Writer, television producer and Hot Springs native Stephanie Storey has just released her debut novel "Oil and Marble," a historical fiction about the bitter rivalry between two of the most famous artists in the world, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Primarily a painter, though known for other things, Leonardo is most famous for the "Mona Lisa," while Michelangelo, a sculptor, is best known for his works, the "Pieta" and "David."
"From 1501-1505, two guys who I'm madly in love with and have been obsessed with for about 20 years, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, both lived and worked alongside each other in Florence, Italy," Storey said. "They hated each other -- absolutely hated each other, and I'm so thankful that they hated each other because their fierce rivalry -- them living together in the same town, hating each other, working alongside each other, drove them to create two of the most iconic works in all of history, the Mona Lisa and the David."
What inspired her to write this story, she said, is that when she would ask people about these two artists, no one had any idea that they even lived at the same time, let alone in the same city, and she felt it was her duty to tell their story.
"These two get put on such a pedestal and modern day culture turns them into some sort of heroes or legends that are untouchable, that just fell from heaven and created these perfect pieces of art and, to me, that's unfair to them," she added. "They were real, live human men who struggled with their art every day and struggled to be able to make it and I wanted to make sure people knew that. Making art is hard; it doesn't just fall from the heavens perfectly done."
Storey was first introduced to Michelangelo 20 years ago when she was studying art and art history in Italy at the University of Pisa. She began reading everything she could find on the artist and then enrolled in a PhD program briefly at Washington University in St. Louis, Miss., and studied under one of the top Michelangelo specialists in the world, which is where she first learned of the rivalry between the two artists and the idea for the book initially began to grow.
"I quickly figured out academics was not for me and I left," she added. "But the obsession with Michelangelo and, therefore, Leonardo, because he worked at the same time and was his rival, stuck with me."
In 2006 on a trip to Florence, Italy, inspired by her surroundings, she pitched the story idea to her husband and began slowly working on the story and details when she returned home.
"I was also producing five nights a week of television on the backside of doing the book, so it was just whenever I could do it. I started working out the characters and the story and doing research, and in 2011 I decided that life is short, and you never know how much time you have left, so you better do what you really want to do," she said. "I knew I really wanted to write this as a novel."
A New York Times Sunday book review said, "Tremendously entertaining and 'unapologetic' in its artistic license, 'Oil and Marble' will remind an older generation of the pleasures of Irving Stone's art historical fiction, particularly his chronicle of the Sistine Chapel ceiling commission, 'The Agony and the Ecstasy.' Storey's affection for the period is clear. Her narrative instincts are strong and her dialogue sharp; throughout, her exposition is adroit and informative."
Before moving to Los Angeles 15 years ago, Storey lived in Hot Springs and graduated from Lakeside High School.
"I'm so proud to be able to say I'm from Hot Springs," she said.
"Oil and Marble" was released on March 1, 2016 and can be purchased at local bookstores.
Local on 03/11/2016