i like how book armand is so similar to leonardo da vinci real life apprentice salai. which loosely means “little devil” and was given to him because his constant stealing and breaking things. above (portrait of salai by unknown 1495-1500 and saint john the baptist 1513-16) and below (bacchus 1510-15) are da vinci paintings of salai.
marius description of armand in the books:
"This was a boy, as I had said, and he had a head of long curly hair. But his face was shining white, and perfect, the countenance of a god it seemed, a Cupid out of Caravaggio, seductive yet ethereal, with auburn hair and dark brown eyes."
giorgio vasari description of salai:
"a graceful and beautiful youth with curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly delighted"
some believe leonardo and salai were lovers. it’s just an interesting comparison and i don’t know whether anne rice drew inspiration from these two.
