| Forget The Da Vinci Code... |
"...daring and complex...fascinating as hell." - Dave Farabee, Ain't it Cool News Read full review
"A terrific, historically well grounded story...[with] tight scripting [and] top-drawer mainstream-comics
artwork..."
-Ray Olson, Booklist
"A terrific, historically well grounded story...[with] tight scripting [and] top-drawer mainstream-comics
artwork..."
-Ray Olson, Booklist
| Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci is a compilation of the ten issue mini-series from Vertigo Comics created by Chaz Truog, Dave Rawson and Pat McGreal, which ran from 1995 to 1996. Inspired by such films as Amadeus and Immortal Beloved, Chiaroscuro looks at the great Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci from the viewpoint of his ne'er-do-well apprentice, Salai, who Leonardo describes as "...liar, glutton, thief..." but none the less spends more than twenty years in a complex relationship with the Maestro. The trade paperback includes all ten issues, plus never before seen pre-production art. |
| Salai (?) School of Leonardo, circa 1495 |
Above: an early ink test, a scene from chapter one.
At left, a study of Leonardo's patron, Ludovico
Sforza and his wife, Beatrice D'Este. Above, a
scene from chapter eight, Salai poses for
Leonardo's rival, the sculptor Michelangelo.
| Did you know? The Seattle Art Museum's exhibition Leonardo Lives: The Codex Leicester and Leonardo da Vinci's Legacy of Art and Science featured a section on Leonardo's influence on artists in the Twentieth Century, which included examples from Chiaroscuro. I had the privilege of having my work displayed in the same show with such luminaries as Rembrandt, Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, Salai, and of course, Leonardo himself. The exhibit ran from October of 1997 to January of 1998. "I'll take 'Comic Books' for a thousand, Alex." Chiaroscuro was used as a clue in the television game show Jeopardy. Remember, your response must be in the form of a question... Chiaroscuro was nominated for the prestigious Eisner award in 1996 for 'Best Limited Series'. ________ |
| Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci Created by Dave Rawson, Pat McGreal, & Chaz Truog Script: Dave Rawson & Pat McGreal Pencils: Chaz Truog Inks: Rafael Kayanan Colors: Digital Chameleon Letters: John Costanza & Clem Robbins Covers: Stephen John Phillips & Richard Bruning Original series editors: Shelly Roeberg, Axel Alonzo, & Alisa Kwitney Reprint editor: Scott Nybakken Vertigo Editor in Chief: Karen Berger |
How do you say...?
Chiaroscuro (kee-are-os-CURE-oh) Italian painting term,
meaning dramatic light and shadow.
Salai (sah-la-EE) Leonardo's nick-name (Little Devil) for his
apprentice/servant Gian Giacomo Caprotti di Oreno
(1480?-1524). At left is a presumed portrait by an unknown artist.
Chiaroscuro (kee-are-os-CURE-oh) Italian painting term,
meaning dramatic light and shadow.
Salai (sah-la-EE) Leonardo's nick-name (Little Devil) for his
apprentice/servant Gian Giacomo Caprotti di Oreno
(1480?-1524). At left is a presumed portrait by an unknown artist.
| On sale now |
The Private Lives of Leonardo
da Vinci
da Vinci
| DC/Vertigo Comics Trade Paperback, 264 pages, $24.99 |
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