DEBUNKING THE DA VINCI CODE; In the frenzied lead-up to the release of the film of Dan Brown's book, it's time to expose the ludicrous myths that the work of fiction has created, says Martin Kemp, world expert on Leonardo.

From: The Evening Standard (London, England) | Date: May 5, 2006 | Copyright information

Byline: MARTIN KEMP

WHEN Dan Brown's thriller was first published in 2003, I welcomed the idea of a book with Leonardo da Vinci at its heart. Any raising of interest in such an astonishing person, anything which helped the public engage, seemed worthwhile, though I should say that in three decades of working in this area I've never actually noticed a shortage of interest. The Leonardo silly season has never closed - but now, it's got very silly indeed.

In the past few months, with the film of the book almost upon us, public interest has escalated to a point where the ...

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