The Second Mrs Gioconda certainly gave me a knew perspective of the life of Leonardo da Vince and the events surrounding the painting of the Mona Lisa. How much of it is real I have yet to research, however, this book definitely helped bring da Vince to life in my eyes.

2.5. uneven! some lines were lovely, but the story and pacing didn’t work (especially given the title and claims about the plot on the back cover). i’ve picked up the book half a dozen times and never gotten past chapter one, so if nothing else, i’m glad to have finally finished the book. might have to revisit the view from saturday as a palate cleanser.

“If he is not God, and he is not part of the church nor is he part of the duke’s family, then I shall stick with my tale: your purse was cut by accident.”

The first chapter is so sweet, seeing the kindness of one person (being THE Leonardo da Vinci) changing the life of a poor boy.

As I continued to read I just loved the relationship between Salai and Beatrice, this humble, fun loving duchess. Honestly a truly beautiful story whether true, partly true, or very fictional indeed. I loved the description of the artists that we wouldn’t really understand otherwise, recognising they were human too.

The Second Mrs Gioconda Historical Fiction Book Review By Johnathan Larter 8-40
Characters and Development:
Salai: He is a young thief and delinquent with quite the personality,In the book you see him mature into a trusted adult with lots of knowledge about the current times(Renaissance). In this book, his personality traits are the following:
Joker
Underdog
Servant
Support

Isabella: She is in my opinion one of the most hated characters due to the lack of kindness and sympathy in her personality, it is highly reminiscent in various chapters, such as chapter 18-20. In this book her personality traits are the following:
Antagonist
Envy

Leonardo Da Vinci: He is one of the centerpieces of the book, He is a very calm and kind artist and craftsmen that takes salai under his “arm” and teaches him and guides him into maturity, He also at times has faults such as his lack of sympathy in Chapter 18. His personality traits are the following:
Protagonist
Rebel
Brave

Beatrice:She is one of the side characters of the book, In the beginning of the book we don't know much about her however when we reach the middle of the book we learn that she sees herself as plain and boring, but later on we learn that she is quite the character and her and salai get along quite well but later on separate from one and other. Her personality traits are the following:


Il Moro: He is the Duke of Milan, his real name is Duke Ludivico Sforza however he got the name “Il Moro”
From his rather dark skin tone. He is a war hungry duke going at war between the King of france however that happens a bit after the Mona Lisa. His personality traits are the following:
Support
Rebel
Courageous
Brave
Kind


Mrs Gioconda: She is the “Mona Lisa”. The reason why she was painted was due to the fact that her face reminded Salai of Beatrice's spirit and presents. However there isn't much known about her. The personality traits are the following:
Calm
Mysterious
Plot:
In July in Milan and a young boy called Salai is walking towards the castle. Little impresses Salai, who has spent his entire life finding ways to survive in a harsh world.Though Salai is not impressed by Leonardo, Leonardo is very taken with Salai. Salai also goes with Leonardo when the artist goes to the castle to discuss projects with his most important patron, Duke Ludovico Sforza, whom most people called Il Moro.Leonardo, who is neither an aristocrat nor a university educated man, often feels ill at ease when he is in the company of learned men. After they have been in the company of university men, Salai sees his master’s discomfort and he finds ways to cheer him up, reminding Leonardo that “to be very learned in books means only to have an opinion on other people’s opinions.” The boy finds clever ways to make fun of the learned men so that his master laughs and is at ease again. Salai and Leonardo quickly realize that Beatrice has so much to offer and they set about doing everything they can to help her show her future husband that she is a special and loveable person. Through their friendship, Salai and Leonardo help Beatrice to gain confidence, and in so doing they help her to open up and be herself. Not even Salai, who is so dear to Beatrice, can convince her to let Leonardo to draw her.


Setting:
1443-1503
Milan
Venice
Florence


Summary:
What made Leonardo da Vinci choose to paint the portrait of the second wife of Florentine merchant when dukes and duchesses, were begging for a portrait by his hand.Early narrative chapters establish those two characters and their relationship. Salai remains a minor who converts from a petty theft to selling his master's sketches, and later to sell his audiences. Princess Beatrice comes to Milan and marries Il Moro. The duke (Il Moro) who had hoped to marry her beautiful older sister Isabella. He asks what she has "to give him that Cecilia has not" and she gives her "sense of fun". Salai and Leonardo often visit Beatrice and she becomes the centerpiece of Milan. She does confide disappointment in the massive Leonardo's horse, conveys insight regarding the master's talent, and admonishes Salai to take some responsibility for that. To achieve great art, Leonardo needs "something wild, something irresponsible in his work", and Salai must help.[8]The merchant Gioconda and his wife appear only in the last of nineteen chapters, visiting the studio during the master's absence. Isabella of Mantua (sister of Beatrice) has been frustrated for years seeking her portrait by Leonardo, which delights Salai. Sooner or later she would come to realize that here was one prize that was just out of reach of her jeweled pink fingers.Spurred by Beatrice and Isabella, the irresponsible Salai determines to persuade Leonardo to paint Lisa.

I think this book is actually not bad, the writing was powerful and beautiful. It sounded like it’s actually written in the Renaissance. The story had a nice flow and has interesting events.There was some figurative language and thought-provoking word choices. Overall, it was pretty successful and I would definitely recommend it to others that are interested in the renaissance.

tThe structure of this book gave me the impression of strong and powerful yet satisfying. Although some parts were hard to understand and gets a little boring, by actually knowing what happens in the story makes the ending so satisfying and it was awesome! I would say if we didn’t have to do this for a school novel study, I would’ve liked it even better.

It was ok it was not the best book I ever read but it was ok

A diamond in the ruff! I happened to pick this up at the library. What a gem of a book. This is about Salai, apprenticed to Leonardo Da Vinci. E. L. Konigsburg brings this history story alive and fleshes it out. The dialogue sparkles and it feels like this is an autobiography. Anyone in art history would do well to read this amazing book about the famous painting of Mona Lisa. A lot of details are in this little quick read. E. L. did her homework. I had never heard of it, you probably haven't either. This is worth picking up and reading if you have any interest in art or history or both.

I found this short book about Leonardo Da Vinci to be very entertaining. While it is based on fact, it is a fictional piece that tries to explain why Da Vinci didn't paint wealthy women's portraits but preferred a simple peasant instead. His patron's politics explains why he invented mechanisms for war alongside religious masterpieces. I liked the author's explanation for why he tolerated the mindless Salai, his apprentice. Of Leonardo, Salai said, "He is the guy who believes that you paint a face to show what is inside the head." The idea that a woman's real beauty is within and that a woman with "layers" is more beautiful than a woman with money is one that our society needs to hear.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.0
I like reading historical fiction set during the Renaissance and enjoyed this book about the lives of Leonardo da Vinci, his apprentice, Salai and the Duke and Duchess of Milan.
This was my first read by this author and I look forward to reading more.

How did the Mona Lisa, a merchant's wife, a woman of little consequence, come to be painted? There is an idea here of how and I quite like it.

The Second Mrs. Giocanda Book Review by: Avarie

Why did Leonardo da Vinci choose his apprentice to be Salai, a thief, liar, and untalented artist? Through the eyes of Salai, you will find that the hardships, death, demands, and secrets will all lead to the significance behind a portrait of a plain merchant’s wife. E.L. Konigsburg has done a great job of helping readers get a better understanding of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, and life during the Renaissance. As you read through this book, you will find that the story is not just about a skilled artist and his pickpocketing apprentice, but about the meaning behind the famous painting, the Mona Lisa.
The way the author uses foreshadowing is very smart because it continuously intrigues the reader, including me, to want to read more. Another reason I enjoyed reading this book was because we are currently studying the renaissance and this helped me understand more. It links life during the renaissance with a story about an unusually popular painting which makes it an interesting story.
In chapter 11, I thought it had a little too much detail which took away from the meaning behind it. The author wrote too much about every single detail about Salai and Beatrice and I got a little bit lost in what the purpose of the chapter was for. In the general scheme, I found this book quite captivating because I found it interesting to read someone’s perspective on a great work of art. Although, I only read this book because I had to in class, I would read it on my own time because it has lots of unexpected events, character development, and startling plot twists that make it fun to read.
Milan is the main place in this story that many different characters with many unique personalities that fill it such as Leonardo, Salai, and many Duchesses and Dukes. As the story unravels, many of the characters personalities change and you get to see their many different sides. For example Leonardo’s personalities are discovered by Salai, ‘He could turn blush pink in one situation, be yellow in another and true blue in a third. His makeup was a whole pallette. The colour he carried in largest supply was laughter.’ Many unexpected events happen near the end which leaves everyone worried for the other characters. Just to let you know, in the end all of these questions you may have are satisfyingly answered. Although between each chapter the author leaves you with a cliffhanger, it just provokes you to read more and makes it a fun read. Now that I am done reading it, I’m curious to learn more about people's interpretations on the reasons behind other structures, paintings, and other creative inventions during the Renaissance.

I enjoyed the book. It is not one that I would share with students as Salai did have an aversion for the truth. But the story was engaging and grappled with the theme of true beauty and honor, something that is rarely discussed these days.