Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu work to solve the murder of an elderly curator of the Louvre, a case which leads to clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci and a centuries-old secret society.

The story of the creation of one of history's most influential artworks describes the political and religious turmoil that influenced the painting's evolution and the personal beliefs that shaped da Vinci's symbolic choices.

Explains some basic techniques of Da Vinci by analyzing a few of his better known paintings.

"The collection of writings and images in this magnificent book are drawn from the original notebooks and cover wide range of subject matter, from the human figure to the mechanics of a crossbow." - back cover.

"In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci's small oil painting the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as savior of the world is "the rarest thing on the planet." Its $450 million sale price also makes it the world's most expensive painting. For two centuries, art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings...

Illustrations and text portray the life of Leonardo da Vinci, who gained fame as a artist through such works as the Mona Lisa, and as a scientist by studying various subjects including human anatomy and flight.