Quattrocento

Book excerpt: Matt O’Brien, an assistant curator and art restorer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has always been passionate about the Italian Renaissance. But when he discovers a long-neglected portrait of a beautiful woman among the museum’s miles of storage bins, he becomes obsessed--and not only because he suspects that the painting is by Leonardo da Vinci. Something about the mysterious woman’s exquisite face stirs his memory, and when Matt finds himself spun across the centuries into Quattrocento Italy, where he arrives perfectly attired in 15th century clothing, he appears to be free to pursue her. A magically woven, richly detailed debut, Quattrocento tells an unforgettable tale of art, and love, and the unexpected places places where they meet.