Morrison debuts with a boy's-eye view of life as an apprentice in an artist's studio in Renaissance Italy. Antonio, determined to become a great artist, begins his training as his uncle's apprentice in Florence. Antonio learns about artists' materials by making charcoal sticks and brushes, grinding minerals into pigment, and mixing plaster. He finally gets to test his own artistic skills by working on a series of frescoes about the life of Christ that his uncle is creating for the (fictitious) Chapel of San Francesco. Morrison offers, in loving detail, the steps involved in creating the frescoes that still adorn the walls of churches built during the flowering of culture that characterized the Renaissance. His extraordinary paintings illustrate not just the many technical steps involved in such a complex project, but also the guild system that enabled a team of painters to work together to present a unified artistic vision. An essential volume in every art library. (Picture book. 6-11)
