达芬奇与拉斐尔、米开朗基罗并称意大利“美术三杰”，也是整个欧洲文艺复兴时期的代表之一。他学识渊博、多才多艺，是一个博学者，在绘画、音乐、建筑、数学、几何学、解剖学、生理学、动物学、植物学、天文学、气象学、地质学、地理学、物理学、光学、力学、发明、土木工程等领域都有显著的成就。但是，如果没有美第奇家族的光顾和赞助，达芬奇可能不会有这么高的成就，因为那个时代的大部分艺术品和建筑都是受美第奇家族的委托，他们为创造力创造了肥沃的气候。这本豪华新书以更广阔的视角概述了处于这个背景环境下的这位绘画大师，以及其他受益于美第奇家族的重要艺术家的作品，从布鲁内莱斯基到多纳泰罗，再到米开朗基罗和拉斐尔。

Leonardo da Vinci was the epitome of the Renaissance humanist ideal, a logical polymath of epic proportions who excelled and had interests not just in art but in invention, anatomy, architecture, engineering, literature, mathematics, music, science, astronomy and more. His oeuvre is astounding and he is rightly famed for his masterpieces of painting such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and his astonishingly technical and graceful drawings. The phenomenon that was Leonardo would not of course have flourished to such an extent had it not been for the patronage and sponsorship of the Medici family, who commissioned a large proportion of the art and architecture of the era and fostered a fertile climate for creativity. This sumptuous new book offers a broader view of this master artist in the context of this environment, alongside the work of other key artists who benefited from the Medicis, from Brunelleschi through Donatello to Michelangelo and Raphael.