Industry Reviews
0;All the technical detail a scholar could want is here, but even readers with little interest in it will find absorbing the almost inch-by-inch record of the painting in superb color photographs.1;The Best Reading of 2001, "San Francisco Chronicle Book Review 0;[A] text and color photographs that document the results of a 20-year conservation project recently completed. Pleasure at revelations of Leonardo7;s hand are overwhelmed by a sense of sadness at how much is irretrievably lost.1;A. Richard Turner, "Los Angeles Times Book Revew -- A. Richard Turner "Los Angeles Times Book Revew" 0;"Leonardo, The Last Supper" documents the process by which, after nearly 500 years and various 6;restorations,7; conservators attempted to get the work as close as possible to its original state. . . . The 382 color plates and 64 halftones in the lush, slipcased edition are accompanied by extensive, cogent commentary.1;"Publishers Weekly 0;Pinin Barcilon was entrusted with the unenviable task of restoring the mural2;again. Her highly controversial approach has been to pry away every bit of paint not clearly Leonardo7;s, with the result that a pale but evocative ghost remains. Was too much removed? Readers can judge by perusing the extraordinary 1: 1 scale photographs of sections from the painting.1;Christopher Benfey, "The New York Times Book Review -- Christopher Benfey "The New York Times Book Review" 0;This massive volume testifies to a great love of both Leonardo7;s crumbling masterpieces and the meticulous craft of art restoration. . . . Although this most recent and ambitious restoration is controversial, the results-----2;exhaustively photographed here, in full-scale as well as reductions2;are impressive, with lines emerging as simultaneously more subtle and more forceful, and the shadows, particularly in the striking figure of Philip, as more mysterious and tender.1;2;Laura Miller, "Salon" -- Laura Miller "Salon" 0;The cleaning of the "Last Supper" . . . could never promise a return to original splendor once the layers of dirt and repaint were removed. For it was generally known that little of Leonardo7;s painted surface was there to be rediscovered. What little there is has now been brought to light, and is splendidly illustrated, in the weighty volume by Pinin Brambilla Barcilon and Pietro C. Marani. . . . The excellent color plates in this book are at once revealing and dismaying. Displaying in remarkable detail what is left of Leonardo7;s painting, they introduce us to details and colors that we could hardly have appreciated before: the delicately rendered utensils and food on the table, the embroidered blue pattern on the tablecloth, and the nuanced rendering of its crisp folds.1;David Rosand, "The New Republic -- David Rosand "The New Republic" 0;This extraordinary volume, which documents the technical history of the two-decade-long restoration in the context of the broader history of the work itself, is what art historians have been waiting for. As a work of art itself, this book is produced with elegance, care, and refinement. . . . Between the two essays are contained 249 pages of the most breathtakingly beautiful photographs in modern art history, produced by Antonio Quattrone. These photographs alone justify the publication of this book, for, through their probing depth and sensitivity, we may not only wonder anew about the wisdom of restoration (not a subject for this review) but allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the realization of how little of that precious original paint remains as touches of small jewelry defining a wretched corpse. . . . This handsome volume, with its magnificent photographs and two informative essays, will be of great interest not only to scholars, historians, and visual artists but to all those who have interests in Renaissance painting, Leonardo da Vinci, and the science of conservation.1;"Sixteenth Century Journal "All the technical detail a scholar could want is here, but even readers with little interest in it will find absorbing the almost inch-by-inch record of the painting in superb color photographs."The Best Reading of 2001, "San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "This extraordinary volume, which documents the technical history of the two-decade-long restoration in the context of the broader history of the work itself, is what art historians have been waiting for. As a work of art itself, this book is produced with elegance, care, and refinement. . . . Between the two essays are contained 249 pages of the most breathtakingly beautiful photographs in modern art history, produced by Antonio Quattrone. These photographs alone justify the publication of this book, for, through their probing depth and sensitivity, we may not only wonder anew about the wisdom of restoration (not a subject for this review) but allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the realization of how little of that precious original paint remains as touches of small jewelry defining a wretched corpse. . . . This handsome volume, with its magnificent photographs and two informative essays, will be of great interest not only to scholars, historians, and visual artists but to all those who have interests in Renaissance painting, Leonardo da Vinci, and the science of conservation.""Sixteenth Century Journal ""Leonardo, The Last Supper" documents the process by which, after nearly 500 years and various restorations, ' conservators attempted to get the work as close as possible to its original state. . . . The 382 color plates and 64 halftones in the lush, slipcased edition are accompanied by extensive, cogent commentary.""Publishers Weekly "Pinin Barcilon was entrusted with the unenviable task of restoring the mural-again. Her highly controversial approach has been to pry away every bit of paint not clearly Leonardo's, with the result that a pale but evocative ghost remains. Was too much removed? Readers can judge by perusing the extraordinary 1:1 scale photographs of sections from the painting."Christopher Benfey, The New York Times Book Review--Christopher Benfey "The New York Times Book Review " "[A] text and color photographs that document the results of a 20-year conservation project recently completed. Pleasure at revelations of Leonardo's hand are overwhelmed by a sense of sadness at how much is irretrievably lost."A.--A. Richard Turner "Los Angeles Times Book Revew " "This massive volume testifies to a great love of both Leonardo's crumbling masterpieces and the meticulous craft of art restoration. . . . Although this most recent and ambitious restoration is controversial, the results -exhaustively photographed here, in full-scale as well as reductions-are impressive, with lines emerging as simultaneously more subtle and more forceful, and the shadows, particularly in the striking figure of Philip, as more mysterious and tender."-Laura Miller, "Salon"--Laura Miller "Salon " "The cleaning of the Last Supper . . . could never promise a return to original splendor once the layers of dirt and repaint were removed. For it was generally known that little of Leonardo's painted surface was there to be rediscovered. What little there is has now been brought to light, and is splendidly illustrated, in the weighty volume by Pinin Brambilla Barcilon and Pietro C. Marani. . . . The excellent color plates in this book are at once revealing and dismaying. Displaying in remarkable detail what is left of Leonardo's painting, they introduce us to details and colors that we could hardly have appreciated before: the delicately rendered utensils and food on the table, the embroidered blue pattern on the tablecloth, and the nuanced rendering of its crisp folds."David Rosand, The New Republic--David Rosand "The New Republic " "[A] text and color photographs that document the results of a 20-year conservation project recently completed. Pleasure at revelations of Leonardo's hand are overwhelmed by a sense of sadness at how much is irretrievably lost."A./div>--A. Richard Turner "Los Angeles Times Book Revew " "The cleaning of the "Last Supper" . . . could never promise a return to original splendor once the layers of dirt and repaint were removed. For it was generally known that little of Leonardo's painted surface was there to be rediscovered. What little there is has now been brought to light, and is splendidly illustrated, in the weighty volume by Pinin Brambilla Barcilon and Pietro C. Marani. . . . The excellent color plates in this book are at once revealing and dismaying. Displaying in remarkable detail what is left of Leonardo's painting, they introduce us to details and colors that we could hardly have appreciated before: the delicately rendered utensils and food on the table, the embroidered blue pattern on the tablecloth, and the nuanced rendering of its crisp folds."David Rosand, "The New Republic--David Rosand "The New Republic " "This massive volume testifies to a great love of both Leonardo's crumbling masterpieces and the meticulous craft of art restoration. . . . Although this most recent and ambitious restoration is controversial, the results-------exhaustively photographed here, in full-scale as well as reductions--are impressive, with lines emerging as simultaneously more subtle and more forceful, and the shadows, particularly in the striking figure of Philip, as more mysterious and tender."--Laura Miller "Salon " Pinin Barcilon was entrusted with the unenviable task of restoring the mural again. Her highly controversial approach has been to pry away every bit of paint not clearly Leonardo s, with the result that a pale but evocative ghost remains. Was too much removed? Readers can judge by perusing the extraordinary 1:1 scale photographs of sections from the painting. Christopher Benfey, "The New York Times Book Review--Christopher Benfey "The New York Times Book Review "" [A] text and color photographs that document the results of a 20-year conservation project recently completed. Pleasure at revelations of Leonardo s hand are overwhelmed by a sense of sadness at how much is irretrievably lost. A./div>--A. Richard Turner "Los Angeles Times Book Revew "" The cleaning of the "Last Supper" . . . could never promise a return to original splendor once the layers of dirt and repaint were removed. For it was generally known that little of Leonardo s painted surface was there to be rediscovered. What little there is has now been brought to light, and is splendidly illustrated, in the weighty volume by Pinin Brambilla Barcilon and Pietro C. Marani. . . . The excellent color plates in this book are at once revealing and dismaying. Displaying in remarkable detail what is left of Leonardo s painting, they introduce us to details and colors that we could hardly have appreciated before: the delicately rendered utensils and food on the table, the embroidered blue pattern on the tablecloth, and the nuanced rendering of its crisp folds. David Rosand, "The New Republic--David Rosand "The New Republic "" This massive volume testifies to a great love of both Leonardo s crumbling masterpieces and the meticulous craft of art restoration. . . . Although this most recent and ambitious restoration is controversial, the results exhaustively photographed here, in full-scale as well as reductions are impressive, with lines emerging as simultaneously more subtle and more forceful, and the shadows, particularly in the striking figure of Philip, as more mysterious and tender. --Laura Miller "Salon "" "The cleaning of the Last Supper . . . could never promise a return to original splendor once the layers of dirt and repaint were removed. For it was generally known that little of Leonardo's painted surface was there to be rediscovered. What little there is has now been brought to light, and is splendidly illustrated, in the weighty volume by Pinin Brambilla Barcilon and Pietro C. Marani. . . . The excellent color plates in this book are at once revealing and dismaying. Displaying in remarkable detail what is left of Leonardo's painting, they introduce us to details and colors that we could hardly have appreciated before: the delicately rendered utensils and food on the table, the embroidered blue pattern on the tablecloth, and the nuanced rendering of its crisp folds."David Rosand, The New Republic--David Rosand "The New Republic " "Pinin Barcilon was entrusted with the unenviable task of restoring the mural--again. Her highly controversial approach has been to pry away every bit of paint not clearly Leonardo's, with the result that a pale but evocative ghost remains. Was too much removed? Readers can judge by perusing the extraordinary 1:1 scale photographs of sections from the painting."Christopher Benfey, The New York Times Book Review--Christopher Benfey "The New York Times Book Review "
