Oil and Marble

When I first started talking about the book, readers were surprised that Michelangelo and Leonardo lived at the same time — was anyone at your book club surprised? Did everyone know they lived at the same time? Why DON’T we know this about these two most famous artists?

Has anyone in the book club seen the Mona Lisa and/or the David in person. Did reading Oil and Marble change your perspective on those works?

Who do you relate to more, Michelangelo or Leonardo, and why?

How did each artist affect the other in the novel? Do you think we would have Michelangelo without Leonardo and vice versa and why?

Our society/history, puts artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo up on a pedestal/out of reach… Oil and Marble tries to make them HUMAN. Discuss their human struggles and flaws and personalities in this novel and how that element of humanity in these artists improves your experience of their art.

What were the differences between Michelangelo and Leonardo’s relationships with their families — and specifically their fathers? How do you think those relationships impacted their lives and art?

These two artists create their art very differently — discuss their different creative processes and how their art is a product of their approach. How did their temperaments affect their process and their art?

Discuss the Author’s Note in the end about which parts of the book were based on the historical record and which parts were imagined. Did you like the balance or did things bother you (Insider tip here: I’ve had several people tell me they were HEARTBROKEN that the bird ring was imagined).

Mona Lisa’s smile… Was the “reason” given for her smile fulfilling and why or why not (I definitely only suggest discussing this one if everyone has read the book!

What have Michelangelo and Leonardo taught you about creativity and success?