CHAPTERONE

Leonardo'sLifeandTimes

Leonardowas,firstofall,apainterandanartist.

Buthewasalsoagreatthinker.

TherearefewpeopletodaywhohaveneverheardthenameLeonardodaVinci. But it is five hundred years since he died, in a small town in northernFrance.Whyishisnamestillsowellknown?Whowashe,andwhatdidhegivetotheworld?

Leonardowas,firstofall,apainterandanartistwhowantedtoexamine,describeandshowthroughhisworkthebeautyofthenaturalworld.Buthewasalsoagreat thinker.Hehopedtousehisunderstandingofnature to inventandbuildmachinesthatwouldimprovetheworldhelivedin.Leonardowasadmiredinhisowntimeasanartistandasaninventor.Today,peoplestillthinkthathispaintings are beautiful, although only a small number of them exist.We alsoadmiretheclevernessofhis inventions,althoughweonlyknowthesefromhiswritingsandhisdrawings.

In1994BillGates, thenheadofMicrosoft,boughtabookofLeonardo'swritingsanddrawingsfor$30.8million.Thebookisthirty-sixpageslongandisfilledwithLeonardo's scientific notes from the years 1508 and 1509. It is theonlybookofLeonardo'swritingsownedbyaprivatepersoninmoderntimes.

Leonardowasbornin1452anddiedin1519.Thiswasduringthetimethatwe now call the Renaissance. The word 'renaissance' is French and means'rebirth'. Renaissance was first used to describe this time in history, andespecially Italian history, in the nineteenth century. But the idea of theRenaissancebeganinthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies.Atthistime,peoplewere looking back to and admiring the literature and art ofGreece andRomefrom2,000or1,500yearsbefore.Inthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,artistsandwriterswanted to copywhat they thoughtwas beautiful from that distanttime.Theyalsocomparedtheartandbooksthattheywereproducingwithworksfromthepast.Someeventhoughtofitasacompetition.

Atthesametime,anumberofpeoplewereexcitedaboutquestioningtheworldaroundthem.Thegreatthinkersdidnotwantjusttoacceptideasandfactsthatweretoldtothem.Theywantedtofindoutforthemselveswhatwasandwasnot true. Leonardo belonged to this group of thinkers, and hewas one of themost important.Hewas always looking at nature and thinking about ideas tohelphimunderstandtheworldbetter.Manyartistsandthinkerswereinterestedinscienceaswellasart,butLeonardowasunusualbecausehewasinterestedina largenumberofsubjectsandhestudied themingreatdetail.Heenjoyed thenatural world and the wonderful things he saw in it, and he nevermissed anopportunitytolearn.Heledthewayforothersinhisstudies.

ChildhoodinVinci

Leonardowasbornon15April1452.HismotherwascalledCaterinaandhisfatherwasalawyercalledPierodaVinci.Thissurnamemeans'fromVinci',andVinciisthenameofthesmallcountrytowninthewestofTuscanyinItalywhere Leonardo was born. We know the day and hour - Saturday at around10.30p.m. -becausehisgrandfatherwrote it down.Hisgrandfather,whowasalsoalawyer, livedinVinci,butPieroworkedintheTuscancapital,Florence.Leonardo's parents were not married, but Leonardo was part of his father'sfamilyfromhisbirth.

Leonardo probably spent much of his childhood in Vinci and thecountrysidearoundit.YoucanseefromthephotographofVincioppositethatitisasmalltownonahill.Itissurroundedbygreenfieldsandtreesandtherearevalleys andother lowhills. It is certainly clear fromLeonardo's drawings andfromhiswritingsthatheknewandlovedcountryside,birdsandanimals.Hetellsusthathisfirstmemorywasofabird.

Leonardoandhisfamily

WedonotreallyknowmuchaboutLeonardo'srelationshipwithhisfather,orwithhismother,who lived somewherenearVinci.Leonardo livedwithhisgrandparents in Vinci while hewas young, in a housewith a large vegetablegarden.In1457hisgrandfather,Antonio,recordedthathesharedhishousewithhis wife, his son (Leonardo's father), Piero's wife and Leonardo. Leonardo's

uncle,Francesco,wastwenty-twoatthetimeandsometimeslivedwiththem.

By 1469Antonio had died andLeonardo,whowas then seventeen,wasliving with his father and other familymembers in Florence. Leonardo's firststepmother, Albiera, had died and Leonardo's father was now married toFrancesca,whowastwenty.UncleFrancescoandhiswifealsolivedwiththem.Francesco did not have any children of his own, so perhaps he thought ofLeonardoalmostasason.

BythetimeLeonardo'sfatherdiedin1504,attheageofeighty,Leonardohad nine half-brothers and two half-sisters. Piero did not leave anything toLeonardowhenhedied,butFrancescoleftallhispropertytoLeonardo.Piero'syounger children were not pleased about this, so there was a legal argumentbetweenthebrothersledbyGiuliano, theeldest.Butbylate1514itseemstheangerhadgonebecauseLeonardometGiulianoinRomeanddidhisbesttohelphim inabusinessmatter.Giuliano'swifewrote toGiuliano fromFlorenceandsentherbestwishestoLeonardo,whoshesaidwas'amostexcellentandspecialman'.

SomeimportantdatesandeventsinLeonardo'sLife

15April1452

Leonardo is born in Vinci, a small country town. Lives there with hisgrandparents,fatherandfamily.

1469

HehasmovedtoFlorence.Livingwithhisfatherandfamilyandlearninghowtobeanartist.StudyingwiththeartistAndreaVerrocchio,whomakesbothpaintingsandsculpture.

The1472

Hebecomesanindependentpainter inFlorence,althoughsometimesstillworksonpaintingswithVerrocchio.

By25April1483,toDecember1499

Hehasmoved toMilan.Working for theSforza family,whogovern thecity. Paints pictures,makes sculpture,works as an engineer and architect, andplansdecorationsforplaysandparties.

The16March1485

He sees the sun completely covered with the earth's shadow. Veryinterestedinunderstandingthemovementsofthesun,moonandstars.

The2April1489

He draws the bones of a human head. Studying the human body as ascientist,whichalsohelpshimtobeabetterpainter.

December1499

He moves away from Milan soon after the Sforza lose control of thegovernment to the French. Travels to Mantua for a short stay, where he iswelcomed as an artist. Then goes to Venice, where he gives the governmentadviceoncontrollinganimportantriver.

By24April1500,tosummer1506

HehasreturnedtoFlorence.Livestheremostofthetime-workingforthegovernment on a big painting in an important public building and onmilitaryjobs.

Summerandwinter1502

HeisworkingforCesareBorgia,thePope'sson,asamilitaryengineerincentral Italy. Travels around looking at the defence of different towns. Alsomakesnotesonallsortsofthingsthatinteresthim-likethewayboatswithsailsaremovedbythewind,orthemusicalsoundoffallingwater.

June1506toSeptember1513

He returns to live inMilan.Works for theFrenchgovernment thereasapainter,engineerandarchitect.MakesafewvisitsbacktoFlorence.

December1513tosummer1516

Hemoves toRomebecause thePope's brother,Giulianode'Medici, hasaskedhimtocometheretoworkforhim.

Autumn1516

HegoestoliveinFrancetoworkforKingFrancoisIinAmboise.Ismuchadmired by the king and is called 'TheKing's Painter', which is a sign of hisspecialposition.

By10October1517

HeislivinginahouseatClosLuce,ontheedgeofAmboise,giventohimbytheFrenchking.

2May1519

HediesatClosLuce,tothesadnessofhisassistantandfriend,FrancescoMelzi,whohasbeenwithhimforyears.

Learninganartist'sskills

Atsometimeinthe1460s-certainlybefore1469-LeonardohadmovedtoFlorence.By1472hebegantrainingasanartistwiththepainterandsculptorAndreadelVerrocchio,andsometimewithinthenextfouryearshewaslivinginVerrocchio's house. It was quite usual at this time for both pupils and skilledassistantstoliveinthehouseoftheiremployerandtopayfortheirlivingcosts-akindofrent.

VerrocchiowasoneofthechiefartistsinFlorenceatthattimeandhehadanumber of other artists working for him. Leonardo learned all the skills of apainter,whichincludedhowtomakepaints.Thiswasanimportantskillbecausethese couldnot be bought in shops. Instead, painters had tomakepaints fromcarefulmixingofrocksandearthwitheggorwithplantoils.LeonardoprobablyalsolearnedaboutsculpturefromVerrocchioandhisassistants.Verrocchiowasafamoussculptorofbronze.Leonardowastaughthowtomixandheatmetals,how tomake the shapes of the sculpture, and then how to clean and shine itwhenitwascold.

Leonardohadstrongideasabouthowpeopleshouldstudytobepainters.Astudentneededtostudycarefully,detailbydetail.Itwasimportanttootostudyonlywithpeoplewhosharedyourdesire tolearn.Ifyoucouldnotfindpeoplelikethis,youshouldworkalone.Sometimesitwasactuallygoodtoworkalone:you couldgive your full attention to your study insteadof listening to friendstalking.Butitcouldalsobeusefultodrawwithotherpeople,becauseyouwouldwanttoworkashardastheydid,andyoucouldlearnfromtheirsuccessesandtheirmistakes.

A good pupil, Leonardo believed, tried to be better than his teacher andshouldneverloseanopportunitytothinkaboutartortolearn.Hewrote:

IhavefounditveryusefulwheninbedinthedarktorememberthedetailsofthethingsIhavestudied;ithelpstomakethemstayinthememory.

Astudentcouldimaginelandscapesorfightsorpeople'sfacesandclothes

inthemarksonawallorthedifferentstonesinawall.

Leonardo'spupilsandassistants

WhenLeonardostartedtoworkforhimself,anumberofpeoplecametoworkforhim.Someofthemworkedwithhimforalongtimeandtravelledwithhim when he moved from one city to another to live. Others stayed a muchshortertime.

There were two people who came to Leonardo when they were boys,probablyaspupils,andthenspentmanyyearsworkingandlivinginhishouse.ThefirstwasGianGiacomoCaprotti.HecametoLeonardoin1490,agedten,from a small village near Milan. Leonardo recorded how much he paid forclothes and shoes for Giacomo in the first ten months, but mainly he listedGiacomo'sbadbehaviourandwhatandhowhestolefromLeonardo,Leonardo'sfriendsandothers.Around1494inoneofhisnotes,LeonardocalledhimSalai,andthiswasthenamethathealwaysusedforhimafterthis.

Salai stayedwith Leonardo formany years. In 1497 inMilan Leonardorecorded thecostofaveryexpensivecoat forhim,silver incolourwithgreenedges. He gave Salai themoney to buy it; but Salai could still behave badlybecause he stole the change! Salai probably learned to behave better becauseLeonardosenthimfromFlorencetoMilanashismessengeronbusinessmatters,andalso, later,anumberof timesfromRometoMilan.SalaistayedinservicewithLeonardowhenhemovedtoFrancein1516,andwaspaid100ecus'ayearby theFrench government.Hewas described by them asLeonardo's 'servant',butthisamountofmoneywasmuchmorethanahouseservantwaspaid,sotheyprobablymeantthatSalaiwasanassistanttoLeonardo.Itisnotcertain,though,wherehewaswhenLeonardodied.

The secondpersonwasGiovanniFrancescoMelzi, knownasFrancesco.HewasMilaneseandprobablycametoLeonardoagedthirteenorfourteenwhenLeonardolivedinMilanforthesecondtime.FrancescohadbeentoschoolbutprobablylearnedtopaintwithLeonardo.But,justasimportantly,hehelpedhimwithwritingthingsdown.InFrancewithLeonardo,Francescowasdescribedas'theItaliangentlemanwhoiswithLeonardo'andhewaspaid400ecusayearby

the French - four times as much as Salai. Francesco helped Leonardo in hisstudiesandLeonardovaluedhimalot,asweshallseelater.Francesco'sfeelingsabout Leonardo are clear from the letter he wrote to Leonardo's eldest half-brotheronLeonardo'sdeath:

Hewaslikethebestfathertome,

Icannotsayhowmuchpainhisdeathgaveme.

AslongasIlive,Iwillalwaysbesad.

WhatwasLeonardolike?

WehaveanumberofdocumentsaboutthelifeofLeonardo,aswellashisownwritings. In the late1520sPaoloGiovio,whoperhapsknewLeonardo inMilan or Rome, said that Leonardowas very polite, generous and spoke in apleasant way; he was also very handsome. Another writer also said thatLeonardowasveryattractiveandthathehadbeautifullonghair.HetellsusthatLeonardonormallyworeashortrose-pinkjacket,atatimewhenthefashionwasforlongjackets.In1550anotherwriter,GiorgioVasari,wrotethatLeonardowasverystrongandthathelovedhorsesandriding.

Leonardowasunusualfor the timebecauseby1516hedidnoteatmeat,althoughwedonotknowifthiswastrueallhislife.Hewasalsoleft-handedandhiswritingalmostalwaysranbackwards.Thismeansthathissentencesarereadfromrighttoleftinsteadoffromlefttoright.Youwillnoticethisinsomeofthepicturesinthisbook.YoucanreadLeonardo'swritingbyholdingitinfrontofamirrorandthenreadingit.Ifyoudothis,allthelettersandwordsareperfectlyformed.Hewrotelikethisbecauseitwasthenaturalwayforhimtousehispen,butwedonotknowifhepaintedonlywithhislefthand.

PerhapsLeonardodescribedhisideaofaperfectlifewhenhewrote:

Thepaintersits relaxed in frontofhiswork.Heholdsavery lightbrushwithsoftcolouronit.Heiswelldressedinclotheshelikes.

Hishouse is clean and full of lovelypictures.Heoften listens topeopleplayingmusicforhimorreadingtohimfromgoodbooks.

'Goodbooks'suggestsseriousworks,anda listofLeonardo'sownbookstells us that he did have many that were serious. But his idea of enjoyablereadingalsoincludedpopularadventuresandhumorousstories.

Leonardo'slifeandtravels

Florence

Although he was born in Vinci, Leonardo thought of himself as aFlorentine; in documents he called himself 'Leonardo da Vinci, Florentine' orevenjust 'LeonardoFlorentine'.Heprobablylivedthereforabouttwentyyearsof his life, at different times.Florencewas famous in Italy andbeyond for itsartists,anditwastheplacewherehelearnedhisart.

Leonardo lived through times of peace and war in Italy. Florence wasmostlypeacefulwhilehelivedthere.Thecity,andalargeareaofTuscanyroundit,wasgovernedbyabiggroupofrichbusinessmen.Therewasastronginterestinart, literatureand learning inFlorenceandmuchof Italyat this time.Manyrichmenandwomenwantedtospendmoneyonnewpaintingsandsculpturefortheir houses and for the churches and other buildings where they went toreligiousservices.Leonardo'sfirstpaintingswereformenandwomenlikethese.

Milan

WedonotknowwhyLeonardodecidedtoleaveFlorence,butsometimebetween autumn 1481 and spring 1483 hemoved toMilan.Milanwas a richcapitalcityinnorthernItaly,andoneofthebiggestcitiesinEurope-onlyParisand London were larger. It was governed by the Sforza family. They wantedgood architects, artists,musicians, historians andwriters towork in their citybecause it showed their own importance and the importanceof their state: theartswerealmostasimportantasmoneyandmilitarypoweratthattime.Whenasinglefamilyorpersongovernedacity,therewasthechanceofbigjobsbecausetheycouldspendlargesumsofmoneyastheywished.

Themost powerfulman inMilanwasLudovicoSforza, althoughhe didnotofficiallygovern thecityuntil1495.Leonardowroteabouthimselfaround1483inalettertoLudovico:

In timesofpeaceIbelieveIcangivecompletesatisfaction,equal toanyotherman, inarchitecture in theplanningofbothpublicandprivatebuildings,and in guidingwater fromone place to another.Also I canmake sculpture inmarble,bronzeorclay,andinpaintingIcandoeverythingthatitispossibletodo,aswellasanyotherman.

LudovicoandMilanthereforeofferedLeonardoexcitingopportunities.Hepaintedpicturesandstagedtheatricalevents.Hebeganworkonsomebigbronzesculptures. He gave his opinions on building and engineering problems. Hesurveyedlandandheadvisedhowtocontrol riversandwater. In the1490shewaslistedasoneofLudovico'stopfourengineers.

In1499,though,LudovicoSforzalostcontrolofMilanandallitslandtotheFrencharmy.LeonardomovedalargesumofmoneyfromMilantoabankinFlorenceandleftthecitysoonafterwards.

Mantua,VeniceandreturntoFlorence

Leonardo did not go straight back to Florence. Instead he went east toMantuatopaintforIsabellad'Este,thewifeofthemanwhogovernedthere.Hethen continued toVenice for a short time.Leonardoprobablyhadnot been toFlorenceformanyyears,butafewmonthsafter leavingMilanhewasbackinthe city. A man called Pietro Novellara later reported from Florence thatLeonardo had only done one, unfinished drawing; 'His mind is filled withgeometry.Heisnotpleasedbypainting.'Leonardowasalsoprobablyadvisingonanumberofarchitecturalandengineeringjobsduringthistime.

From the summer to thewinter of 1502, Leonardowas out of Florenceworking in central Italy for Cesare Borgia, the son of the Pope, as amilitaryengineer and architect. He did the same kind of job for the Florentines sixmonthslaternearthecityofPisaandtheTuscancoast.

BackinFlorenceafterthis,Leonardostartedmakingdrawingsforalargepainting in the Palazzo della Signoria,whichwas themain public building inFlorence.Leonardo,with several assistants, continuedworking on this job forthree years but only finished some of it.During this time he did a number ofother jobs aswell. For example, in early 1504 hewas in an official group ofFlorentines - mostly artists - who had to decide where to place the marblesculptureofDavidthatMichelangelohadsculptedforthegovernment.

MilanandRome

In June 1506 Leonardo returned to Milan. He was welcomed by theFrench,whonowgoverned the city.Leonardowaspaidwell by theFrench toworkfortheminMilanasanartist,engineerandarchitect.ButtheSforzafamilywanted Milan back and Leonardo was there in December 1511 when Swisssoldiers, fighting for the Sforza family, attacked the area. Leonardo drewpictures of a village called Desio near Milan as it burned. There was morefighting in the area aroundMilan all through the next year.We are not surewhereLeonardowas,buthestayedinornearMilanformuchofthefollowingyear after the French had lost control of the city. In the autumn, though,LeonardoleftMilanforRome,wherehelivedforaboutthreeyearsasaguestofthePope.Leonardowas sixty-onewhenhe leftMilan this time.Hehad spentabout twenty-threeyearsofhis life there and itwas avery important place tohim.

France

ButLeonardohadnotbeenforgottenbytheFrench.Intheautumnof1516LeonardoacceptedaninvitationtogotoFrancetothecourtofKingFrancoisIinAmboise in theLoireValley.LeonardowasmuchadmiredbyFrancois andwaspaidverywellbyhim.Hewasgiven the titleof 'TheKing'sPainter'.Theking also gave him a large house at Clos Luce, on the edge of Amboise. InOctober1517itwasreportedthatLeonardohadaweakrighthandsohecouldnotpainteasily,butthathewasstilldrawingandteaching.

Tendaysbeforehedied,Leonardorecordedwhathewouldliketohappentohispropertyafterhisdeath.Heaskedforhisbodyto lieat thechurchofStFlorentininAmboise.Leonardonevermarriedandthereisnorecordthathehadanychildren.Heleftallhisbooks,paintingequipment,portraits,hisclothesandhismoneyinFrancetoFrancescoMelzi.Hegaveaservanthalfofagardenonthe edge ofMilan, all the furniture from his house at Clos Luce and moneycollected from boats using a canal in Milan. The other half of the Milanesegarden Leonardo gave to Salai; Salai had already built a house there andLeonardo gave him that aswell. He gaveMaturina, a female servant, a goodquality black coat with fur on the inside and two ducats. To his brothers inFlorence, Leonardo gave quite a large sum of money that was in a bank inFlorence.FromMelzi'sletterweknowtheyalsogotafarmatFiesole,justnorthofFlorence.

LeonardodiedinhishouseatClosLuceonMonday,2May1519.

CHAPTERTWO

LeonardoandNature

'Naturehaskindlygivenusthingseverywheretocopy',wroteLeonardo.Inallhisactivities,Leonardowastryingtodiscovertherulesthatcontrolnature.

Inthemodernworld,artandsciencearetwoveryseparateactivities,butinLeonardo's time theywere closely connected. Sciencemeantmathematics andmedicalstudies.Howcouldthesebeconnectedwithart?Mathematicsincludedpracticalwork like surveying land formakingmaps aswell asmeasuring themovementsofthestarsinthesky.Anartistmightneedtomeasurethedifferentpartsofthebody.Hecouldalsousemathematicstoplacethingsinrelationshiptoeachotherinadrawingorpaintingsothescenelookedcorrect.YouwillseeagoodexampleinthepaintingofTheLastSupperinthenextchapter.

Mathematicswasalsoconnectedtomusicbecausemusicalsoundshaveafixed relationshipwith eachother that canbedescribed innumbers.Leonardohimselfwasaverygoodmusicianandlikedtoplayaninstrumentandsing.

Morethanthis,though,Leonardobelievedthatnumberswereapartofallthingsintheworldandhesaidthat'withoutthemnothingcanbedone.'

'Naturehaskindlygivenusthingseverywheretocopy',wroteLeonardo.Inallhisactivities,Leonardowastryingtodiscovertherulesthatcontrolnature.

Inhissearchforthoserules,helookedverycarefullyatalotofexamplesanddetails.Actualexperiencewasmoreimportanttohimthanopinion,andheworkedfromfactstoideas.Aboveall,Leonardowantedtounderstandhowandwhythingsworked.Hispurposewastoexaminetheworldsohecouldcopyitinbeautifulpaintingsandsculptures.Buthealsowanted to learn fromthecleversolutionsofnature.

Leonardowasalwaysdrawing-quicklittledrawingstocatchamovementorashape,ormorecarefuldrawingsdoneatadeskwithapenandruler.

InJuly2001asmalldrawingbyLeonardowassoldfor$12million.

Itwasthemostexpensivedrawingintheworld.

Light

Leonardowasapainter,andapainterneeds toknowabout lightand theeffectsof light.Yourviewofahandorarockora tree isaffectedbythewaylightfallsonthem.Lightandshadowhelptobringthemintoviewormakethemdisappear. Colour is affected by the brightness of light and the darkness ofshadows.Theeffectsof lightalsochangeatdifferent timesofdayandevenatdifferenttimesoftheyear.Leonardonotedthattheoutsideleavesofatreetakesomeblue from the colour of the air; the ones in themiddle lookmoregreenbecauseofalltheothergreenleavesaroundthem.

Inhispaintings,Leonardowanted tocopythewaythathumanssee lightandcolour,sohispictureswouldmakeyouimaginerealexperience.Whenyoulook into the distance, for example from a hill out over the countryside, lightaffectshowandwhatyou see.Thingsgetbluerbut also less sharp if they arefarther away from you. In the next chapter you can see this in some of thelandscapesinhispaintings.

Leonardodidnot just lookat thingsout in theworld;healsopositionedthings so he could examine them in a controlledway.You can see this in thedrawing below, where Leonardo is showing how light makes shadows as itcomesthroughawindowandfallsonaball.Leonardodrewandrecordedstudieslikethiscarefullyinabook.

Lightonaball.Theballisseenfromabove,withthewindowatthetopofthepage;thelightfromthewindowisshownaslines.Leonardoshowshowtheshadowsfallbehindtheballwhenlightcomesfromslightlydifferentdirectionsthroughthewindow-asthesunmovesduringtheday,forexample.

Theshadowisalwaysdarkestwherenolightreachesitfromthewindow.

Leonardoalsolookedatandthoughtaboutthesun,themoonandthestars.Hediscussedhow light andheat come from the sun.Henotedhow themoonsendsbacklightfromthesuninsteadofhavingitsownlight.Hetalkedaboutthesize and measurements of the sun, moon and stars, and also how things canappearlargerorsmallerthantheyreallyarebecauseoftheeffectsofcurvesand

distance. He did tests to prove these ideas; he did not just repeat what otherpeoplehadsaid.

From his study of light, Leonardo wanted to understand sight. Heexamined human eyes, and even animals' eyes. Some animals and birds areawakeatnightandneedtobeabletoseeinthedark,andLeonardonotedthatthecentresoftheireyesgotlargerwhentherewaslesslight.Hewrotethatifyoushonea lightatacat'seye in thedark, theeyelookedlikefire.Wenowknowthatthisisbecausethebackofacat'seyeisalmostlikeamirror.Whenlightfallson it, it shines back. This helps the cat to see better at night. But Leonardonoticed that even a cat couldnot see if itwas totallydark; then, he said, theyusedtheirexcellentsenseofsmelltofindtheirwayaround.

Animals

ThereareallkindsofdrawingsbyLeonardoofanimals.Sometimesthesearecarefuldrawingswithmeasurementsof thedifferentpartsofananimal -adog'shead,ahorse'sleg.Butoppositeyoucanseeanexampleofthewaythathealsotriestocatchthecharacterofananimal.Inthesequickdrawingsofachildwithacatwecanseehowinterestedhewasinforms,movementandemotion.

Inthetopdrawingthechildholdsthecatwithloveandthecatpushesitsheadagainstthechild.Thecat'stailsticksupanditsbacklegsmoveforwardsasitclimbsontothechild'slegs.Inthenextdrawingthechildbendsforwardandrunshishandalongthecat'sback.Youcanalmosthearthehappysoundthecatmakes.Then in the thirdpicture thechildholds thecatso tightly that thecat'sbodyisbentoutofshape.Itlookslesshappy.Lookingatthesedrawingsyoucanimaginehowthechildandthecatfeel,andtheyprobablyremindyouofcatsandchildrenthatyouhaveseenyourself.

Landscape,rocks,plantsandtrees

Leonardofilledpagesandpagesofpaperwithdrawingsandnotesof thethings thathe sawand thought about.Hewrote about typesof rocks andhowwatermoved,herecordedtheplantsthathesawgrowinginthecountryside,andhe studied the shapes of the land. For him the world was full of energy andnaturalforces;sometimesheeventalkedabouttheworldasalivingbody.

Whengivingadviceonpainting,Leonardotoldotherpainters:

Youmustleaveyourhomeinthetown,andleaveyourfamilyandfriends,andgooverthemountainsandvalleysintothecountry.

Healsowrotethatyouneededtobealonetoexperienceandstudynatureinthefullestway.Leonardotellsusaboutsomeofhisownexperiencesaloneinthecountryandtheeffecttheyhadonhim.Oneday,pulledbymyenthusiasticdesire to see different and strange shapes made by nature, I walked somedistanceamongdarkrocksuntilIcametotheentranceofabigholeinthesideof a hill. I stood in front of this for some time shocked, not understanding it.Suddenlythereweretwoemotionsinsideme:fearanddesire.Fearoftheheavydarknessanddesiretoseeiftherewasanythingwonderfulinsidethehill.

EmotionsthemselvesinterestedhimbecauseasanartistLeonardowantedto be able to understandhow they affected people's faces andmovements.Hewantedtoshowfeelingsandthoughtsinhispaintingsandsculpture.

Leonardowantedtoknowaboutthesmallestdetail,andwhatwasusualorunusual,sohewantedtoseelotsofexamplesofthesamethingsaswellaslotsof different kinds of things. Leonardo showed many kinds of plants in hisdrawingsandpaintings,andhisworkisadmiredbyscientistswhostudyplants.When you look at the paintings in the next chapter, see how many differentplantsyoucanfindandrecognise.

Water

Leonardo was very interested in water, from the smallest drops andstreamstogreatriversandseas.Atleasttwoofhisbooksofnotesareonlyaboutwater.TheCodexLeicester,aswecall itnow,whichhewrotearound1507 to1510, is all about the forms and power ofwater. InMilan fromSeptember toOctober 1508 Leonardo filled another book with notes under the title Of theworldandwaters.

Leonardowanted touse thesestudies in twoways - first forhispaintingandsecondtocontrolthemovementofwaterandtomakemachinespoweredbywater.Hewanted to be able to paint not just rivers and seas but theway thatwaterintheairchangesthecolouroftheskyandaffectshowyouseeadistantview.HedescribeshowhesawastormontheRiverArno:

Thewindcomingbackhitthewaterandlifteditup,makingabighollow.

Thewaterwasliftedstraightupintotheair.Thecolourwassimilartothatofacloud.Isawthisonthesandintheriver.Thesandwashollowedoutdeeperthantheheightofaman,andthesandandlittlestoneswerethrownaroundoverawidearea.Itappearedintheairlikeareallytallbuildingandthetopspreadoutlikethebranchesofareallytalltree.

AnumberofLeonardo'slaterdrawingsshowenormousstorms.Hewrote:

Ihaveseenmovementsofairsoangrythattheyhavepickedupthelargesttreesoftheforestsandwholeroofsofbighousesastheywent.Thissameangermadeadeephollowandmovedstones,sandandwateragreatdistancethroughtheair.

Thesenotesanddrawingsareremindersoftheterriblepowerofnaturetodestroy.ButforLeonardotherewasalsobeautyintheformsandmovements.

His other drawings of water show this double character of water: greatenergyandveryattractiveandpleasingshapes.

The curves andmovements ofwaterwere, saidLeonardo, 'like hair'.Hewasalsointerestedinmakingdrawingsofwomen'slonghair,whichwasputupon their heads in complicated styles. These styles were very popular amongyoungwomeninthefifteenthcentury.Hisinterestincomplicatedcurvedformsalso included drawings of knots. He used these ideas in interesting ways. HepaintedaroominthecastleinMilanforLudovicoSforza,andinittreesseemedtobegrowinguponallsidesoftheroom.Hepaintedthebranchesofthetreesastheceilingof the room,withall theirgreen leaves.Hewantedyou to imaginethatyouwereinalittlewoodinagarden.Ifyoulookedupthroughthebranches,you could just see the blue sky above. Then a golden line of connected andcomplicatedknotsranthroughandaroundthebranchesandleaves.Soitseemedalmosttobeagardenbuildingmadeoflivingwood.

People

People were as much the subject of Leonardo's study as landscapes,animals andplants.Tomake a person in a paintingor sculpture look real andalive,anartistneedstounderstandhowarealbodymovesorhowalivingmanorwomanstandsorsits.Artists,therefore,havetolookverycarefullyatpeople.Theirdrawingsrecordwhattheyhaveseen.WehavealreadyseenanexampleofthisinLeonardo'sdrawingsofthechildwithacat.Manyofhisotherdrawingsarealsoofpeopleandanimalsinmovement.

He drew, for example, figures doing different activities. None of thefiguresworeclothesbecausehewantedtoshowclearlywhathappenedtotheirarms,backsandlegsastheyworked.Onedrawingshowsfourmen-oronemanfromdifferentsides-whoaredigging.Inanotherdrawing,onthesamesheetofpaper, men are carrying packages and holding them in different positions.Drawingslikethesegivearealsenseofpeople'sactionsandactivities.

Ifyouwerepaintingpicturesofpeople,hesaid,youneededtoknowhowtheybehaved-weretheymale,female,young,old?Weretheyrichorpoorandwhatdidtheydo?Youneededtoseparatethemintotypesandthenseparatethemagainso'themendonotallappeartobebrothers'.AfriendofLeonardoinMilanwrote:

WhenLeonardowanted to drawor paint a figure, he first thought aboutwhatkindofpersontheywere.Then,whenhehaddecided,hewenttotheplaceswhereheknewpeopleof thatkindcouldbe found.He lookedclosely at theirfaces,theirclothes,andthewaytheymovedtheirbodies.Hewatchedhowtheybehaved.Whenhesawanything thathewas lookingfor,herecorded itwithapencil in a little bookwhichwas alwayshanging fromhis belt. Sometimes, itseems,Leonardowentonemorestep.Whenhewantedtodrawlaughingcountrymen,we are told, he chose someand arranged aparty for them.Thenhe toldthem stories until they laughed somuch that they almost fell on the floor.Hecarefully watched their movements, and later made a drawing of them. Thisdrawinghadthesameeffectonpeopleashisstorieshad.

Leonardodidnotwanttomakehispaintingsofpeoplesoperfectthattheywerenot realor theyall looked thesame: 'Beautyof thefacemaybeequal in

differentpeople, but it never takes the same form,' he said.Whenyou look atsomeofthepaintingsofyoungwomeninthenextchapter,youcanthinkabouthowLeonardomakes each of them different and recognisable. It is now veryhard tosee thedetailsofhispaintingTheLastSupper,but there tooLeonardowantedeachofChrist'spupilstolookdifferentandtoactdifferentlyfromeachother.Thisisbecauseinhisopinioneverypersonfeelsemotiondifferently,andnoteveryoneisgoingtohavethesameemotionseither.

Leonardoalsowanted todrawandpaintcorrectly theclothes thatpeoplewore.Asayoungmanhespentmanyhourspractisingdrawinghowrealclothfellaroundabody.Hewantedtounderstandtheformsandgettheshadowsrighttomakehisartlookreal.Laterhealsowrotedetaileddescriptionsoftheformsofclothesandhowtheymovedandlaydifferentlyastheyfelloverthebodyoroverotherclothes.

Anatomy

Because doctors had to understand how all the parts of the human bodyworked, anatomywas also of interest to artists. In the fifteenth century, closeexamination of real bodies was only just beginning. Leonardo played a veryimportantpartinthisstudy.Inthebeginninghisdrawingswereofthewaythatbodiesmovedandtheshapesandformsthatweremadewhenabodystoodorsat, for example. Then Leonardo became more interested in examining thedetailsofbodiesandwhatliesundertheskin.

InFlorence,perhapsin1507or1508,Leonardowasabletocutupsomebodiesofpeoplewhohadjustdied.Hesaidaroundthistimethathehadcutupmorethantenbodies.Thiswashundredsofyearsbeforefridgeswereinventedsobodiesdidnotstayfreshfor long.Sowhenhewanted tounderstandall theveinsofthebodyLeonardohadtocutuptwobodies,oneaftertheother,becauseit tooksometimetodohisexamination.Hemadedrawingsanddetailednotesaboutwhathesaw.

OneofthebodieswasofanoldmaninFlorence.Leonardohadmethimjustbeforehedied:

Thisoldman,afewhoursbeforehisdeath,toldmethathehadlivedonehundredyearsandthathehadnodiseasesbutwasjustweak.Andso,sittingonabedinthehospitalofSantaMariaNuova,withoutanymovementorsignofpain,

hepassedfromthislife.AndIcutuphisbodytoseewhathadmadehisdeathsokind.

Inthedrawingoppositeofaman'sarm,wecanseehowLeonardoshowsalltheveins.Leonardo'sstudyherecentreonthemovementofbloodaroundthebody,especiallytheveins.Hecomparedthewaybloodmovedthroughthebodyandtheformsofveinswiththemovementofwaterandtheshapesthatstreamsandriversmake.Hecalledtheshapesoftheveinsinthebodya'tree'.Sohewasconnectinghisstudiesofthebodywithhisstudiesofotherpartsofthenaturalworld. To understand how the body worked, Leonardo was also interested inchangesovertimeandtheeffectsandsignsofthosechanges.Hewaslookingforreasons,notjustatappearanceorhowthingsworked.

In spring 1510 Leonardowrote that he believed he would finish all hiswork on anatomy. Perhaps he had a plan to produce a book on the subject.Leonardo thought, though, that his drawings showed thingsmore clearly thanwords:

Ohwriter,whatwordscanyoufindtodescribethewholearrangementasperfectlyasinthisdrawing?

But one drawing or viewwas not enough. To understand the body youneededtoseeitfromdifferentsides;forexample,fromthetop,frombelow,andfromeachsideofanarmoraleg.Fortheboneofanarmorlegyouneededfiveviews,becauseyouhad to cut through it.Often, though,Leonardomade evenmoredrawingsthanthisofasinglebodypart.

ForLeonardothenaturalworldwasalwaysinterestingandalwaysfullofrichideas.Thenaturalworldwasatthecentreofhisstudies.Inhisopinion,

Although clever humans make different inventions, they can never findany inventionsmore beautiful, bettermatched to their purpose or clearer thannature's.Innature'sinventionsthereisnevertoolittleortoomuch.

To understand the natural world and to learn from it you had to keepstudying.ThiswasattheheartofLeonardo'sart,histhinkingandhisinventions.Buttounderstandthebigpicture,hesaid,youalsohadtostudyeverythinginthesmallestdetail.

CHAPTERTHREE

LeonardothePainter

'Youcanseeallsidesofasculpture,butpaintinghastogiveyoutheideaofsomethingroundwhenreallyyouarelookingataflatsurface.'

Leonardo thought that a painter could tell a story more easily andimmediately than a writer by showing exactly how things looked. He alsocomparedpaintingwithsculpture:

Imyselfhaveworkedasmuchon sculptureaspainting.Sculptureneedslight and shadow to look good but a painting has its own light and shadow.Paintingalsousesandshowscolouranddistanceinwaysthatsculpturecannot.You can see all sides of a sculpture, but painting has to give you the idea ofsomethingroundwhenreallyyouarelookingataflatsurface.

Sohethoughtpaintingwasbetterthansculptureandneededmoreskill.Healso thought itwas important for a painter to show hiswork to others and tolistentotheiropinionsonit.Hedidnotjustmeanotherpainters;everybody,hesaid, is able to judge how natural things look and can seewhether a paintinglooksrightornot.

Leonardo'spaintings

LeonardowasabletoworkasanindependentpainterinFlorencefromatleast1472,buthealsocontinuedtopaintforVerrocchioandhewasstilllivinginVerrocchio's house in 1476. Two years later, Leonardo was asked to paint areligious picture for the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence.We do not knowwhy,but it isbelieved thathedidnotcomplete thispainting,althoughhewasgivensomemoneyforit.Allthroughhislife,Leonardofailedtofinishpaintings.

Leonardoneverwanted just tocopywhathadbeendone in thepast.For

example,hetriednewmethodsandnewwaysofusingpaintinhispaintings.ItwastraditionalinItalytomakepaintswithegg-thisiscalledtemperainItalian.Thesepaintsdriedveryquickly,whichmeantthatyoucouldnotmakechangeseasily.ButLeonardo,likeotherItalianartists,wasinterestedinlearninghowtomakepaintwithoilinsteadofegg.ThismethodhadbeeninventedbyartistsinNorthern Europe and was coming into fashion in Italy in the 1470s. It madepaintingsmuchbrighterbecauseofthewaylightandcolourshonethroughtheoil. Painters could build very thin coats of one ormore colours to add to theeffects.Theoilpaintalsodriedmoreslowly,whichmeantthatyoucouldspendalonger timeworking on getting a painting as youwanted it. In his portrait ofGinevrade'Benci,Leonardousedamixofoilandegg,sohewaslearninghowtousethisnewwayofpainting.

Thispicture,likeallLeonardo'spaintingsthatcanbemoved,waspaintedontoawoodenboard.Butthelastpaintingsinthischapter-TheLastSupperandTheBattleofAnghiari-werepaintedontowalls.Artistsusedadifferentmethodforthiskindofpainting.Itwasimportantthatthepaintstucktothewall,almostbecomingpartof thewall - this iscalledfresco in Italian.Soyouhad topaintwhilethesurfaceofthewallwasslightlywetandthismeantthatyoupaintedthepicturealittleatatime,daybyday.Butwhenthesurfacewasdry,someartiststhenpaintedontopofwhattheyhadalreadypainted,addingdetailsorchangingthings.

Leonardowasoneofthesepainters.Butthispaintdidnotsticktothewallinthesamewayasthepaintonawetsurface,sotheseadditionscoulddisappearastimepassed.ThismaybewhyTheLastSupperisinsuchbadconditionandlots of details have disappeared.Although itwas painted in themiddle of the1490s,itwasalreadydamagedby1517.

TheMadonnaoftheYarnwinderisapaintingthatmanypeoplethinkisbyLeonardo.ItshowstheVirginMarywithbabyJesusholdingastickontowhichwoolisplaced.ItwasstolenfromaScottishcastlein2003,whereithadbeenforover200years.ItwasfoundagainbypoliceinOctober2007.Thepaintingwasvalued at $65million. This high value is because people think Leonardo is agreatpainter,andalsobecausethereareveryfewpaintingsbyhim.

Portraits

Leonardowasveryinterestedinpaintingpicturesofrealpeople,especiallytheir faces.Thiswas a typeof painting thatwasbecomingpopular during thefifteenthcentury.Itwasatimebeforecameraswereinvented,soitwasrareandspecialtohaveaportraitmade.Sometimesitwasbecauseofaspecialoccasion;forexample,aroundthetimeofmarriageofayoungwomanorman.Buttherichcouldaffordtohavesuchpaintingsmadebecausetheywantedto-asasignoftheir importance, or to record the face of someone they loved. Leonardowasfamous for making portraits that people recognised. In 1503 one Florentine,Luca Ugolini, wrote to another, Niccolo Machiavelli, on the birth ofMachiavelli's son: 'Congratulations!Your son looks just likeyou.LeonardodaVincicouldnotdoabetterportrait.'

WehaveaboutfiveportraitsbyLeonardo;fourofthemareofyoung,richwomen.We can name nearly all of thewomen shown and in some cases weknowwhytheirportraitswerepaintedandwhotheywerepaintedfor.Inothercases we have to do some detective work to try to discover their secrets,althoughtherearestillunansweredquestions.

OneofLeonardo'searliestportraits,ofGinevrade'Benci,waspaintedinFlorence when Leonardo was in his twenties. In the landscape in thebackground,wecanseeLeonardoputtingintopracticehiswishtogiveyouthesenseoflookingfaroutovercountryside.Thebrownsandgreensdisappearintothedistanceandbecomeblue,whichmeetsthelightfromthesky.Thesedistantpartsofthelandscapearepaintedinamethodcalled,inItalian,sfumato.Thisisaneffectalmostlikelookingthroughsmoke,wherecoloursandlinesdisappearintoeachother.

Leonardogivesushelpinguessingwhothesubjectoftheportraitis.ThenameGinevra is very close to the Italianword ginepro,whichmeans juniper,and we can see lots of this plant behind Ginevra's head. So Leonardo wasmaking a play on words in the painting. Ginevra was a Florentine and thedaughter of a very rich man. Some people think that Leonardo painted thisportraitin1474when,agedsixteenorseventeen,shemarriedanimportantmanin government. Ginevra looks at us out of the painting and in the fifteenthcentury this kindof behaviour suited awifemore than anunmarriedgirl.ButGinevra was not a woman who lived a completely private and hidden life; anumber of men wrote poems about her. They wrote about what a good andintelligent person she was and said how beautiful her golden hair and browneyeswere.

Ithasbeenargued, though, that in thepaintingGinevra looksolder thanseventeen.OnthebacktherearealsosomesignsthatLeonardopainteditnotforGinevra'shusbandorforherorherfamily,butforanadmirer.Leonardopainteda branch of juniper between branches of two other plants; the branches areconnectedbypaintedwordswhichsay 'beautydecoratesgoodness'.Theplantsalsohadsymbolicmeanings.SoLeonardousedbothpicturesandwordstotellusthatGinevrawasbeautiful,goodandpure.Hewasalsoperhapsshowingthatshelovedsomebodyorthatsomebodylovedher.

Itwascommonformen,wholivedinahardworldofwarandbusiness,totalk about love for a specialwoman as away to show their gentler emotions,often in the artistic form of poems or songs. Thewomanwas often not theirwife, but it did not alwaysmean that therewas any hope of such love beingphysicalandsexual.

Notalllovewasnonphysicalorfoundonlyinmarriage.WecanseethisinLeonardo'spaintingofTheLadywith anErmine.Thispainting showsCeciliaGallerani, who was the lover of Ludovico Sforza, the most powerful man inMilan.Leonardopainted thispicture inMilan,perhapsforLudovicoormaybeforCeciliaherself,becausesheownedthepaintingby1498.

Leonardo had been in Milan at the Sforza court for six or seven yearswhenhepainted thisportrait.PerhapshealreadyknewCecilia,buthisskill inthisportraitwastobringhertolifeforus.Sheturnstoherleft.Hassheheardorseen someone or something?Her position is natural and her rich clothes alsohavenaturalforms.ThissenseoflifeinapaintingwassomethingthatLeonardothoughtwasreallyimportant.Aroundthistimehewrotethatagoodpaintingofa person is one where 'the behaviour of the person in the picture shows theenergythatisinsidethem.'

In 1492BernardoBellincioniwrote a poemaboutLeonardo's portrait ofCeciliainwhichhepraisedthepaintingforthosesamequalities.HetellsnaturenottofeelthatshehaslostacompetitionwithLeonardoasCecilia'sportraitissogood;nature,ofcourse,madebothLeonardoandCecilia.

Bellincioni's1492poem

OhNature,whathasannoyedyou?Whoareyoujealousof?

OfVinci,whohaspaintedaportraitofoneofyourstars,Cecilia,whoissobeautifultodaythatincomparisonwithherbeautifuleyesthesunseemsadarkshadow?

Thepraise is foryou if inhispaintinghemakesher seem to listen, andalmostspeak.

Thinkhowyouwillgetmorepraise in thefuture ifshe looksmorealiveandbeautiful.

ThereforenowyoucanthankLudovicoandtheskillandhandofLeonardowhowishtogivehertothefuture.

Whoeverseesher like this,even too late toseeheralive,willsay this isenoughnowforustounderstandbothnatureandart.

TheanimalinCecilia'sarmsisanermine.Leonardowrotethattheermine:preferstoletitselfbecaughtbyhuntersinsteadofenteringadirtyplacetosaveitselfThisisbecauseitdoesnotwanttomarkitspurenature.

Thewhitenessoftheermine'sfurissymbolicofpurity,sotheerminehereshows that Cecilia had a clean and perfect character. But Leonardo had notfinishedplayinggameswithwords.TheGreekforerminewasgale,sohewasmakingacleverjokeonCecilia'ssurname-Gallerani.Theerminealsoremindsus of Cecilia's lover, Ludovico, who was made a member of an organisationcalledtheOrderoftheErminein1488bythekingofNaples.Ithadonlytwenty-sevenmembers,whowereheadsofgovernmentsortopsoldiers.

Cecilia's portrait by Leonardo was famous and in April 1498 Isabellad'Este,thesisterofLudovicoSforza'swifeBeatrice,wrotetoCeciliatoaskherifshewouldlendittoher.IsabellahadjustseensomebeautifulportraitsbytheVenetian painter Giovanni Bellini, and wanted to compare his work withLeonardo's.

Cecilia sent thepainting immediately.Shewrote, though, that shewouldbehappiertosendthepaintingifitlookedmorelikeher:

But this is not because of any fault in the great painter himself-I trulybelieve there is no painter equal to him - but only because the portrait waspaintedwhenIwasveryyoung.Ihavechangedcompletelysincethen.

The letters, and Bellincioni's poem of 1492, show us how famousLeonardowasasapainterandhowpeoplewantedtoseehisworks.

TheMonaLisa

Leonardo'sMonaLisaorLaGiocondaisperhapsthemostfamouspaintingin theworld today.Thepainting, though,containsmanymysteries.Wearenotcertainwho the portrait is of, andmaybe itwas not a realwoman.The nameMonaLisaappearedfirstin1550,whenGiorgioVasariwroteaboutLeonardo'slifeinabookdescribingthelivesandworksofItalianartists.VasarisaidthatinFlorence Leonardo started a portrait of LisaGherardini, whowas thewife ofFrancescodelGiocondo.MonaisashortwayofsayingMadonna-'mywoman',whichinItalianwasapolitetitleforawife-soMonaLisameansMrsLisa.Theothernameforthepainting,LaGioconda,canbeunderstoodintwoways:MrsdelGiocondo,orthe'happy'orplayfulwoman'.

Wearenot surewhenLeonardopainted theportrait,but itwasprobablywhenhewas inFlorencebetween1503and1506.Lisawasborn in1479andmarriedtherichbusinessmanFrancescoin1495,soshewasabouttwenty-fourtotwenty-sevenwhenLeonardowasinFlorence.Thecolourofthepaintingnowis rather yellow.ThiswasnotwhatLeonardo intended -Lisa's skin shouldbepalerandwhiter,more like the skinofGinevrade'BenciorCeciliaGallerani.Lightanddirthaveaffectedthepaintingandmadeitlookdarker.

Leonardopaintedthewomansittingonachair.Sheisinfrontofawindoworanopeningtothelandscapebeyond.Inthedistancewaterandskymeet,butontheleftwecanseeaclearpaththroughrockyhillstothelakeorriver,andonthe right-hand side there is a bridge across a valley.SoLeonardo is tellinguswiththesesignsofman'spresencethatthislandscapeisnotcompletelyempty;ithasbeenmadeandislivedinbypeople.ItremindsusofLeonardo'sinterestinnaturalformsaswellasusefulhumaninventions.

Thewomansits calmlywithherhandscrossed.She is separate from thelandscape,butthesoftnessanddarknessofherhairandclothesconnectherwithit.This is a famousexampleofLeonardo'suseof sfumatoand theway that itgives a feeling of mystery for us looking at the picture. But Leonardo alsoincludedcleardetails, like thedecorationat the topofherdress.Sheseems to

lookstraightatus-Leonardowantedtomakepeoplethinkthatinaportraittheywerelookingatalivingperson.

IsMona Lisa smiling? If she is, what is she smiling at?What does hersmilemean?Thesearequestions thatalmosteveryvisitor to theMonaLisa intheLouvreasks.Isthesmilejustaplayonhername?OrwasLeonardotryingtoshowanimaginarywomanwhosesmilesymbolisedthepeaceinsideher?

MonaLisa,Louvre,Paris,France

This painting has belonged to the French government from soon afterLeonardo'sdeath.On21August

1911thepicturewasstolen,butitwasfoundagainin1913.SincethenithasonlylefttheLouvrein

Paris twice.Thispaintingissofamousthat it isprotectedfromattackbythickglass.Onsomedaysthousandsofpeoplecometoseeit;evenmoresincethebookandfilmTheDaVinciCode.

Religiouspaintings

Leonardobegananumberofreligiouspaintingsthatpeopleaskedhimtomakeforchurches.Hedidnotalwaysmanagetocompletethem.Sometimesweknowaboutsuchpaintingspartlyortotallyfromdrawingsthathemadewhenhewaspreparingthem.

TheVirginoftheRocks

The Virgin of the Rocks is a picture that Leonardo painted twice. OnepaintingisintheLouvreinParis,France,andtheotherisintheNationalGalleryinLondon,England.Fora long time itwasbelieved that theLondonpaintingwas by another painter and not by Leonardo himself, but many people nowbelieve that theLondonpainting is byLeonardo.ButwhydidLeonardopaint

thispictureagain,almostexactlythesame?In1483,probablyverysoonafterhehadarrived inMilan fromFlorence,Leonardoagreed topaint apictureof thebabyChristwithhismother(theVirginMary)ababyStJohntheBaptistandanangelforthechurchofSanFrancesco.Thepaintingwasperhapscompletedby1485.Butthiswasnottheendofthestory.Wedonotknowifitdidnotpleasethe people who had asked for it, or if there was a problem about money -possiblyboth.

Therearelegaldocumentsfromtheearly1490sinwhichLeonardosaidhehadnotreceivedenoughmoneyforthepainting,andthatsomeoneelsewantedtobuythepainting

The Virgin or the Rocks, National Gallery, London, England for more.Leonardodidsellit,webelieve-perhapstothisperson.Thisisthepaintinginthe Louvre. Then, sometime between 1491 and 1508, Leonardo painted thesecondoneforthechurch.ThisistheoneintheNationalGallery.

TheVirginof theRocks showshowLeonardousedhis interest inplantsandrockformstogiveusasenseoftheVirgin,Christ,StJohnandtheangelinthe natural world, with mountains and water in the background. Leonardopaintedtheplantscarefully,soyoucanseetheleavesandflowersofthedifferentkinds of plants.He did this partly because of the symbolicmeanings of theseplants; forexample, thewhite flowers in the fronton the left remindusof thepurityof theVirgin.Thewingsof theangel look like thewingsofabird,andthereforehelp tomakeus think that theangelreallycanfly.Leonardobroughttogetherthereal,symbolicandimaginaryworldstomakethepicturebelievable;thiswashisskill.

We know that people in the sixteenth century admired both paintings ofThe Virgin of the Rocks because at least twelve copies were made by otherartistsofthefirstpictureandtherewerealsotwelvecopiesmadeofthesecondone.

TheLastSupper,MonasteryofSantaMariadelleGrazie,Milan,Italy

In1494or1495,LeonardowasaskedbyLudovicoSforzatopaintoneofhismost famouspictures.Ludovicowantedhim to finish itquicklyand itwasprobablycompletedinFebruary1498.But,asusual,Leonardodidnotpaintfast.MatteoBandellowas a youngman atMonastery of SantaMaria delleGrazie

whenLeonardowaspainting.Laterhewrote:

Leonardo arrived early, climbed up to the picture and started to workSometimeshestayedtherefromsunrisetosunset,neverputtinghisbrushdown,forgettingtoeatordrink.Other timeshespent two, threeorfourdayswithouttouching a brush, but each day he spent several hours in front of the worklooking,examiningandcriticisingthefigurestohimself.Ialsosawhim,asthewishordesiretookhim,leaveanotherjobatmidday-whenthesunishighest-and come to SantaMaria delleGrazie. Climbing up to the picture, he took abrush,addedalittletooneofthefigures,thenimmediatelyleft.

InfactLeonardodidnotworkaloneonthepaintingasthissuggests;pupilsandassistantshelped.

This painting is The Last Supper, which shows Christ eating with hispupilsthenightbeforehisdeath.Itwaspaintedononecompletewalloftherealdining-roomofthemonastery:asthemonksatetheirfood,theycouldseeandberemindedofChristandhispupilsasmodelsfortheirownlifeandbehaviour.

Leonardowanted themonks to imagine the thoughtsof eachof themensittingat thetable:Christhasjust toldthesementhatoneofthemwilldohimharm.Onlyoneofthethirteenpupils-JudasIscariot-knowswhothatpersonis.Theotherswonder,andsomeareafraidthatitmightbethem.Leonardohastriedtoshowusthissituationbymakingeachofthefigureslookandactdifferently.Leonardo wrote around this time that 'the movements of men are differentbecauseofthethoughtsintheirminds.'

TheLast Supperwas repaired between 1977 and 1999. The repairs costover$9million.Only400peopleadayareallowedtoseethepainting.Theycanvisit ingroupsofnotmore than twenty-fivefor just fifteenminutes.This is tocontrolthequalityoftheairintheroom.

Leonardousedhismathematicalabilities tomake it seemthat thediningroomcontinues.Hewantedtoplaceeverythinginrelationshiptoeachothersoitwouldlookcorrecttous.Thisisveryclearfromthestronglinesoftheceiling,windowsanddoorsoftheroomwherethesuppertakesplace.Leonardowantedus to imagine that the event was happening in front of our eyes. Christ sits,almostalone,inthecentreofthepaintingandthetable.Behindhisheadandtoeachsidewecanseeadistantlandscapethroughtheopenwindows,sowesee

Christ not only in relationship to themen around him but also to the naturalworldbeyond.

AcompetitionwithMichelangelo?

Leonardo had become famous inMilan, but he was also famous in hishomecity,Florence.There,in1503hewasaskedtopaintaverylargepaintingon awall in one of themain public rooms of thePalazzo della Signoria.TheBattle of Anghiari would show a great fight which the Florentines had wonagainstMilanin1440.ItwasanimportantpointinFlorentinehistory.

Leonardo finished a part of the drawing for the painting in 1505. Itwastaken to the Palazzo della Signoria and used to mark on the wall where thefiguresof thehorsesandmenwouldbeplaced.Leonardo thenbeganworkonpaintingthepictureonthewall.Atthesametime,MichelangeloBuonarrotiwasasked to paint another scene from Florentine history in the same room in thepalace.Michelangelo was a younger Florentine sculptor and painter whowasalsomuchadmiredatthistime.SotheFlorentinegovernmenthadchosentwoofitsgreatestlivingartiststocelebrateitshistorywithtwoimportantmilitaryandpolitical wins against enemy states. Leonardo andMichelangelo probably didnotworkinthesameroomatthesametime,butitwasimpossiblenottoseetheworkofthetwoartistsasacompetition.

YouwillperhapsnotbesurprisedtoknowthatLeonardohadnotfinishedhis painting when he left Florence in June 1506 to go back to Milan.Michelangelo had left Florence a year earlier to go to Rome to work for thePope.HelaterreturnedtoFlorenceforashorttime,butheneverdidmorethanpartsofhisvery largedrawing.But althoughneitherworkwas finished,otherpainterscametostudyandcopythem.Michelangelo'sdrawingwasdestroyedin1516,butLeonardo'spaintingcouldbeseenuntilthe1550s.

CHAPTERFOUR

AnArtistatCourt

'I see that rightly he is already famous for painting, but hehas not beenpraisedenoughforhismanyotherverygreatabilities.'

From 1483 until his death, Leonardo worked for a number of verypowerful men and women in Italy and France. Leonardo made things thatpleasedhisemployersandmanypeopleadmiredhiswork.Someofthemwerealso happy to support his studies. In this chapterwewill look at some of thethings that he did and some of the relationships that he had with his richemployersovertheyears.

Leonardo lived inMilan for sixteen or seventeen years, working at theSforzacourt,andthen,afterafewyearsinFlorence,hemovedbacktoMilanforaboutfourorfiveyearsandworkedfor theFrenchgovernment there.ThenhewasinRomeforthreeyears,wherethePope'sbrothergavehimaplacetoliveandmoneyforhimselfandhisassistants.Finally,LeonardomovedtotheroyalcourtofFrancoisIinFrance.

LeonardoatworkinMilan

InMilan Leonardo had the opportunity towork on a number of specialtheatrical events. Playswere performed privately, and only for the richest andmost importantpeople inacity.Therewereno theatresat this time,soa largeroom in a big house was turned into a theatre for a day. This kind of eventusually happened to celebrate a wedding or sometimes if a really importantperson,likeakingortheheadofgovernmentofanotherstate,cametovisit.

Thehostswantedtoshowthatthecityandstatewasrichandthatitsartistsandwriterswereskilled.Thisisanotherreminderofhowmuchartandliteraturewerevaluedatthistime.

Leonardoplannedthestageforaplaythattookplaceon13January1490tocelebratethemarriageofthedaughterofthekingofNaplestothemanwhogovernedMilan.TheplaywasspeciallywrittenbyBernardoBellincionianditwas called Il Paradiso,whichmeans 'Heaven'. Leonardomade 'heaven' in theformofhalfofabigeggcoveredwithgoldontheinsideandwithlotsoflightsasstars.Atthetopweretwelvepicturesofgroupsofstars-oneforeachmonthofayear-litwithflamesbehindglass.Around'heaven',sevenmenmovedinacircle - probably on some kind of hidden moving platform. Each man wasdressedinwonderfulclothestolooklikeagodwhogovernedeachofthesevenmain stars - the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.Leonardomadea'heaven'againafewyearslaterforanotherplay,Danae,with'Joveandtheothergodslitbyagreatnumberoflampslikestars.'Allthistookplace to the sound of music. Many of the figures in the play appeared fromaboveandhungintheairtomaketheirspeechesortosing.

LeonardoworkedonadifferentkindofeventforadoublecelebrationinJanuary1491,whenLudovicoSforzamarriedBeatriced'Este,adaughterofthemanwhogovernedFerrara.Ludovicowasthirty-nineandBeatricewassixteenanditwasapoliticalmarriage.AtthesametimeherbrothermarriedLudovico'sniece.Leonardo'sjobwastoplantheclothesandthetheatricalpartofaformalmilitary event. In this event twomen on horses rode towards each other fast,eachholdingalong,sharppieceofwood.Thepurposewastoknocktheotherpersonofftheirhorse.Ridersfoughtanumberoftimesagainstdifferentpeople.Theyneededgreatskillandbraveryastheycouldeasilygetverybadlyhurtordie.Theridersweredressedinbeautifulclothesandthehorseswerecoveredinexpensivecloths.

TheSforzahorse

One of Leonardo's biggest jobs while he was inMilan was tomake anenormous bronze sculpture of Ludovico Sforza's father, Francesco Sforza.FrancescohadbeenagreatsoldierandhadtakencontrolofMilanin1450.Hedied in 1466. The sculpture would show Francesco dressed as a soldier on ahorse.TheSforzafamilyhadwantedtofindsomeonetomakethissculptureforyears.LeonardoknewthisandwhenhewrotetoLudovicoin1483hefinishedtheletter:'Itwillbepossibletomakethebronzehorse.'

ForthisjobLeonardowasabletobringtogetherhisloveofhorsesandthesculpturalskillshehadlearnedfromVerrocchio.Weknowthathewasdrawinghorses inMilan.Hemadenotesabouthorses thatbelonged tomembersof theMilanesecourt:

Mariolo's shiny black Florentine horse is a big horse. It has a beautifulneckandquiteabeautifulhead.Thewhitemalehorseofthemanresponsibleforthehuntingofbirdshasbeautifulbacklegs.

There are drawings byLeonardo of horsesmoving and standing, and ofdetails of legs and chests and heads, as well as measurements of all theirdifferentparts.OnewriterhassuggestedthatforthesculptureLeonardowantedtoputtogetherthemostbeautifulpartsofthemostattractivehorsestomaketheperfecthorse!LeonardowasalsolookingatRomanandmorerecentbigbronzesculpturesofhorsesforideas.Inthefifteenthcenturythiskindofsculpturewasnewanddifficulttomake.

Leonardo was given rooms in an enormous old house belonging to theSforza family. Itwas called theCorteVecchia andwas in the centre ofMilannear themain church. Thiswas perhaps so he had enough space tomake thehorse,androomfor theassistants thatheneededaswell.Thehorsewasabouteight metres tall and needed about 67,800 kilograms of bronze. Leonardoprobablystartedthisjobinthemiddleof1489,butittookyearsforhimjusttomakethefullsizemodeloutofclay.Thiswasmuchadmiredbythosewhosawit.Peoplesaidthehorselookedalive.ItwasusedaspartofthedecorationsinthemainchurchfortheweddingofLudovico'sniecein1493.

ButLeonardowasoutofluck.In1494theFrencharmyenterednorthernItalyon theirway to fight for thecityofNaplesand to takecontrolof all thesouthof thecountry.Ludovicowason theFrenchside soMilanwas safe,butsoon he feared that the Frenchmight try to takeMilan from him. Fie helpedother cities thatwere fighting the French.One of themost important of thesewas Ferrara, where the head of the government was his wife's father. All thebronzeforLeonardo'shorsewassenttoFerraratomakebiggunstouseagainsttheFrench.Leonardowrote:'OfthehorseIwillsaynothing,becauseIknowthetimes.'ThenwhentheFrenchdidtakecontrolofMilanattheendof1499,theirsoldiersdestroyed thebigclaymodelof thehorsebyshootingat it. Itwas,nodoubt,heart-breakingforLeonardo.

But, around 1508, Leonardo had another chance to try to make a bigbronzesculptureofahorseandrider,thistimeofarichandpowerfulMilanesesoldier-GianGiacomoTrivulzio.Leonardomadeafewdrawingsofideasforit,liketheoneopposite,andwealsohavealistbyhimofhowmuchitwouldcost.

Thetotalwas3,046ducats.Soyoucanseehowexpensiveitwastomakeasculpture like this and that itneededa lotof timeandcarefulwork.Leonardohadplannedeverything,butitwasanotherofhisplansthatdidnotgetbeyondthefirststages.

Isabellad'EsteandLeonardo

When Leonardo left Milan in the winter of 1499, he did not return toFlorence but took the opportunity to go to the court inMantua.Here Isabellad'Estewasalready,attheageoftwenty-five,tryingtogetmusicians,writersandartiststowriteandmakethingsforher.LeonardohadperhapsalreadymetherinMilanwhenshehadcomefor theweddingofhersister,Beatrice, toLudovicoSforzaandonanother, latervisit.ShecertainlyknewaboutLeonardo'sart.Weknowhowmuchshewanted toseeapaintingbyLeonardofromthe letter shewrotetoCeciliaGalleraniaboutborrowingherportrait.

Isabellad'Estewasvery important.ShewasadaughterofErcoled'Este,whogovernedFerrara,andEleonora,daughterofthekingofNaples.AtsixteenshemarriedFrancescoGonzaga,whogovernedMantua.Shehadmoney,power,andagreatinterestinartandliterature.Famousforherstrongcharacter,shealsousedherpoliticalabilitiestohelpbothMantuaandhersons.

InMantuaLeonardomadetwoportraitdrawingsofIsabella,butshewasneverabletogetafinishedportraitpaintingfromhim.AnotherpaintersawoneofthesedrawingsinVenice,andwrotetoIsabella:

LeonardodaVincishowedmeaportraitofyouwhichisverylife-like.Itissowelldonethatitisnotpossibletodobetter.

Itseemsthatonlyonedrawingstillexists.Youcanseeitopposite.

InMarch1501,IsabellaaskedLeonardotopaintherapicture,becauseshewanted the best Italian painters to paint pictures for her. She said that if

Leonardodidnotwanttodotheoneshewanted,maybehewouldpaintalittlepictureoftheVirginMary.HermessengerhaddifficultymeetingLeonardo,andfinallyheaskedLeonardo'sassistantSalaitoarrangeit.LeonardowascarefultosayhowwillinghewastopleaseIsabellaandhowgratefulhehadbeenforherkindnesswhenhewasinMantua.Buthesaidthathedidnotwanttopaintandwas working on geometrical studies. Also he had a painting to do for aFrenchman,connected to theFrenchking,althoughhesaidhewouldprefer todoapaintingforIsabella.

Isabelladidnotgiveup. In July1501 she sent a letter toLeonardobyadifferentmessenger,Manfredode'Manfredi.ManfrediwrotetoIsabellathathehad put the letter into Leonardo's own hand and told Leonardo that hewouldsendthereplyforhim.Leonardodidnothing,soManfredisentaservanttofindoutwhathadhappened.Leonardosaid thathecouldnotwrite,but thathehadbegun doing what Isabella wanted. So, once again, Leonardo appeared to bewilling to work for her but actually did nothing. Isabella did not get angry,becausethefollowingyearshedescribedhiminaletteras'myfriend'.SheaskedLeonardotolookatsomeveryoldpots thatwereforsaleinFlorence.Isabellawasanenthusiasticcollectorandwantedtomakesureshegotthebestpiecesatagoodprice.ShewassentLeonardo'sdetailedopiniononeachthingandwhyitwasbeautifulorspecial.

InMay1504Isabellawasstillthinkingoftheportraitshehadnotreceived.ShewrotetoLeonardoinFlorencethat:

IamhopefulthatIcangetfromyouwhatIhavesomuchwanted,whichistohavesomethingpaintedbyyou...Whenyouwerehereanddrewmyportrait,youpromisedthatsometimeyouwoulddooneincolourforme.Asthisisnowalmost impossible,since it isnotconvenient foryouto travelhere, Ihope thatyouwillwanttocompleteouragreementbyturningitintoapictureoftheyoungChrist.

Shehadnoluckwiththatideaeither!

LeonardoandtheFrenchinMilan

InMay1506,LeonardoaskedtheFlorentinegovernmenttolethimleaveFlorenceforMilan.Hehadtogetpermissionbecausehewasstillsupposedtobe

workingonthegreatpaintingofTheBattleofAnghiariforthem.Theywerenothappy, but they agreed that he could go for threemonths. If he did not comebackhewouldhavetopay150florins to thegovernment.LeonardoneededtogotoMilanbecauseofthelegalproblemsaboutthepaintingofTheVirginoftheRocks.

MilanwasnowunderthecontroloftheFrenchkingLouisXII.Thethirty-three-year-old governor therewas the FrenchmanCharles d'Amboise. Hewasvery happy to please Leonardo and to keep him inMilan.He gave LeonardoroomsintheSforzaCastleontheedgeofMilan,inwhichhelivedtoo.InearlyOctobertheFlorentinegovernmentwrotetoCharles:'LeonardohasnotbehavedcorrectlytowardsFlorencebecausehehastakenalargesumofmoneyanddonelittleforit.'TheysaidthatLeonardomustreturntoFlorenceandfinishhiswork.

Charlesdidnotreplyfortwomonths.Whenhedid,hesaidthathewouldnot stop Leonardo leavingMilan. But in his letter he said howwonderful hethoughtLeonardowas:

ThefamousworksthatLeonardodaVinci,yourcitizen,hasdoneinItaly,manyinMilan,havemadeeveryonelovehimeveniftheyhavenotmethim.

Iwas among thosewho loved himbefore I knewhim.Now that I havespent time with him, I can speak from experience of his abilities. I see thatrightlyheisalreadyfamousforpainting,buthehasnotbeenpraisedenoughforhismanyotherverygreatabilities....Iwillbeverygratefulforeverythingthatyoucandoeithertoincreasehispropertyortorewardhim.

InthiscleverwayhewassayinghowgreathethoughtLeonardowas,butatthesametimecriticisingtheFlorentines'rudeandangryletter.

ItseemsthatLeonardodidnotreallywanttogobacktoFlorence.Hewasin luck. In themiddleofDecember aFrenchofficial,working inFlorence forKingLouis,wrotetotheFlorentinegovernment.HesaidthatthekinghadseenoneofLeonardo'spictures,whichpleasedhim,andsothekingwantedLeonardotostayinMilanandpaintsomethingforhim.TherewasalsoaformalletterfromthekingtoFlorencewhichwaspolitebutmadethesituationquiteclear:

IneedLeonardodaVinci,Florentinepainter.PleasewritetohimandtellhimnottoleaveMilanbeforeIarrivethere.TheFlorentinegovernmenthadtoagree.

Withinthreemonthsoftheking'sarrivalinMilanhewascallingLeonardomypainterandofficialengineer';thiswasasignofLeonardo'simportance.

Morethanthis,though,hecalledhim'mydearandwelllovedLeonardodaVinci'.DuringAugust1507itwassaidthatLeonardowasworkingon'apaintingthatisverydeartotheking'.ThispraisefrombothCharlesandKingLouisXIIshowsthattheyadmiredLeonardo'sabilitiesandskillsasapainter,engineerandarchitect,buttheyalsolikedhimverymuchasaperson.CharlesdiedinMarch1511.HehaddonemuchtosupportLeonardo.

LeonardoinRome,1513-16

'IleftMilanforRomeon24September1513,'wrotethesixty-one-year-oldLeonardo.LeonardohadbeeninvitedtoworkinRomebyGiulianode'Medici,whowasnowtheheadoftheFlorentineMedicifamily.ThiswasoneofthemostimportantandpowerfulfamiliesinFlorenceandinItaly.Giuliano'sbrotherhadbeenmadePopeinMarchandthetwoofthemwerelivinginRome.FrancescoMelzi,SalaiandtwoorthreeotherswentwithLeonardofromMilan.

GiulianodideverythingpossibletomakeLeonardocomfortableinRome.Although he was a very rich and powerful man, it was said that he treatedLeonardo 'more like a brother than a friend'. He gave him rooms in a housecalledtheBelvedere,whichsatonahillontheedgeofthecityandononesidelookednorthovertheflatvalleyoftheRiverTiberandthehillsaround.Onthesouthside therewasawalledgardenwitha famouscollectionofbeautifuloldsculptures,withfountainsandplantstoo.Therewerebiggardensonthewestaswell, so it was almost like living in the country. The Belvederewas near thePope'sofficialhouseandthelargechurchofStPeter's.

ThePopestilllivesinthesamehouseasthePopesinLeonardo'stime.

You can visit parts of this and see paintings and sculptures by famousartists,butthereisonlyonepaintingtherebyLeonardo.Nobodyknewaboutthepaintinguntil1803.ItenteredthePope'scollectionaround1857.

On 1 December 1513, a list was made of 'things to be done at theBelvedereintheroomsofLeonardodaVinci.'Theseincludedmakingawindowbigger,andbringinginfourwoodendining-tables,eightseatswithoutbacksand

threelongseats,andatableonwhichtomakepaints.Leonardoprobablyaskedforallthesethings,perhapsforhisassistantsandpupils.SowefindLeonardointheBelvedereafewmonthslaternotingthathehadfinishedsomegeometricalsums'intheroomwhereIstudy,giventomebyGiuliano.'

WeknowlittleaboutLeonardo'swork inRome,butwedoknowthathewas working on ideas connected with metal mirrors. Giuliano was perhapsinterested in these formakingheatand fire formilitarypurposes.TherewasaGermanmetalworkercalledGiovanniworkingforLeonardoon thesemirrors.ButtheirrelationshipwasnotgoodandLeonardodiscoveredthatGiovanniwasmaking things for other people instead of doing the work for Leonardo andGiulianode'Medici.

Leonardomade several trips for orwithGiuliano.Hevisited theport ofCivitavecchia on the coast north of Rome. He went to Parma, maybe givingadvice toGiuliano on castles andmilitarymatters.He also, it seems,went toBolognawith thePopeduring theautumnof1515.ThePopewas there foranofficialmeetingwiththenewFrenchking,FrancoisI.Itwasperhapsatthistimethat Leonardo thought of some ideas to improve theMedici family's house inFlorence. This included a big stable like the one we will look at in the nextchapter.

LeonardoinFrance.

InMarch1516,Giulianode'Medicidied.Sixmonthslater,Leonardowasonhisway toFrance to thecourtofKingFrancois I inAmboiseon theRiverLoire.LeonardowasmadeverywelcomeinAmboise.HewasgiventhehouseatClosLuceontheedgeofAmboise,veryclosetotheking'scastle.Leonardowas,itseems,happyinFrance,andweknowthatFrancescoMelziwastheretohelphimandthatSalaiwaswithhimforsomeofthetime.

Leonardowasalsogivenlotsofmoneyandinterestingworktodo,butnotmoreworkthanhewanted.Forexample,fromlate1517untilthebeginningof1518hewasinRomorantin.HereFrancoisIwantedLeonardotobuildhimanenormousnewhouseorcastle.TheideawastoconnectittotheRiverLoireandtheRiverSaonewithcanals.Leonardoalsohadideasforthegardens,includingformalgardenswith fountains.Oneplanwas forabigareaofwaterwhereon

specialoccasionstherewouldbetheatricalfightswithboats.

PartieswereimportantatcourtandinJune1518Leonardoentertainedtheking at his own house. There was a big tent built next to the house, like anoutsideroom.Ithadaroofofblueclothwithgoldstarsonit,liketherealsky,aswellasthemainstarsandthesunononesideandthemoonontheother.

The support posts for the roof were completely covered with greenbranchesandleaves.RemembertheroomwiththetreesthatLeonardopaintedinMilan?Leonardowantedthistenttogivethesamefeelingthatyouwereoutsideinabeautifulgardenwith thenightskyaboveyou. In this tentwasaplatformwitha table for thekingandother royalguests.Someoneat the timesaid thattherewereabout400lampswithflames,anditwassobright '... thatitseemedthenightwaschasedaway.'Inatimebeforeelectricorgaslights,thiswasquiteawonderfulandunusualsight.

WecanseefromalltheseexampleshowsuccessfulLeonardowasandhowpeopleingovernmentwantedhimtoworkforthem.Theywantedhimtomakeart and sculptures for them; they were interested in his practical ideas formachines, as well as enjoying his skill in inventing clever and beautifuldecorationsforplaysandparties.

Isabellad'EstetriedtogetapaintingfromLeonardoforfourorfiveyears-this shows how much she wanted a piece of his work. But she was alwayscarefulinherlettersnottoannoyhim.Shewasaverypowerfulwoman,sothisshowshowmuchshevaluedhis art.Giulianode'Medicididhisbest tomakeLeonardo'slifepleasantandeasy.HegaveLeonardothetimeandspacetothinkandworkinsteadofdemandingthingsfromhim.

CHAPTERFIVE

EngineerandArchitect

Leonardowastryingtosellhimselftoapowerfulmanwhowasinterestedinprotectinghiscountrywithcastlesandsoldiers.

Inabout1483,LeonardowrotealettertoLudovicoSforzainMilantellinghimwhathecoulddoandthereforewhyLudovicoshouldemployhim.Hesaid:

Ihaveseenandthoughtabouttheworksofpeoplewhoaresupposedtobebestatmakingwarmachines.Iwillshowmyideasandsecretstoyouandwillmakewhatyouwant.

He then listed someof his ideas formilitary equipment: light but strongmoveablebridges;waystodestroytheenemy'sbridges;laddersandbridgesformilitarycamps,andwaystostopwaterfillingholesthathadbeendug;waysofdestroying a castle without using big guns; moveable guns that would shootlargenumbersofstones;secretwaysunderneaththeground,evenunderrivers;coveredvehiclesthatcouldpasssafelyamongenemysoldiers;unusualbigandsmallguns;machinesforthrowingstones,andshipsthatweresafefromattackbygunsatsea.

He continued that in times of peace he was an architect and good atcontrollingthemovementofwater,andhecouldsculptandpaint.WemightbesurprisedthatLeonardoputpaintinglastonthelistsinceitwasthethinghewasbest known for in the 1480s. But Leonardo was trying to sell himself to apowerful man who was interested in protecting his country with castles andsoldiers.Amanlikethiswantedmilitarymachinesthathisenemiesdidnothaveandcleverwaystowinwars.Itwasalsoquitenormalatthistimeforarchitectsandengineerstotrainfirstaspaintersorsculptors.WecanseethistoofromthelistofLudovico'stopengineersinthe1490s:

Bramante,engineerandpainter,GiovanniBattagio,engineerandbuilder,

Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono, engineer and sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci,engineerandpainter.

Allofthemalsoworkedasarchitects.

Leonardothearchitect.

WhenLeonardowrote toLudovicoabouthisabilitiesasanarchitect,wedonotknowifhehadalreadyplannedorbuiltanything.Wedoknow,though,that in 1487 he worked on the main church in Milan. This was a big stonebuildingthathadbeenstartedin1386.Bythemiddleofthe1480sitwasbuiltuptotheroof,butonepartoftheroofneededtobeverywideandhighandnobodywassurehowtodoit.Leonardowaspaidforsixmonthstoworkonawoodenmodel for thiswith amanwhoworked inwood.Leonardohad to thinkaboutwhatshapetomaketheroofandhowtomakethestonesfittogetherandstayup.Soitneededverypracticalideasandtheskillsofanengineer.Atthesametimethis roof needed to be beautiful. Several other architects were asked forsolutions,andLeonardodidnotwinthiscompetition,butin1490hewasaskedto give advice on themain church inPavia - a large town thatwas under thecontroloftheSforzafamily.

Geometry andmathematicswere at the centre ofLeonardo's ideas aboutarchitecture.Hebelievedthateachpartofabuildinghadacorrectplace,sotherewasaperfectrelationshipbetweenthesmallestandthelargestparts.TheseideaswereconnectedwiththestyleofarchitecturethatLeonardoliked.Thiswasthestyle thathadbeenusedby theRomans1,500yearsearlierandwhichbecameveryfashionableagaininthefifteenthcentury.Itbecameanewstyleinsteadofappearingold.

LeonardonotedinhiswritingsacoupleoftimesthatanarchitectfriendinMilan had a copy of a famous Roman book on architecture - the style thatLeonardo and otherswere very enthusiastic about.During his years inMilan,Leonardowantedtolearnallaboutarchitectureanditsrules.

Cities.

Leonardowas interested inhowpeople liveandhowtomake theirdailylivespleasant.Sohemadeplansfortheorganisationofcities.Again,hethoughtabout this in very practicalways. Leonardowanted to destroy poor and nastyhousesand tobuildwholenewareas forpeople to live in.People thought thatcrowdedconditions,especiallybadair,spreaddisease.

Fearofthiswascommon,especiallyasLeonardoandothersrememberedgreat sickness andmanydeaths inMilan in 1484-85.Leonardo suggested thatgoodhousesshouldbebuiltnext towidestreetsandnearaconvenientmarketsquarewithshopsroundit.

Inhisdescriptionanddrawingstherearestreetsrunningondifferentlevels- roads or waterways underneath the ground would be used to take dirt andrubbish out of the city. The purposewas tomake thewhole city healthy andattractivetolivein.Suchcitieswere,hebelieved,goodfortheeconomybecausepeople would come to shop in well organised and beautiful cities, as well aslikingtolivethere.

Ideasaboutbuildings.

Leonardoalsothoughtcarefullyaboutsinglebuildingsandthebestwaytoplanandbuild them.Forexample,hehad ideas for thebestkindof stable forhorses.Horseswereimportantforcarryingpeoplearound,buttherichalsousedthemforhunting,races,gamesandwar.InoneplanforGiulianode'MediciinFlorence,Leonardorecordedthattherewouldbespacefor128horses.Weknow,of course, that Leonardo himself loved horses. For Leonardo a stable had towork really well and be comfortable for the horses, but it also had to bebeautiful.Youcanseeinthedrawingabovehowhechosethenew,fashionablestyleofarchitecture.Theideahereistokeepthehorsesfoodonthefloorabovetheonewherethehorseslive.Thiskeepsthefooddryinthemiddleoftheroomandtherearebigwindowsforlightandair.Thereareholesinthefloorsofoodcouldeasilybedroppeddowntothehorsesbelow.Downstairs,thehorseslivedalongeachsideoftheroom.Thefloorgoesdownslightlyintothecentrefromthesides.Therearesomeholesinthiscentralpartwhichconnectwithlongholesunderthefloor.Theserunthewholelengthofthebuilding,foreasycleaningofallthewastefromthehorses.

You can see from Leonardo's city drawing on page 54 that he thoughtabout houses in connection with streets and canals, and each building inconnectionwithotherbuildings.Sohethoughtabouthowbuildingsfittedwithother things, including their physical situation. One example was the countryhouseofAgnoloTovaglia.AgnolowasarichFlorentinebusinessmanandinthesummerof1500LeonardowenttothehillssouthofFlorencetodrawthishouse.ThedrawingwassenttoFrancescoGonzaga,whogovernedMantua,becausehehadoncestayedwithAgnolointhehouse.Hehadlikedthehousesomuchthathe wanted to build one like it for himself. Agnolo wrote to Francesco thatLeonardo sent his good wishes to Francesco and his wife Isabella d'Este.Leonardo had said, though, that if Francesco did build a similar building, hewouldnotbeabletomakeitperfectwithoutbringingtherethecountrysidethatwasaroundAgnolo'shouse!

If you cannot move the countryside, you can change the land around ahouse with gardens.When Leonardo was inMilan, Charles d'Amboise askedhim tomakeplans fora summerhouse in thecountry forhim justoutside thewalls of the city. Fie wanted the house to have big rooms and to open outtowardsbeautifulgardens.Leonardo'snotesaboutideasforthegardensincludedplansforaclearstreaminwhichtherewerecleanplantsforfishtoeatandhidein.Therewereplacesfilledwithbirds thatsing.Therewasthe lovelysmellofflowers.Alittlecanalwouldrunbetweendiningtablesandhereyoucouldkeepthewinecool.Waterwouldpoweramachinetomaketheaircoolonhotdays,aswellasfountainsandevenmusicalinstruments.

Theuseofwaterforpowerwasnotnew;forexample,itwasusedtorunmachines that prepared and broke seeds formaking bread.But Leonardowasvery interested in itandwanted tomakeevenmoreuseofwaterpower to runmachines. Again, we find Leonardo bringing his different interests together -heremachines,natureandlandscape.

Controllingthemovementofwater

People also usedwater formoving things around. Itwas easier to carryheavythingsorlargequantitiesonboatsinsteadofusinghorsesonmuddyandrocky roads. So engineers dug canals to improve the use of rivers andwater.Canalsmeant thatyoucould travelwhere therewasno river,orwherea river

wasnotdeepenough forboats.Leonardoexaminedandstudieda lotof riversand canals. Therewas great skill in knowing how to dig canals or to controllargequantitiesofwaterthatmightappearsuddenlyafterheavyrain.Soin1483whenLeonardoincludedcontrollingthemovementofwaterasoneofhisskills,thiswasaveryimportantactivity.Wehavealreadyseenhowhisstudiesshowaknowledge and understanding of the energy and force ofwater. This includedhow rivers moved earth and stones and could even change direction as theseattacked theiredges.Thedrawingofwater inChapter2,where thewater fallsfromabove,showsitcomingoutofaman-madehole,showinghowwatercanbemadeevenmorepowerfulifitiscontrolled.Theothertwodrawingsofwaterin Chapter 2 showwatermeeting something and changing direction.You canimaginehowLeonardousedthatideaforthebuildingofabridgewherepartsofitwereinariverandalwaysbeinghitbywater.

Earlyin1494,Leonardohadthechancetoincreasehisknowledgeofhowcanalsworkedandhowthecontrolofwaterwasusefulforfarming.AtthistimehewasstayingtotheeastofMilan,nearasmalltowncalledVigevano.Thiswasthe town where Ludovico Sforza had been born. Ludovico owned farms allroundthereandinthe1480shehadhadalotofworkdonetoimprovetheland,togrowmorefood.Manycanalshadbeendugtostopthelandbeingwetallthetime.Wateronotherpartsofthelandwaskeptandcontrolledbecausericewasgrownthere.Leonardolookedatthesecanalsandwaysthatwaterwasstoppedormadetorunslowerorfaster.

Rivers and canals were also important in times of war to move thingsaround and for defence, because they could be used like a fence against anenemy. If you look at themap of Imola on page 60, you can see howwateraroundtheoutsideofithelpedtoprotectthetownfromattack.Atthebeginningof1500LeonardowenttoVeniceforashorttime.WhilehewastherehewentonatripnortheastalongthecoastintotheareacalledFriuli,whichwasunderthe control of the Venetians. He was asked to find ways to defend the RiverIsonzoanditstownsagainstattackfromTurkishsoldierscomingfromtheeast.Leonardo wrote a report on the situation for the government in Venice. Hedecidedthattheriver'sspeedandpowermeantthatitneededtobecontrolledifdefenceswerebuiltontheriveritself.ThegovernmentprobablytookhisadviceandLeonardogavethemaplanofwhattomake.

InhisreportLeonardosaidthathehadlookedattheriverandhehadalsotalkedtofarmerstherebecausetheyknewaboutlocalconditions.Thisreminds

us of howmuchLeonardo valued experience - his own and the experience ofother people. It also tells us that peoplewere happy to talk to him.Of courseLeonardohadalsospentpartofhischildhoodinthecountry,soheunderstoodfarmers'livesandthesubjectstheytalkedabout.

Leonardothemilitaryengineer:inRomagnawithCesareBorgia

LeonardoprobablylearntalotaboutmilitaryarchitecturewhenheworkedforLudovicoSforza,andheusedthisknowledgeinthesummerof1502whenheworkedforCesareBorgia,givingadviceoncastlesandothermatters.

Cesare was the son of Pope Alexander VI and in charge of the Pope'sarmy,althoughhewasonlyabouttwenty-seven.HewasmarriedtoacousinofKingLouisXIIofFranceandhadhelpedtheFrencharmytakeMilanin1499.Forthenextcoupleofyears,FrenchsoldiershadhelpedhisarmyasCesaretookcontrolofalargepartofcentralItaly- theareacalledRomagna.FlorencewasveryworriedaboutallofthisbecauseCesarewastakingtownsandcountrysideontheborderofFlorentineland.In1501theFlorentinesdecidedtopayCesarealargeamountofmoneytoworkforthem.Itwasreallyagiftthattheyhadtogivehim to stop him attacking Florence. But then the situation became morefrighteningayear laterwhen the townofArezzo,whichwasunderFlorentinecontrol, decided to acceptCesare's protection instead of Florence's. Florentineambassadors, includingNiccoloMacchiavelli,went to seeCesare inUrbinoattheendofJune.CesaresaidthatheknewtheFlorentinesdidnotlikehimand'ifyou will not have me as your friend you will know me as your enemy.'MachiavelliwrotebacktoFlorencethat'thereisnojobsolargethatitdoesnotseem small to Cesare' and that he was popular with his soldiers and he hascollectedthebestmeninItaly.'SotheFlorentinesneededtostayfriendlywithhim.

LeonardoenteredCesare'sserviceinUrbino,inJune1502.Leonardohad,perhaps,alreadymethimwhentheFrenchtookMilan,becauseCesarewaswiththem.Three years laterCesarewas not officially atwarwithFlorence, so theFlorentineLeonardowasnotgoingtoworkfortheenemy.Butthesituationwasdifficult andwehave seen that theFlorentineswereworried.WasLeonardo akind of spy for the Florentines? Cesare did not, it seems, think this was apossibilitybecausehe askedLeonardo tomake surveysof the areas and citiesthatCesare now controlled, includingmilitary castles. In Leonardo's passport,dated18August1502,Cesarestates that freemovementeverywhereunderhis

rule should be given to my most excellent and my preferred Architect andGeneralEngineerLeonardodaVinci,whowillsurveytheplacesandcastlesofmylandatmyrequest.Heshouldbegivenallthehelpthatheneeds.

Leonardo started his travels from Urbino, where he surveyed the city'swalls. He travelled quickly from place to place, recording things in a smallnotebook. He also drew or noted down things that interested him whichsometimeshadnoconnectionwithhis job. InUrbino, for example,hedrewabird house, and some architectural details of the very famous enormousmainhouseinthetown.HetravelledfromUrbinotoPesaro,andthenuptheeasterncoast of Italy toRimini,wherehenoted themusical sounds that came fromafountain as a Leonardo's passport from Cesare Borgia, 18 August 1502. Thisdocument was only found again in 1792. It comes from the Melzi familycollection in Vaprio d'Adda. It is written in Latin and you can see CesareBorgia'sname,'Caesar',incapitallettersatthebeginning.HetakesadvantageofthefactthathisnameinLatinmeans'headofthearmy'.

...resultofwaterfallingindifferentways.Hedrewaboatontheseathereandwasinterestedinhowtheforceofthewindfilleditssailandmovedtheboatforward.Ashetravelled,hewasinterestedin life in thecountryside.Henotedhowthemenlookingafter thesheepintheareaofCesenacommunicatedwitheachother.Theyblewinstrumentsintoaholeinthesideofahillandthismadethe sound louder and go farther. He alsomade a drawing of themethod thatfarmers used to hang up bunches of ripe fruit.On the coast atCesenatico, hemeasuredtheportanddrewaviewfromaboveoftheareaaround.

LeonardoarrivedinImolaon10September,andstayedthereforbetweenoneandthreemonths.

WhilehewasinImolaLeonardosurveyedthecityverycarefullyanddrewacompletemapofit,whichyoucanseeabove.Itshowsusthecityandanareaaroundit.Thecity'sstreetsandbuildingsaremarkedindetailwithinthewalls,thenfieldsandroadsaredrawnaroundthecity,andthecurvesoftherivertothesouth.Leonardouseddifferent colours for buildings, open spaces in the town,fieldsoutsidethewallsofthetown,andwaterways.Ontheleftandrightofthedrawingof the town,Leonardowrotedown thedistanceanddirection toothertownsandcities.SoheplacedImolainrelationshiptoalargerarea.Thisisthekindofinformationthatwasusefultoasoldier.ItalsoremindsusthatLeonardoalwaysconnectedthesmalltothelargeintheworld.

Maps in Leonardo's time were made by taking exact measurements ofthings on the ground and using geometry to place buildings and other things.Thistooktimeandhadtobedonewithcare.Therewerenoelectronicmachinestohelportodothesums.Everythingwasdrawnbyhandaswell.

AdvisingtheFlorentinesonmilitarymatters

Leonardo'sexperienceswithCesareBorgiaprobablyaddedtohispracticalknowledgeofmilitaryarchitecture.Hewasabletomeasure,drawandimprovecastles.WecanseehimmakinguseofthisskillinJune1503.Sincethe1490s,theFlorentineshadtriedwiththeirarmytotakecontrolofthecityofPisaonthewestcoastofItaly.On19June1503theytookalittlecastlecalledLaVerrucaandLeonardoadvisedonwaysofimprovingitsdefences.

AspartoftheFlorentinefightagainstthePisans,Leonardogaveadviceonamuch larger andmore difficult plan. This was to cut a canal andmake theRiverArnorunsouthofPisainsteadofthroughit.TheFlorentinesintendedtostop thePisansbringing food into their city and sending soldiersout.Youcanseeinthepicturebelowwhatwasplanned.

Leonardo had been very interested in the idea of a canal for part of theRiverArnoforsometime;astraight,deepcanalwouldmakeiteasierforboatstogofromFlorencetotheseabecausetheriverhadlotsofcurvesandshallowparts. Thewater in the canal could also be controlled, so therewould not beproblemsinthesummerwhentheRiverArnowasoftenlowordry.Workontheplan tostop theriverenteringPisadidstartayear later,butLeonardowasnotemployedonthisandhisplanswerenotfollowedcompletely.Aftertwomonthsthewholeplanwasgivenup-ithadbeenanexpensivedisaster.

CHAPTERSIX

Inventions,GamesandSuccess

'I cannot believe a man has ever been born who knew as much asLeonardo,andnotonlyaboutsculpture,paintingandarchitecture.'

Leonardowasagreatthinkerandinventor;healsolikedtohavefunandtostretchhismindwithwordandnumbergames.Hisskillwastoseesomethinginnatureandthenthinkhowtousethatforsolvinghumanproblems.Alotofhisideas probably stayed on paper, and other people only matched some of hisinventions much later. Leonardo's studies helped him to make games andmachines for people's fun and pleasure. But he had ideas for making usefulmachinestoo-machinesthatcouldworkharderthanhumansoranimals,orthatcoulddothingsthathumanscouldnotdo.

Birdsandflyingmachines.

Ifyouremember,Leonardosaidthathisfirstmemoryasachildwasofabird.There isalsoastory thatheboughtbirds thathadbeencaughtand freedthem.Hecontinuedtolovebirdsand,mostimportantly,towatchhowtheyflewandthentorecordwhathesawinnotesanddrawings.Forexample,hedrewalot of little pictures of a bird flying, and how the bird used the air. Leonardoquicklycaughttheshapesofthebird'swings,orthewaythatonewingwasliftedhigher,orhowituseditstailtoholditselfasitwantedintheair.Nexttoeachdrawinghemadenotes.HedidthisinawholebookthathewroteanddrewinApril1505aboutbirdsflying.Allthisshowshowimportantseeing,lookingandunderstandingweretohim.

Leonardoconnectedhisinterestinbirdswithhisinterestinmachines.Hebegantothinkabouthowapersonmightfly.Henotedthat:

Thebeatingofitswingsagainsttheaircansupportaheavybirdinthethin

airclosertothesun[and]fromthismancanlearn,withlargewingstiedtohim...howtolifthimself.

He watched how birds flew and he also made careful drawings of thebonesofbirds'wings.His first ideaswere tomakeamachinewithwings thatwent up anddown.Hedecided, though, that a bird'swings let air through, sowerenotthebestideaforaman'swings.Youcanseefromthedrawingoppositethathechoseadifferentmodel-thewingofabat.Sohiswingsforamanweremadeofclothstretchedbetweenverylightandthinpiecesofwood.Everythingwas tied togetherwith leather.He also usedpieces of curvedmetal, kept bentunderforce.Butalotofpowerisneededtomakewingsthatbeatupanddown;in thedrawing, theman ismoving thewingwith thepowerofa lever.This ismuchmorethanthenormalstrengthofaman.Butevenwithamachinetodrivelevers,itisnotpossible,withoutelectricity,foramantomakeawinglikethisworkintheairforverylong.SoLeonardothoughtoffixedwings.Thismeans,though,thatyoucouldonlyflyfromahighpointtoalowerone.

WearenotsureifLeonardomadeanyofthesemachinesfull-size.Totestflight,hewrote:

Themachineshouldbe triedovera lake.Youshouldcarrya leatherbagfullofairtiedtoyourwaist,soifyoufallinthewateryouwillbesafe.

WedonotknowifLeonardooranyofhisassistantseverdidtrythis!

Thiskindoffixedwingmachinewasnotmadewelluntil1920.Inthelatetwentieth century, a full-size copy of one of Leonardo's flyingmachineswithfixedwingswasmadeforaTVprogramme.Themachineflewfartherthanthefirst flight by theAmericanWright brothers' aeroplane in 1903! Thiswas notvery far,maybe,but it showshownobodycameclose tomatchingLeonardo'sideasuntilalmostfivehundredyearsafterhisdeath.Leonardoalsohadtheideaofakindofpointedclothtentaboutsevenmetreshigh,underneathwhichamanhung,connectedtoitbyleatherbeltsandties.Theclothwasfixedtopiecesofwoodandwasopenat thebottom. If theman then jumpedoffahighplaceorbuilding, theclothfilledwithairandsupportedhimsohefellgently.Wenowcallthisaparachute.Thefirstparachutesweremadeinthelate1700s,althoughtheydidnotfollowLeonardo'smodel.

Machinesformovingthroughandunderwater.

Leonardo was interested in movement through air, but he was alsointerestedinmovementthroughwater.WesawinChapter2howheconnectedtheshapesofwaterwiththeshapesofhairandknots,ortheformoftheveinsinthebodywith the shapesof treesor themovementofwater in rivers.Healsocompared themovements of birds through the air and fish throughwater. Hethoughtofmakingaboatthatwasmovedbywheelsatthesidesthathadboardson them. Men made the wheels move by stepping on levers; as the wheelsturned,theboardswentintothewaterandpushedtheboatforwards.

Healsothoughtofwaysthatwouldallowapersontostayandevenwalkaround underwater. Some ideas, he said, hewould not describe because theywouldhelp enemyattackson ships at sea.But hediddescribe a kindof headcovering towear under thewaterwith two breathing tubes going up to a bellshapedmachinethatsatonthesurfaceofthewater.Onetubeletairinandtheotherletitout.Equipmentlikethisdoesinfactworkinshallowwater.Leonardohadan idea too foracoat thathada leatherbag toholdair soyoucould stayunderwater forsome time.Clothesandmachines fordivingunderwaterweremadeandusedfromthesixteenthcentury,buttheywerenotverysafeoreasytouse.A goodway to control themovement of air through breathing tubeswasonlyfoundin1943.

Leonardo'sgames

Leonardo loved jokes inwords and pictures. He liked jokes that playedwithwordsandideas.Forexample:'Manypeoplewillbebusytakingawayfroma thing thatwill get bigger as it gets less.'What is it?Answer: 'Ahole in theground.'What is a body that growswhen the head is taken from it, and getssmallerwhentheheadisputback?'Answer:'Apillow.'

'Who walks on top of trees?' Answer: 'A man wearing shoes made ofwood.'

Hispicturejokesalsoshowhimplayingaroundwithideas.OnonesheetofpaperLeonardoputtogether154drawingsofpicturesofthingswhosenames,whenreadorspoken,canmean,orsoundlike,somethingelse.Forexampleinthe drawing above you can see that he drew a lion (leone in Italian) in a fire

(arderemeans'toburn'inItalian)nexttoatable(descoinItalian);allthisaddsuptoleonardesco,whichistheadjectiveforthenameLeonardo.RememberthatLeonardowrotefromrighttoleft-andthatistrueofthepictureshereaswellasthewords!

Leonardoalsolikedtoplaywithnumbers,whichshowshismathematicalskillaswellashistasteforgames.Hereisanexample:

Putequalnumbersofbeansineachhand.

Movefourbeansfromyourrighthandtoyourlefthand.

Throwawaytherestofthebeansinyourrighthand.

Throwawaythesamenumberofbeansfromyourlefthand.

Pickupandaddfivebeanstoyourlefthand.

Attheendyouwillalwayshavethirteenbeansinyourlefthand.

Hispractical scientific interests andabilities alsohelpedLeonardo inhislife at court. He was asked to make all sorts of things to amuse people. Heinventedamachinethatplayedbells.Hehadanideaforaclockrunbywatertohelp you to wake up.When it reached the right time, the feet of the personsleepingwere pulled up into the air.Hewas a chemist because he could turnwhitewineintored.Healsohadcleverideasforhiddenfountainsingardensthatshotwater into the airwhenyou steppedor sat on something.People at courtlivedaveryformallifeandsotheyenjoyedthesekindsof jokesinplaceslikegardenswheretheyrelaxed.

Leonardo knew how to make machines that moved and he used thisknowledgeforspecialoccasions.HeprobablymadeamachineintheshapeofalionthatwasusedbyFlorentinesinLyons,France,inJuly1515tocelebratethearrivalof thenewFrenchking,Francois I.Theychosea lionbecause itwasasymbol of Florence. The lion walked forward a few steps, which was a littlefrightening,butthenitschestopenedtoshowlotsoffleurs-de-lys,aflowerthatwas symbolicofbothFlorence andFrance.So thewhole thingwas a friendlyjoke.

Leonardo'sideas-lookingatandthinkingabouttheworld.

IthasbeensuggestedthatLeonardo'scharacterstoppedhimfromfinishinganything; because he was interested in so many things, he always wanted todiscoverandknoweverything.Asignof this is thatLeonardowroteanddrewdifferentthingsonthesamesheetofpaperorinthesamebook,evenifhestartedby intending to think about only one subject. In one collection of notes, hewrote:

Reader, do not be surprised or laugh atme if here I jump around fromsubjecttosubject.

Leonardo did not go to university and felt the need to defend himselfagainst people who might criticise his ideas because of this. He wrote thatreadersofbooksoftenknowonlyotherpeople'sthoughtsinsteadofhavingtheirown:

Experienceistheteacherofallwhohavewrittenwell,andso-asitismyteacher-Iwilluseitandtalkaboutitallthetime.

Infact,though,Leonardoreadbooksofallkinds,probablysomeinLatinbutmoreinItalian.Around1495helistedaboutfortybooksthatheowned-thiswasquitealotforthattime.Healsousedlibrariesandthecollectionsofpeopleheknew.

Successandrewards

ItperhapssuitedLeonardotoworkforacourtinsteadofpaintingpicturesor planning buildings for lots of different people. But when he worked forLudovicoSforzahewasnotalwayspaidregularly.TherearelettersfromhimtoLudovicosaying thathissituationwasdifficultand thathehad todoworkforothers to have enough money for himself and his assistants to live. He wasalwayscareful,though,tomakethissoundlikethefaultofSforza'sofficialsandnotSforzahimself.Inoneletterhewrote:

IfyouweretoldthatIhadmoney,thiswasnottrue.Ihadtofeedsixmenforfifty-sixmonthsandhavehadfiftyducatsfromyourofficials.

Thiswasnotenoughmoneyforallhiscosts.

HewasnotalwayspaidontimebyLudovicoSforza,buthewasrewardedbyhim.On26April1499LudovicoSforzarecordedthegifttoLeonardo,'mostfamousFlorentinepainter',ofa largegarden justoutside thewallsofMilan. Itwasabout200metresby50metresinsize.Leonardothoughtitsvaluewasabout1,931ducats.Thisgiftwas in recognitionofLeonardo's 'wonderfulandcleverworks'andhis'mostunusualabilities'.LudovicosaidthatLeonardowasfreetobuild there ifhewanted to,or touse it asagarden. Itwasnot far fromSantaMariadelleGrazie-themonasterywhereLeonardopaintedTheLastSupper,itwasalsonearthehouseofGaleazzoSanseverino.ItwasperhapsinGaleazzo'sstablestherethatLeonardohadlookedatGaleazzo'shandsomehorses.LeonardolostthisgardenwhentheFrenchtookMilan,butitwasgivenbacktohimbytheFrenchinApril1507.ThisisthegardenthatLeonardoseparatedintotwopartswhen he died. Salai had already built a house there,which Leonardo gave tohim;theotherhalfLeonardogavetoaservantcalledBattistadeVilanis.WhenLeonardowasworkingfortheFrenchinMilan,hewaspaidverywell.Charlesd'Amboise probably gave him gifts too. King Louis XII also allowed him toreceivethetaxespaidbytheusersofacanalinMilan.

WhenLeonardomovedtoFrance,theFrenchpaidhimevenmoremoney.By 1517 hewas receiving 1,000 ecus a year and hewas given the title 'FirstPainter and Engineer andArchitect of the king'. The French government alsopaid Francesco Melzi and Salai, who were living with and working forLeonardo.OneclearsignofFrancois'pleasurewasthegiftofthehouseatClosLuce,andthefactthatitwasclosetoFrancois'ownhouseinAmboise.Youcansee a picture of it below. It had been built only about twenty years beforeLeonardoreceivedit.

From all this we know that Francois I had a very good opinion ofLeonardo andwanted to keep him in France. In the 1540s, twenty years afterLeonardo had died, Francois told Benvenuto Cellini, another Florentine artistwhocametoworkforhiminFrance,that'IcannotbelieveamanhaseverbeenbornwhoknewasmuchasLeonardo,andnotonlyaboutsculpture,paintingandarchitecture. He was also a very great thinker.' Francois also liked Leonardo;Cellini said that theking 'was completely crazy aboutLeonardo's abilities andtooksuchpleasureinhearinghimtalkthattherewerefewdaysintheyearwhenhewasseparatedfromhim.'

Leonardo,'RenaissanceMan'

WecanseethatLeonardowasadmiredandrewardedbythosewhovaluedallhisabilitiesasanartist,engineerandthinker.Hehasexcitedinterestfromthetime when he was alive until today. The quality of his paintings, studies andinventionsmeans thatmany people today call Leonardo a 'RenaissanceMan'.Theymeanthathehadsuchgreatartisticandscientificabilitiesthathebroughttogetherinonepersonmuchknowledgeandmanydifferentkindsofideas.Hisideasandinterestsstretchedfromtheusefultothebeautiful.

Leonardo'sworkhasalsoreceivedunwelcomeattention,though.In1962amanthrewabottleofinkataverylargedrawingbyLeonardoofTheVirginandChildwithStAnne,inLondon'sNationalGallery.Fortunatelythebottledidnotbreak,andafterthatasheetofglasswasputuptoprotectit.Butin1987amantookoutagunandshotatthepicture.Atthattimethedrawingwasthoughttohaveavalueofmorethan$35million,andthemanknewthatitwouldbeabignewsstory.Theforceofthebulletmeantthatglassdamagedthepicture.Therewereaboutsixtyverysmallpiecesofpapertofittogetherandittookmorethanayear to repair it. In theendonlyaboutonesquarecentimetreof thedrawingwaslost.

Leonardo'spaintings, hisdrawings andhis ideas continue togivepeoplepleasure and tomake them think.Althoughhe onlymanaged to paint a smallnumber of paintings, he is still one of themost famous painters in theworld.Manypeopleevenwanttoseeworksthathedidnotfinish,likethepaintingofTheAdoration of theMagi in theUffiziGallery inFlorence,whichLeonardobeganinthatcityinMarch1481.

Leonardohadjustturnedsixty-sevenwhenhedied,buthehadsucceededindoingmanythingsduringhislife.Inhisownwords:'Life,ifitiswellspent,islong.'OnecansaytoothatLeonardolivestodayinhisartandhisinventions.

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