Leonardo’s Lost Princess: One Man’s Quest to Authenticate an Unknown Portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci by Peter Silverman (PDF)

Description

How an oddly attributed $19,000 picture proved to be a $100 million work by Leonardo da Vinci—a true art-world detective storyIn late 2010, art collector Peter Silverman revealed that a “German, early 19th century” portrait he had bought for $19,000 was, in fact, a previously unknown drawing by Leonardo da Vinci—an exquisite depiction of Bianca Sforza, rendered 500 years ago. In Leonardo’s Lost Princess, Silverman gives a riveting first-person account of how his initial suspicions of the portrait’s provenance were confirmed repeatedly by scientists and art experts. He describes the path to authentication, fraught with opposition and controversy. The twists and turns of this fascinating, decade-long quest lead from art history to cutting-edge science, and from a New York art gallery to Paris, Milan, Zurich, and ultimately a Warsaw library where the final, convincing evidence that the portrait was indeed by da Vinci was found.Takes an up-close look at the workings of the art world and at figures ranging from dealers and connoisseurs to a suspected forger Discusses current scientific techniques used to investigate and authenticate works of art, such as carbon dating and cutting-edge photography Uses Silverman’s drawing as an entree into Leonardo da Vinci’s world: his studio, his style, and his methods Explores the intersection of art and science in the authentication process, involving the work of a man who embodied that intersection Unearthing the secrets almost lost to history, the book is ideal reading for art lovers and anyone interested in an astounding case of “whodunit.”

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I loved this book so much, I read it twice! After the first reading, I was so excited, I selected it as the subject for our woman’s study club, purchasing the book for 12 other members. Every single lady raved about the book – not only because of the interesting subject matter, but also because the book reads like a mystery novel! Comments such as “I probably would have never chosen this book, but I couldn’t put it down!” and “I’m so glad that I read this book, it was incredibly interesting!” I couldn’t agree more. It is a fascinating and moving story – a real page turner.Peter Silverman is a noted art collector and connoisseur who purchased a chalk, pen and ink portrait of a young girl from a New York gallery, described to be a German, early 19th century work. Because of its quality, Silverman was certain that the piece was either a Renaissance work by a great master or by that of a brilliant forger. With remarkable resolve, Mr. Silverman engaged not only art experts to examine the work, but scientific dating experts to prove that the work is indeed of the Renaissance. Their research takes them through many twists and turns to Paris, Milan, London, and Warsaw, in the end proving, beyond a doubt, the portrait is by the great master, Leonardo da Vinci.

⭐My husband and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Peter and Kathy Silverman at a coffee shop on Madison Avenue in New York this past November. I had no idea that he was the Peter Silverman who purchased Leonardo’s La Bella Principessa before numerous art experts ascertained that it was a Leonardo. We bonded over attending the same junior high school in Brooklyn, and shared our mutual love for art. We met for Sunday brunch in the Hamptons the following weekend, and after learning that he had written a book about his adventures authenticating this drawing, I knew I had to read it.I couldn’t put the book down. It read like a detective story and a fairy tale all in one. The passion he had for this drawing, and the prospect of it being a Renaissance work rather than the 19th century German work it was attributed as, was very evident. I loved the way he interspersed personal reactions with the intensive research he and his colleagues did to find out who created it and who the young lady in the drawing was. As a former high school art teacher and Assistant Principal of Fine Arts, I kept thinking about how compelling this story would be to my students. In my art history classes, I included newspaper and magazine articles regarding art thefts and big sales at the auction houses. I kept imagining how I would present this amazing story with its emphasis on the aesthetic virtues of this beautiful portrait, the way connoisseurship and scientific studies are used to authenticate works of art, the importance of provenance, and the culture of arranging marriages for noble young Renaissance women at the age of thirteen – what a fascinating lesson this would have been!I totally agree with all the positive reviews written on this site. This is a book that will resonate with all art lovers and with anyone who appreciates a good detective story.

⭐The gradual revelation of evidence that a recent discovery of a drawing is by Leonardo da Vinci is thrilling. As scientists test the drawing with the most sophisticated laser technology; as historians date the style of dress and hair, and as da Vinci experts concur on artistic styles unique to the master, the excitement builds. Then finally the amazing discovery which brings us face to face with the sitter in such a poignant way. We are led on this journey of discovery by Peter Silverman who seems deeply moved by his role in the recovery of this masterpiece and in the re-emergence of the subject: a beautiful, beloved daughter and fiancé from centuries past. One is moved by the honesty, the passion and the skill of Mr. Silverman’s story telling. This is a classy who-done-it by a true expert from the art world of Old Masters.

⭐Fascinating book. It’s written by the man who was, at the very least, eager to be convinced that what he had bought was a genuine work by Leonardo da Vinci, but the tests run, etc. seem to me to have proved that that is the case. But there still seem to be disbelievers–I would be interested to know on the basis of what? Aside from sheer stubbornness, I mean. His prose style is basically workmanlike, but this kind of book you aren’t reading for lyrical writing.

⭐I must declare an interest as this book came my to attention through my son who acts for Peter Silverman. The book reads like a detective story and is very easy to read and hard to put down. The evidence is presented in an orderly way and it seems from the book to be overwhelming that this is a lost work by Leonardo and it is interesting that the people who do not agree have never looked at the original drawing/painting. The glimpses into the world of art dealing are intriguing.

⭐It had some interesting facts especially about the history of the Renaissance but many proved to be too repetitive.There were also contradictory points when comparing his book to the documentary. The “fingerprint” evidence for example. In the doc it was not conclusive yet the author would bring it up as a fact of proof numerous times in his book. But I love the artwork and that motivated the read.

⭐Extremely interesting……I had a mosaic done of the painting.

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