of completing the statue and presenting it to the people of Italy from the people of America. Although Dent died in 1994, the work went on until sculptor Nina Akamu completed the statue, which was unveiled in Milan in 1999, 500 years after the destruction of the original clay sculpture. Combining biography, history, and art, Fritz's absorbing text is both a lively introduction to Leonardo and a tribute to Dent. The curious shape of the book--rectangular at the bottom and rounded at the top--is reminiscent of the silhouette of a domed building, and illustrator Talbott makes good use of the irregularly shaped pages in his pleasing and occasionally dramatic illustrations, which are done in watercolor, pen-and-ink, colored pencils, and collage. A memorable choice for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
"A scintillating sliver of history. . . . An inventive introduction to the Renaissance and one of its masters." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"An unusual and surprisingly touching story . . . . An offbeat and intriguing read." (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review)

"At times sad, silly, and telling, this is a wholly entertaining book." (School Library Journal, starred review)

"Filled with engaging details of Leonardo and his world. . . . Illustrations which range from utterly recognizable scenes of Florence to the ghostly horses at Leonardo's deathbed. . . . An unusual biography for young people, and one well worth poring over . . . . A unique way of picturing a unique world . . . . An extraordinary tribute." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)


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A veteran writer of lively biographies has turned her attention to quite an engaging story: the biography of an equine sculpture. She starts with Leonardo da Vinci and his fascination with everything-drawing, sketching, writing, and musing-and with making: sculpture, weapons, even party tricks. He made a 24-foot-high clay model of a horse for the Duke of Milan, but before it could be cast, French archers and rain destroyed it. This haunted Leonardo for the rest of his life. It haunted American Charles Dent in the 1970s, also, and he vowed to produce Leonardo's horse as a gift from the American people to the people of Italy. He died in 1994, but sculptor Nina Akamu and a host of others kept his promise. In typical Fritz (Why Not, Lafayette?, 1999, etc.) fashion, her story is filled with engaging details of Leonardo's personality and his world. Likewise, the contemporary process by which the horse was created and cast is described with enough detail to fascinate but not to bore. Talbott (Forging Freedom, 2000, etc.) uses mixed media and collage to create his illustrations, which range from utterly recognizable scenes of Florence to the ghostly horses at Leonardo's deathbed. The contemporary images are drawn with as much spirit and vitality as the Renaissance ones. An unusual biography for young people, and one well worth poring over, its format is also noteworthy. It has a rounded top, giving the artist ample opportunity for the dome under which the horse was built as well as a chance to explore a unique way of picturing a unique world. Together, Fritz and Talbott have forged an extraordinary tribute to two dreamers 500 years apart. (author's note, Web site) (Biography. 7-12)


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