According to Leonardo da Vinci. Raphael

Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci is a man of Renaissance art, sculptor, inventor, painter, philosopher, writer, scientist, polymath (universal person).

The future genius was born as a result of a love affair between the noble Piero da Vinci and the girl Katerina (Katarina). According to the social norms of that time, the marriage of these people was impossible due to the low origin of Leonardo’s mother. After the birth of her first child, she was married to a potter, with whom Katerina lived the rest of her life. It is known that she gave birth to four daughters and a son from her husband.

Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

The first-born Piero da Vinci lived with his mother for three years. Leonardo's father, immediately after his birth, married a rich representative of a noble family, but his legal wife was never able to give him an heir. Three years after the marriage, Pierrot took his son to him and began raising him. Leonardo's stepmother died 10 years later while trying to give birth to an heir. Pierrot remarried, but quickly became a widower again. In total, Leonardo had four stepmothers, as well as 12 paternal half-siblings.

Creativity and inventions of da Vinci

The parent apprenticed Leonardo to the Tuscan master Andrea Verrocchio. During his studies with his mentor, son Pierrot learned not only the art of painting and sculpture. Young Leonardo studied the humanities and engineering, leather craftsmanship, and the basics of working with metal and chemicals. All this knowledge was useful to Da Vinci in life.

Leonardo received confirmation of his qualifications as a master at the age of twenty, after which he continued to work under the supervision of Verrocchio. The young artist was involved in minor work on his teacher’s paintings, for example, he painted background landscapes and clothes minor characters. Leonardo only got his own workshop in 1476.

In 1482, da Vinci was sent by his patron Lorenzo de' Medici to Milan. During this period, the artist worked on two paintings, which were never completed. In Milan, Duke Lodovico Sforza enrolled Leonardo in the court staff as an engineer. The high-ranking person was interested in defensive devices and devices for entertaining the courtyard. Da Vinci had the opportunity to develop his talent as an architect and his abilities as a mechanic. His inventions turned out to be an order of magnitude better than those proposed by his contemporaries.

The engineer stayed in Milan under Duke Sforza for about seventeen years. During this time, Leonardo painted the paintings “Madonna in the Grotto” and “Lady with an Ermine”, created his most famous drawing “The Vitruvian Man”, made a clay model of the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza, painted the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery with the composition “The Last Supper”, made a number of anatomical sketches and drawings of devices.

Leonardo's engineering talent also came in handy after his return to Florence in 1499. He entered the service of Duke Cesare Borgia, who relied on Da Vinci's ability to create military mechanisms. The engineer worked in Florence for about seven years, after which he returned to Milan. By that time, he had already completed work on his most famous painting, which is now kept in the Louvre Museum.

The master's second Milanese period lasted six years, after which he left for Rome. In 1516, Leonardo went to France, where he spent his last years. On the journey, the master took with him Francesco Melzi, a student and main heir of da Vinci’s artistic style.

Despite the fact that Leonardo spent only four years in Rome, it is in this city that there is a museum named after him. In three halls of the institution you can get acquainted with devices built according to Leonardo’s drawings, examine copies of paintings, photos of diaries and manuscripts.

The Italian devoted most of his life to engineering and architectural projects. His inventions were both military and peaceful in nature. Leonardo is known as the developer of tank prototypes, aircraft, self-propelled carriage, searchlight, catapult, bicycle, parachute, mobile bridge, machine gun. Some of the inventor's drawings still remain a mystery to researchers.

In 2009, the Discovery TV channel aired the series of films “Da Vinci Apparatus.” Each of the ten episodes of the documentary series was devoted to the construction and testing of mechanisms based on Leonardo's original drawings. The film's technicians tried to recreate the inventions of the Italian genius using materials from his era.

Personal life

The master's personal life was kept in the strictest confidence. Leonardo used a code for entries in his diaries, but even after deciphering, researchers received little reliable information. There is a version that the reason for the secrecy was homosexual da Vinci.

The theory that the artist loved men was based on researchers’ guesses based on indirect facts. At a young age, the artist was involved in a case of sodomy, but it is not known for certain in what capacity. After this incident, the master became very secretive and stingy with comments about his personal life.

Leonardo's possible lovers include some of his students, the most famous of whom is Salai. The young man was endowed with an effeminate appearance and became a model for several paintings by da Vinci. John the Baptist is one of Leonardo's surviving works for which Szalai sat.

There is a version that the “Mona Lisa” was also painted from this sitter, dressed in a woman’s dress. It should be noted that there is some physical similarity between the people depicted in the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “John the Baptist”. The fact remains that da Vinci bequeathed his artistic masterpiece to Salai.

Historians also include Francesco Melzi among Leonardo's possible lovers.

There is another version of the secret of the Italian’s personal life. It is believed that Leonardo had a romantic relationship with Cecilia Gallerani, who is supposedly depicted in the portrait “Lady with an Ermine”. This woman was the favorite of the Duke of Milan, the owner of a literary salon, and a patron of the arts. She introduced the young artist to the circle of Milanese bohemia.

Among Da Vinci's notes was found a draft of a letter addressed to Cecilia, which began with the words: “My beloved goddess...”. Researchers suggest that the portrait “Lady with an Ermine” was painted with clear signs of unspent feelings for the woman depicted in it.

Some researchers believe that the great Italian did not know carnal love at all. He was not attracted to men or women in a physical sense. In the context of this theory, it is assumed that Leonardo led the life of a monk who did not give birth to descendants, but left a great legacy.

Death and grave

Modern researchers have concluded that the probable cause of the artist’s death was a stroke. Da Vinci died at the age of 67 in 1519. Thanks to the memoirs of his contemporaries, it is known that by that time the artist was already suffering from partial paralysis. Leonardo could not move his right hand, as researchers believe, due to a stroke suffered in 1517.

Despite the paralysis, the master continued to be active creative life, resorting to the help of student Francesco Melzi. Da Vinci's health deteriorated, and by the end of 1519 it was already difficult for him to walk without assistance. This evidence is consistent with the theoretical diagnosis. Scientists believe that a repeated attack of cerebrovascular accident in 1519 ended the life of the famous Italian.

At the time of his death, the master was in the castle of Clos-Lucé near the city of Amboise, where he lived for the last three years of his life. In accordance with Leonardo's will, his body was buried in the gallery of the Church of Saint-Florentin.

Unfortunately, the master's grave was destroyed during the Huguenot wars. The church in which the Italian was buried was looted, after which it fell into severe neglect and was demolished by the new owner of the Amboise castle, Roger Ducos, in 1807.

After the destruction of the Saint-Florentin chapel, remains from many burials different years were mixed and buried in the garden. Since the mid-nineteenth century, researchers have made several attempts to identify the bones of Leonardo da Vinci. Innovators in this matter were guided by the lifetime description of the master and selected the most suitable fragments from the found remains. They were studied for some time. The work was led by archaeologist Arsen Housse. He also found fragments of a tombstone, presumably from da Vinci's grave, and a skeleton in which some fragments were missing. These bones were reburied in the reconstructed artist's tomb in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert on the grounds of the Castle of Amboise.

In 2010, a team of researchers led by Silvano Vinceti was going to exhume the remains of the Renaissance master. It was planned to identify the skeleton using genetic material taken from the burials of Leonardo's paternal relatives. Italian researchers were unable to obtain permission from the castle owners to carry out the necessary work.

On the site where the Church of Saint-Florentin used to be located, at the beginning of the last century a granite monument was erected, marking the four hundredth anniversary of the death of the famous Italian. The engineer's reconstructed grave and stone monument with his bust are among the most popular attractions in Amboise.

The secrets of da Vinci's paintings

Leonardo's work has occupied the minds of art critics, religious researchers, historians and ordinary people for more than four hundred years. The works of the Italian artist have become an inspiration for people of science and creativity. There are many theories that reveal the secrets of da Vinci's paintings. The most famous of them says that when writing his masterpieces, Leonardo used a special graphic code.

Using a device of several mirrors, researchers were able to find out that the secret of the looks of the heroes from the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “John the Baptist” lies in the fact that they are looking at a creature in a mask, reminiscent of an alien. The secret code in Leonardo's notes was also deciphered using an ordinary mirror.

Hoaxes surrounding the work of the Italian genius led to the emergence of a number of works of art, the author of which was the writer. His novels became bestsellers. In 2006, the film “The Da Vinci Code” was released, based on work of the same name Brown. The film was met with a wave of criticism from religious organizations, but set box office records in its first month of release.

Lost and unfinished works

Not all of the master’s works have survived to this day. The works that have not survived include: a shield with a painting in the form of the head of Medusa, a sculpture of a horse for the Duke of Milan, a portrait of the Madonna with a spindle, the painting “Leda and the Swan” and the fresco “The Battle of Anghiari”.

Modern researchers know about some of the master’s paintings thanks to surviving copies and memoirs of da Vinci’s contemporaries. For example, the fate of the original work “Leda and the Swan” is still unknown. Historians believe that the painting may have been destroyed in the mid-seventeenth century on the orders of the Marquise de Maintenon, wife of Louis XIV. Sketches made by Leonardo's hand and several copies of the canvas made by different artists have survived to this day.

The painting showed a young naked woman in the arms of a swan, with babies hatched from huge eggs playing at her feet. When creating this masterpiece, the artist was inspired by a famous mythical plot. It is interesting that the painting based on the story of Leda’s copulation with Zeus, who took the form of a swan, was painted not only by da Vinci.

Leonardo's lifetime rival also painted a painting dedicated to this ancient myth. Buonarotti's painting suffered the same fate as da Vinci's work. Paintings by Leonardo and Michelangelo simultaneously disappeared from the collection of the French royal house.

Among unfinished work brilliant Italian The painting “Adoration of the Magi” stands out. The canvas was commissioned by the Augustinian monks in 1841, but remained unfinished due to the master’s departure to Milan. The customers found another artist, and Leonardo saw no point in continuing to work on the painting.

Researchers believe that the composition of the canvas has no analogues in Italian painting. The painting depicts Mary with the newborn Jesus and the Magi, and behind the pilgrims are riders on horses and the ruins of a pagan temple. There is an assumption that Leonardo depicted himself at the age of 29 among the men who came to the son of God.

• In 2009, researcher of religious mysteries Lynn Picknett published the book “Leonardo da Vinci and the Brotherhood of Zion,” naming the famous Italian one of the masters of a secret religious order.
• It is believed that da Vinci was a vegetarian. He wore clothes made of linen, neglecting outfits made of leather and natural silk.
• A group of researchers plans to isolate Leonardo's DNA from the master's surviving personal belongings. Historians also claim to be close to finding da Vinci's maternal relatives.
• The Renaissance was the time when noble women in Italy were addressed with the words “my lady”, in Italian - “ma donna”. IN colloquial speech the expression was shortened to "monna". This means that the title of the painting “Mona Lisa” can be literally translated as “Lady Lisa”.

• Rafael Santi called da Vinci his teacher. He visited Leonardo's studio in Florence and tried to adopt some features of his artistic style. Raphael Santi also called Michelangelo Buonarroti his teacher. The three artists mentioned are considered the main geniuses of the Renaissance.
• Australian enthusiasts have created the largest traveling exhibition of the great architect's inventions. The exhibition was developed with the participation of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Italy. The exhibition has already visited six continents. During its operation, five million visitors were able to see and touch the works of the most famous engineer of the Renaissance.

Certain trends in the art of the High Renaissance were anticipated in the work of outstanding artists of the 15th century and were expressed in the desire for grandeur, monumentalization and generalization of the image. However, the true founder of the High Renaissance style was Leonardo da Vinci, a genius whose work marked a grandiose qualitative shift in art. The significance of his comprehensive activities, scientific and artistic, became clear only when Leonardo's scattered manuscripts were examined. His notes and drawings contain brilliant insights in various fields of science and technology. He was, as Engels put it, “not only a great painter, but also a great mathematician, mechanic and engineer, to whom we owe important discoveries the most diverse branches of physics."

For the Italian artist, art was a means of understanding the world. Many of his sketches serve to illustrate scientific work, and at the same time they are works of high art. Leonardo embodied new type an artist - a scientist, a thinker, striking in his breadth of views and versatility of talent. Leonardo was born in the village of Anchiano, near the city of Vinci. He was the illegitimate son of a notary and a simple peasant woman. He studied in Florence, in the studio of the sculptor and painter Andrea Verrocchio. One of the early works of the young artist - the figure of an angel in Verrocchio's painting "Baptism" (Florence, Uffizi) - stands out among the frozen characters with its subtle spirituality and testifies to the maturity of its creator.

To the number early works Leonardo also refers to the “Madonna with a Flower” stored in the Hermitage (the so-called “ Madonna Benoit", c. 1478), decidedly different from the numerous Madonnas of the 15th century. Refusing the genre and meticulous detail inherent in the creations of masters early Renaissance, Leonardo deepens the characteristics, generalizes the forms. The figures of a young mother and baby, subtly modeled by side light, fill almost the entire space of the picture. The movements of the figures, organically connected with each other, are natural and plastic. They stand out clearly against the dark background of the wall. Opening window is clean blue sky connects the figures with nature, with the vast world dominated by man. In the balanced construction of the composition, an internal pattern is felt. But it does not exclude the warmth, the naive charm observed in life.

Madonna with the Infants Christ and John
Baptist, around 1490, private collection

Savior of the world
around 1500, private collection

In 1480, Leonardo already had his own workshop and received orders. However, his passion for science often distracted him from his studies in art. The large altar composition “Adoration of the Magi” (Florence, Uffizi) and “Saint Jerome” (Rome, Vatican Pinacoteca) remained unfinished. In the first, the artist sought to transform the complex monumental composition of the altar image into a pyramid-shaped, easily visible group, to convey the depth of human feelings. In the second - to a truthful depiction of complex angles human body, landscape spaces. Not finding proper appreciation of his talent at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici, with his cult of exquisite sophistication, Leonardo entered the service of the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Moro. The Milan period of Leonardo's work (1482–1499) turned out to be the most fruitful. Here the versatility of his talent as a scientist, inventor and artist was revealed in full force.

He began his activity with the execution of a sculptural monument - an equestrian statue of the father of Duke Ludovico Moro, Francesco Sforza. The large model of the monument, which was unanimously praised by contemporaries, was destroyed during the capture of Milan by the French in 1499. Only drawings and sketches have survived various options monument, an image of either a rearing horse, full of dynamics, or a solemnly performing horse, reminiscent compositional solutions Donatello and Verrocchio. Apparently, this last option was turned into a model of the statue. It was significantly larger in size than the monuments of Gattamelata and Colleoni, which gave rise to contemporaries and Leonardo himself to call the monument “the great colossus.” This work allows us to consider Leonardo one of the largest sculptors of that time.

Not a single completed architectural project by Leonardo has reached us. And yet his drawings and designs of buildings, plans for creating an ideal city speak of his gift as an outstanding architect. The Milanese period includes paintings of a mature style - “Madonna in the Grotto” and “The Last Supper”. “Madonna in the Grotto” (1483–1494, Paris, Louvre) is the first monumental altar composition of the High Renaissance. Her characters Mary, John, Christ and the angel acquired features of greatness, poetic spirituality and fullness of life expressiveness. United by a mood of thoughtfulness and action - the infant Christ blesses John - in a harmonious pyramidal group, as if fanned by a light haze of chiaroscuro, the characters of the gospel legend seem to be the embodiment of ideal images of peaceful happiness.

(attribution to Carlo Pedretti), 1505,
Museum of the Ancient People of Lucania,
Vallo Basilicata, Italy

The most significant of Leonardo’s monumental paintings, “The Last Supper,” executed in 1495–1497 for the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan, takes you into the world of real passions and dramatic feelings. Departing from the traditional interpretation of the Gospel episode, Leonardo gives an innovative solution to the theme, a composition that deeply reveals human feelings and experiences. By minimizing the outline of the refectory furnishings, deliberately reducing the size of the table and moving it towards foreground, he focuses attention on the dramatic climax of the event, on the contrasting characteristics of people of different temperaments, the manifestation of a complex range of feelings, expressed in both facial expressions and gestures, with which the apostles respond to the words of Christ: “One of you will betray me.” A decisive contrast to the apostles is provided by the images of an outwardly calm, but sadly pensive Christ, located in the center of the composition, and the traitor Judas, leaning on the edge of the table, whose rough, predatory profile is immersed in shadow. Confusion, emphasized by the gesture of his hand frantically clutching his wallet, and his gloomy appearance distinguish him from the other apostles, on whose illuminated faces one can read an expression of surprise, compassion, and indignation. Leonardo does not separate the figure of Judas from the other apostles, as the early Renaissance masters did. And yet the repulsive appearance of Judas reveals the idea of ​​betrayal more sharply and deeply. All twelve disciples of Christ are located in groups of three, on either side of the teacher. Some of them jump up from their seats in excitement, turning to Christ. The artist subordinates the various internal movements of the apostles to a strict order. The composition of the fresco amazes with its unity, integrity, it is strictly balanced, centric in construction. The monumentalization of the images and the scale of the painting contribute to the impression of the deep significance of the image, subordinating the entire large space of the refectory. Leonardo brilliantly solves the problem of the synthesis of painting and architecture. By placing the table parallel to the wall that the fresco adorns, he asserts its plane. The perspective reduction of the side walls depicted on the fresco seems to continue the real space of the refectory.

The fresco is badly damaged. Leonardo's experiments using new materials did not stand the test of time; later recordings and restorations almost hid the original, which was cleared only in 1954. But the surviving engravings and preparatory drawings make it possible to fill in all the details of the composition.

After Milan was captured by French troops, Leonardo left the city. Years of wandering began. Commissioned by the Florentine Republic, he made cardboard for the fresco “The Battle of Anghiari”, which was to decorate one of the walls of the Council Chamber in the Palazzo Vecchio (city government building). When creating this cardboard, Leonardo entered into competition with the young Michelangelo, who was executing an order for the fresco “The Battle of Cascina” for another wall of the same hall. However, these cardboards, which received universal recognition from their contemporaries, have not survived to this day. Only old copies and engravings allow us to judge the innovation of the geniuses of the High Renaissance in the field of battle painting.

In Leonardo’s composition, full of drama and dynamics, the episode of the battle for the banner, the moment of the highest tension of the forces of the combatants is given, the cruel truth of the war is revealed. The creation of a portrait of Mona Lisa (“La Gioconda”, circa 1504, Paris, Louvre), one of the most famous works of world painting, dates back to this time. The depth and significance of the created image is extraordinary, in which individual features are combined with great generalization. Leonardo's innovation was also evident in the development of Renaissance portraiture.

Plastically detailed, closed in silhouette, the majestic figure of a young woman dominates a distant landscape shrouded in a bluish haze with rocks and water channels winding among them. The complex, semi-fantastic landscape subtly harmonizes with the character and intelligence of the person being portrayed. It seems that the unsteady variability of life itself is felt in the expression of her face, enlivened by a subtle smile, in her calmly confident, penetrating gaze. The face and sleek hands of the patrician are painted with amazing care and gentleness. The thinnest, as if melting, haze of chiaroscuro (the so-called sfumato), enveloping the figure, softens the contours and shadows; There is not a single sharp stroke or angular contour in the picture.

In the last years of his life, Leonardo devoted most of his time to scientific research. He died in France, where he came at the invitation of the French King Francis I and where he lived for only two years. His art, scientific and theoretical research, and his very personality had a tremendous impact on the development of world culture. His manuscripts contain countless notes and drawings that testify to the universality of Leonardo's genius. There are carefully drawn flowers and trees, sketches of unknown tools, machines and apparatus. Along with analytically accurate images, there are drawings that are distinguished by their extraordinary scope, epicness or subtle lyricism. A passionate admirer of experimental knowledge, Leonardo strove for its critical understanding and search for generalizing laws. “Experience is the only source of knowledge,” said the artist. “The Book of Painting” reveals his views as a theorist of realistic art, for whom painting is both “science and the legitimate daughter of nature.” The treatise contains Leonardo's statements on anatomy and perspective; he looks for patterns in the construction of a harmonious human figure, writes about the interaction of colors, and reflexes. Among Leonardo's followers and students, however, there was not a single one approaching the teacher in terms of talent; deprived of an independent view of art, they only externally assimilated his artistic style.

Da Vinci's personality- the most mysterious, ingenious and little-studied in history.

The Italian’s biography is very meager, and he kept his personal life under heavy lock and key – there are legends about it, but there are no reliable sources.

But the paintings, inventions, theories, and diaries of the master are subject to fame and can shed light on some details of his life.

The great scientist and artist always stood out from others. Even as a child, he was incredibly curious, asking about everything he saw and heard.

Having experienced a difficult separation from his mother, while still a child he withdrew into himself, and, having matured, began to live in the world of creativity, devoting himself entirely to searching for answers to troubling questions.

Birth and childhood

Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1451 in the village of Anchiano, which was located near the village of Vinci, Florence. Parents were not married - this influenced inner world the boy and his relationship with his dad. Leonardo's mother was the peasant woman Katerina, and his father was the young notary Piero.

Initially, the son lived with Katerina, then dad took him to live with him. At that time, Pierrot was married for the first time, but the couple had no children. 10 years later, da Vinci's stepmother died, his father remarried and became a widower again. In total, the boy had 4 stepmothers and 12 brothers and sisters.

At the age of 14, he entered the studio of the artist Andrea Verrocchio as an apprentice. The establishment is conveniently located in the very center of intellectual Italy. This work determined the future fate of a unique person.

Youth

In parallel with his work, young da Vinci studied the humanities and technical sciences.

Over the course of several years he studied:

• metallurgy;
• chemistry;
• drawing;
• sculpture;
• drawing;
• modeling.

Along with his talent, famous masters Agnolo di Polo, Lorenzo di Credi, and Perugino studied in Verrocchio’s workshop. At the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master at the Guild of St. Luke. 4 years later he was accused of sodomy, but was acquitted at trial.

The first artistic masterpieces

Leonardo's first masterpiece was the painting "The Baptism of Christ", which was commissioned from Verrocchio.

The master asked the student to draw one of the two angels and a landscape. Andrea himself painted the remaining parts of the canvas, including the second angel. The difference between them turned out to be colossal - Da Vinci's angel turned out better. Verrocchio was so amazed that he abandoned his brush.

The next works of the genius were “The Annunciation”, “Madonna with a Vase”, “Benois Madonna”.

It's hard to imagine that these masterpieces came from the brush of a 20-year-old guy.

Leonardo received his first big order at the age of 30. The Monastery of San Donato a Sisto asked him to paint the painting “The Adoration of the Magi,” which da Vinci never completed.

At the same age, the artist was engaged in another major work - the painting “Saint Jerome”.

Personal life

Da Vinci was known as a famous person during his lifetime - he was always surrounded by friends and students. But the master did not want to disclose intimate relationships.

For 67 years, he never married. Some historians believe that there was a love affair between the genius and Cecilia Gallerani, from whom the portrait of “Lady with an Ermine” was copied.

Other historians claim that the Italian preferred men. One of the students named Salai, who served the master as a model for the paintings “John the Baptist” and “Bacchus,” was allegedly the teacher’s lover. There is also a theory that Leonardo was a virgin and did not love anyone, devoting himself entirely to studying the unknown.

last years of life

In the last years of his life, the Italian lived in the castle of Clos-Lucé, accepting the invitation of the French king Francis I.

He hardly painted, but successfully organized holidays at court, and also planned a new palace in Romorantan, a spiral staircase in the Chambord castle, and a canal between the Saone and the Loire.

At the age of 65, Leonardo began to find it difficult to move; his right hand became numb. Before his death, he was constantly in bed, walking only with the help of close people.

The genius of all times died on May 2, 1519, in the castle of Clos-Lucé, among his students and masterpieces.

The brilliant artist was buried in the castle of Amboise and in his honor on gravestone they knocked out an inscription that says that within the walls of the monastery lie the ashes of the greatest man who visited the French kingdom.

The works of Leonardo da Vinci

He left behind many discoveries, works of art, and records that provide detailed encyclopedic information on various sciences.

Art

Contemporaries know da Vinci as an artist, although the master himself considered painting only a hobby, and with age he devoted less and less time to it. But even in this, the genius succeeded - he created his own technique, and brought Renaissance painting to a new, higher level.

He painted not only in tempera, which was used by most artists of the era, but also in oil, which gave the figures figurativeness.

Da Vinci played the lyre masterfully. When he was tried, the case involved a musician, not an artist or inventor. It is believed that he was also involved in sculpture. But only the terracotta head has survived to this day.

Scientific inventions of the "Mage of Science"

Leonardo was deeply involved in science; he created many things that made life easier for mankind. Although half of them are said to be attributed to the author, this is still deserved.

The list is impressive:

• Submarine;
• diving suit;
• parachute
• armored tank;
• two-lens telescope;
• portable bridge;
• spotlight;
• self-propelled trolley (car prototype);
• bearing;
• robot;
• wheel lock, which became popular during the creator’s lifetime.

Da Vinci was obsessed with the idea of ​​flight and dreamed of designing an airplane. Among his drawings they found a diagram of an ornithopter aircraft, which the inventor never had time to try.

Anatomy and medicine

Leonardo made thousands of medical notes and anatomical sketches. He sought to study the human body in detail. To do this, the scientist even performed autopsies on corpses himself. He managed to almost exactly reproduce a person from the inside; only the female reproductive system was inaccurate.

The genius founded dynamic anatomy, invented a glass model for studying heart valves, was the first to determine the proportions of the skeleton and refuted many theories about medicine of that time. He was 300 years ahead of anatomical practice.

Literature of a great thinker

The Italian's literary heritage reached his descendants in a chaotic form. After the death of the genius, his student and friend Francesco Melzi compiled a “Treatise on Painting” from passages about art, which was published in 1651.

In addition to these passages, many prose works can be found in Leonardo's notes:

• fables,
• facetsia (humorous stories);
• aphorisms;
• allegories;
• prophecies.

Among the latter, half have already come true. Thus, the genius predicted the appearance of telephone communications, a two-handed saw, and agricultural machines. Other prophecies that have not yet come true are more similar to the biblical ones - they talk about demons and cataclysms.

Leonardo's Diaries

The great Leonardo kept 120 diaries, of which approximately 7,000 pages have survived today. On them you can find drawings of various inventions, sketches of human anatomy, notes to young artists, architects, musicians, philosophical sayings, comic works, fables and prophecies.

Everything is written with the left hand and in a mirror image - from left to right. Da Vinci's mirror code was solved only at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

After the death of the author, the priceless diaries were kept by Francesco Melzi, and then the manuscripts mysteriously disappeared. Only isolated fragments were found among Leonardo's friends and relatives. For the first time, part of the diaries was published by Carlo Amoretti, the curator of the Ambrosian Library.

Students - young da Vinci painters

Having become a master, Leonardo da Vinci founded his own workshop, where he taught the art to others. Among young students the following became famous:

• Bernardino Luini;
• Ambrogio de Predis;
• Francesco Melzi;
• Andrea Solario;
• Giovanni Boltraffio;
• Cesare da Sesto;
• Giampetrino.

The master handed over practical recommendations to young painters in their diaries. He advised developing memory and imagination, finding new and surprising things in ordinary forms, paying more attention to nature, studying paintings by famous artists, the history and theory of painting, and starting practice prepared.

Interesting facts, secrets and inventions of the artist

Da Vinci's personality is surrounded by mystery. He was considered a black magician, an alien or a time traveler. Close friends appreciated and loved him, jealously guarding his secrets.

Still some Interesting Facts reliably known to contemporaries:

1. The genius was the first to understand. In his diaries, he wrote that this was due to illuminated air particles located between the Earth and space. It is noteworthy that Leonardo called space “heavenly blackness.”
2. In his diaries, da Vinci addressed himself as “you,” also speaking to possible readers. This indicates an unstable mental state.
3. The Italian slept for 15 minutes every four hours. This sleep technique has been used for many centuries. It helps increase productivity, improve well-being, and reduce time spent sleeping.

Disputes about who Leonardo da Vinci was - a mystical or simply an unusual personality are still ongoing. In any case, he was a unique, multifaceted man who had the greatest influence on civilization. You can love him or hate him, but it is impossible not to admire him.

Great Italian artist and Renaissance inventor Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the small village of Anchiano LU, located near the town of Vinci FI. He was the illegitimate son of a wealthy notary, Piero da Vinci, and a beautiful village woman, Katarina. Soon after this event, the notary entered into marriage with the girl noble birth. They had no children, and Piero and his wife took their three-year-old child with them.

The Birth of an Artist

The brief time of childhood in the village is over. Notary Piero moved to Florence, where he apprenticed his son to Andrea del Veroccio, a famous Tuscan master. There, in addition to painting and sculpture, future artist got the opportunity to study the basics of mathematics and mechanics, anatomy, working with metals and plaster, and methods of leather dressing. The young man greedily absorbed knowledge and later used it widely in his activities.

An interesting creative biography of the maestro belongs to the pen of his contemporary Giorgio Vasari. In Vasari's book "Life of Leonardo" there is Short story about how Andrea del Verrocchio recruited a student to complete the order “The Baptism of Christ” (Battesimo di Cristo). The angel painted by Leonardo so clearly demonstrated his superiority over his teacher that the latter threw down his brush in frustration and never painted again.

The qualification of a master was awarded to him by the Guild of St. Luke. Leonardo da Vinci spent the next year of his life in Florence. His first mature painting is “The Adoration of the Magi” (Adorazione dei Magi), commissioned for the monastery of San Donato.

Milanese period (1482 - 1499)

Leonardo came to Milan as a peace envoy from Lorenzo di Medici to Lodovico Sforza, nicknamed Moro. Here his work received a new direction. He was enrolled in the court staff first as an engineer and only later as an artist.

The Duke of Milan, a cruel and narrow-minded man, had little interest in the creative component of Leonardo’s personality. The master was even less worried about the duke's indifference. Interests converged in one thing. Moreau needed engineering devices for military operations and mechanical structures for the entertainment of the court. Leonardo understood this like no one else. His mind did not sleep, the master was sure that human capabilities are limitless. His ideas were close to the humanists of the New Age, but in many ways incomprehensible to his contemporaries.

Two belong to the same period important work– (Il Cenacolo) for the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie (Chiesa e Convento Domenicano di Santa Maria delle Grazie) and the painting “Lady with an Ermine” (Dama con l’ermellino).

The second is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, the favorite of the Duke of Sforza. The biography of this woman is unusual. One of the most beautiful and learned ladies of the Renaissance, she was simple and kind, and knew how to get along with people. An affair with the Duke saved one of her brothers from prison. She had the most tender relationship with Leonardo, but, according to contemporaries and the opinion of most researchers, their brief relationship remained platonic.

A more common (and also not confirmed) version is about the master’s intimate relationship with his students Francesco Melzi and Salai. The artist preferred to keep the details of his personal life a deep secret.

Moro commissioned the master to create an equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza. The necessary sketches were completed and a clay model of the future monument was made. Further work was prevented by the French invasion of Milan. The artist left for Florence. He will return here again, but to another master - the French king Louis XII.

Again in Florence (1499 - 1506)

Later years (1506 - 1519)

The second Milanese period lasted until 1512. The Maestro studied the structure of the human eye, worked on the monument to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio and his own self-portrait. In 1512 the artist moved to Rome. Giovanni di Medici, the son of Giovanni di Medici, was elected pope and was ordained under the name of Leo X. Dad's brother, Duke Giuliano Medici(Giuliano di Medici), highly appreciated the work of his compatriot. After his death, the master accepted the invitation of King Francis I (François I) and left for France in 1516.

Francis turned out to be the most generous and grateful patron. The maestro settled in the picturesque castle of Clos Lucé in Touraine, where he had every opportunity to do what was interesting to him. By royal commission, he designed a lion from whose chest a bouquet of lilies opened. The French period was the happiest of his life. The king assigned his engineer an annual annuity of 1000 ecus and donated land with vineyards, ensuring him a peaceful old age. The maestro's life was cut short in 1519. He bequeathed his notes, instruments and estates to his students.

Paintings

Inventions and works

Most of the master's inventions were not created during his lifetime, remaining only in notes and drawings. An airplane, a bicycle, a parachute, a tank... He was possessed by the dream of flight, the scientist believed that a person can and should fly. He studied the behavior of birds and sketched wings of different shapes. His design for a two-lens telescope is surprisingly accurate, and his diaries contain short note about the opportunity to “see the big moon.”

As a military engineer he was always in demand; the lightweight saddle bridges he invented and the wheel lock for a pistol were used everywhere. He dealt with the problems of urban planning and land reclamation, and in 1509 he built the St. Christopher, as well as the Martesana irrigation canal. The Duke of Moreau rejected his project for an “ideal city.” Several centuries later, the development of London was carried out according to this project. In Norway there is a bridge built according to his drawing. In France, already an old man, he designed a canal between the Loire and Saône.

The secret of genius

There were plenty of secrets in the life of the Renaissance titan. The main one opened relatively recently. But has it opened? In 1950, a list of Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion (Prieuré de Sion), a secret organization created in 1090 in Jerusalem, was published. According to the list, Leonardo da Vinci was the ninth of the Grand Masters of the Priory. His predecessor in this amazing post was Sandro Botticelli, and his successor was Constable Charles III de Bourbon. The main goal of the organization was to restore the Merovingian dynasty to the throne of France. The Priory considered the offspring of this family to be the descendants of Jesus Christ.

The very existence of such an organization raises doubts among most historians. But such doubts could have been sown by members of the Priory who wished to continue their activities in secret.

If we accept this version as the truth, the master’s habit of complete independence and the strange attraction to France for a Florentine become clear. Even Leonardo's writing style - left hand and right to left - can be interpreted as an imitation of Hebrew writing. This seems unlikely, but the scale of his personality allows us to make the most daring assumptions.

Stories about the Priory make scientists distrustful, but enriching artistic creativity. The most striking example is Dan Brown's book “The Da Vinci Code” and the film of the same name.

• At the age of 24, together with three Florentine youths was accused of sodomy. The company was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
• Maestro was a vegetarian. People who consume animal food were called “walking cemeteries.”
• He shocked his contemporaries with his habit of carefully examining and sketching the hanged in detail. He considered studying the structure of the human body to be the most important activity.
• There is an opinion that the maestro developed tasteless and odorless poisons for Cesare Borgia and wiretapping devices made of glass tubes.
• Television mini-series "The Life of Leonardo da Vinci"(La vita di Leonardo da Vinci), directed by Renato Castellani, received a Golden Globe award.
• named after Leonardo da Vinci and is decorated with a huge statue depicting a master with a model of a helicopter in his hands.

↘️🇮🇹 USEFUL ARTICLES AND SITES 🇮🇹↙️ SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Leonardo da Vinci. 04/15/1452, Vinci – 05/02/1519, Clue

The unprecedented attention now paid by historians and fiction writers to the personality of Leonardo da Vinci is evidence of a turning point in relation to the culture of the Renaissance, a revaluation of the spiritual content of the “greatest progressive revolution” that underlies modern life. European civilization. In Leonardo they see a kind of quintessence of the emerging era, emphasizing and highlighting in his work either the connection with the worldview of the previous time, or the radical demarcation from it. Mysticism and rationalism coexist in the assessment of his personality in an incomprehensible balance, and even the huge written heritage of the master, which has come down to our time, is not able to shake him. Leonardo da Vinci is among the greatest scientists, although very few of his projects were realized. He is also one of the greatest artists, despite the fact that he created very few paintings (and not all of them have survived) and even fewer sculptures (not at all preserved). What makes Leonardo great is not the number of ideas he implemented, but the change in the method of both scientific and artistic activity. Figuratively speaking, he sought to “understand the organism of each object separately and the organism of the entire universe” (A. Benoit).

Leonardo da Vinci. Self-portrait, ca. 1510-1515

Leonardo's childhood and adolescence are very little documented. His father, Piero da Vinci, was a hereditary notary; Already in the year of his son’s birth, he practiced in Florence and soon took a prominent position there. All that is known about the mother is that her name was Caterina, she came from a peasant family and, soon after the birth of Leonardo, she was married to a wealthy farmer, a certain Accatabridge di Piero del Vaccia. Leonardo was taken into his father's house and raised by his childless stepmother Albiera Amadori. What and how he was taught, what his first experiences in drawing were, is unknown. What is indisputable is that the formation of the boy’s personality was greatly, if not decisively, influenced by his uncle Francesco, with whom Leonardo da Vinci maintained the warmest relationship throughout his life. Since Leonardo was an illegitimate son, he could not inherit his father's profession. Vasari reports that Pierrot was friends with Andrea Verrocchio and one day showed him his son’s drawings, after which Andrea took Leonardo to his workshop. Piero and his family moved to Florence in 1466, therefore, Leonardo da Vinci ended up in the workshop (bottega) of Verrocchio at the age of fourteen.

The largest works carried out by Verrocchio during the period of Leonardo’s studies with him were the statue “David” (Florence, Bargello), commissioned by the family Medici(it is believed that the young Leonardo da Vinci posed for her), and the completion of the dome of the Florence Cathedral with a golden ball with a cross (the city’s order was received on September 10, 1468 and completed in May 1472). In Andrea's workshop, the best in Florence, Leonardo da Vinci had the opportunity to study all types of fine arts, architecture, the theory of perspective and become partially familiar with natural and humanities. His development as a painter was apparently influenced not so much by Verrocchio himself as by Botticelli and Botticelli, who studied with him in the same years. Perugino.

In 1469 Piero da Vinci received the position of notary of the Florentine Republic, and then of a number of the largest monasteries and families. By this time he was widowed. Having finally moved to Florence, Piero remarried and took Leonardo into his home. Leonardo continued his studies with Verrocchio and also studied science on his own. Already during these years he met Paolo Toscanelli (mathematician, doctor, astronomer and geographer) and Leon Battista Alberti. In 1472 he joined the guild of painters and, as evidenced by the entry in the guild book, paid a fee for the organization of the feast of St. Luke. That same year he returned to Andrea's workshop, since his father was widowed for the second time and married for the third time. In 1480 Leonardo da Vinci had his own workshop. The first painting by Leonardo, known today, is the image of an angel in the painting “The Baptism of Christ” (Florence, Uffizi). Until recently, the painting was considered (based on a report Vasari) by Verrocchio, who supposedly, having seen how much his student surpassed him in skill, abandoned painting.

Baptism of Christ. A painting by Verrocchio, painted by him and his students. The right one of the two angels is the work of Leonardo da Vinci. 1472-1475

However, an analysis carried out by Uffizi staff showed that the work was carried out collectively by three or even four artists in accordance with the traditions of medieval workshops. Obviously, Botticelli played the main role among them. The origin of the figure of the left angel by Leonardo is beyond doubt. He also painted part of the landscape - behind the angel at the edge of the composition.

The lack of documentary evidence, signatures and dates on the paintings makes their attribution very difficult. Two “Annunciations” date back to the early 1470s, which, judging by their horizontal format, are altar predella. Those of them that are kept in the Uffizi collection are included in a number of the few early works of Leonardo da Vinci. His dry execution and the types of faces of Mary and the angel are reminiscent of the works of Lorenzo di Credi, Leonardo's comrade in Verrocchio's workshop.

Painting by Leonardo da Vinci "The Annunciation", 1472-1475. Uffizi Gallery

The Annunciation from the Louvre, rendered in a more generalized manner, is currently attributed to the works of Lorenzo.

Leonardo da Vinci. Annunciation, 1478-1482. Louvre Museum

The first dated work by Leonardo da Vinci is a pen drawing representing a landscape with a river valley and rocks, possibly a view along the road from Vinci to Pistoia (Florence, Uffizi). In the upper left corner of the sheet there is an inscription: “On the day of St. Mary of the Snows, August 5, 1473.” This inscription - the first known example of Leonardo da Vinci's handwriting - was made with the left hand, from right to left, as if in a mirror image.

Leonardo da Vinci. Landscape with a river valley and rocks, executed on the day of St. Mary of the Snows, August 5, 1473

Numerous drawings date back to the 1470s technical nature– images of military vehicles, hydraulic structures, spinning machines and for finishing cloth. Perhaps it was Leonardo da Vinci’s technical projects that he carried out for Lorenzo de’ Medici, to whom, as stated in the master’s biography (written by an unknown author, apparently shortly after Leonardo’s death), he was close for some time.

Leonardo da Vinci received his first large order for a painting thanks to his father’s petition. December 24, 1477 Piero Pollaiolo was commissioned to paint a new altarpiece (instead of the work by Bernardo Daddi) for the Chapel of St. Bernard in the Palazzo Vecchio. But a week later, a decree of the Signoria appeared (dated January 1, 1478), according to which the work was transferred “in cancellation of any other order made up to now in any way, in any way and to anyone, Leonardo , son of Ser [notary] Piero da Vinci, painter.” Apparently, Leonardo needed money, and already on March 16, 1478 he turned to the Florentine government with a request for an advance. He was paid 25 gold florins. The work, however, moved so slowly that it was not completed by the time Leonardo da Vinci left for Milan (1482) and next year was transferred to another master. The plot of this work is unknown. The second order that Leonardo Ser Piero provided was the execution of an altar image for the church of the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto. On March 18, 1481, he entered into an agreement with his son, precisely specifying the deadline for completing the work (in twenty-four, at most thirty months) and indicating that Leonardo would not receive an advance, and if he did not meet the deadline, then everything that would be done by him would be will become the property of the monastery. However, history repeated itself, and in July 1481 the artist turned to the monks with a request for an advance, received it, and then twice more (in August and September) took money as collateral for the future work. The large composition “Adoration of the Magi” (Florence, Uffizi) remained unfinished, but even in this form it is one of “those works on which everything is based further development European painting" (M. A. Gukovsky). Numerous drawings for it are kept in the collections of the Uffizi, Louvre and the British Museum. In 1496, the order for the altar was transferred to Filippino Lippi, and he painted a painting on the same subject (Florence, Uffizi).

Leonardo da Vinci. Adoration of the Magi, 1481-1482

“St. Jerome" (Rome, Pinacoteca Vatican), which is an underpainting in which the figure of the penitent saint is worked out with exceptional anatomical precision, and some minor details, for example the lion in the foreground, are only outlined.

A special place among the master’s early works is occupied by two completed works - “Portrait of Ginevra d’Amerigo Benci” (Washington, National Gallery) and “Madonna with a Flower” (St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum). The seriousness and peculiar hermeticism of Ginevra’s image, which speaks of her complex spiritual life, mark the first manifestations of a psychological portrait in European art. The painting has not been completely preserved: its lower part with the image of hands has been cut off. Apparently, the position of the figure was reminiscent of the Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of Ginevra de Benci, 1474-1478

The dating of the “Madonna of the Flower, or Madonna of Benois” (1478-1480) is accepted on the basis of a note on one of the sheets from the Cabinet of Drawings in the Uffizi: “...bre 1478 inchomincial le due Vergini Marie.” The composition of this painting is recognizable in the drawing with pen and bistrome, stored in the British Museum (No. 1860. 6. 16. 100v.). Made in a new technique for Italy oil painting, the picture is distinguished by the transparent lightness of the shadows and the richness of color shades with an overall restrained color scheme. Extraordinary important role in creating a holistic impression, connecting the characters with their environment, the transmission of the air environment begins to play here. Melting chiaroscuro, sfumato, makes the boundaries of objects subtly unsteady, expressing the material unity of the visible world.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna with a Flower (Benois Madonna). OK. 1478

Another early work of Leonardo da Vinci is considered to be “Madonna of the Carnation” (Munich, Old Pinakothek). Perhaps this work preceded the appearance of the Benois Madonna.

Vasari reports that in his youth Leonardo da Vinci made from clay “several heads of laughing women,” from which plaster casts were still made in his time, as well as several children’s heads. He also mentions how Leonardo depicted a monster on a wooden shield, “very disgusting and terrible, which poisoned with its breath and ignited the air.” The description of the process of its creation reveals the system of work of Leonardo da Vinci - a method in which the basis of creativity is the observation of nature, but not with the goal of copying it, but in order to create something new based on it. Leonardo did the same thing later, when painting “The Head of Medusa” (not preserved). Executed in oil on canvas, it remained unfinished in the middle of the 16th century. was in the collection of Duke Cosimo de' Medici.

In the so-called “Codex Atlantica” (Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana), the most large meeting Leonardo da Vinci's notes on various fields of knowledge; on page 204 there is a draft letter from the artist to the ruler of Milan, Lodovico Sforza ( Lodovico Moro). Leonardo offers his services as a military engineer, hydraulic engineer, and sculptor. In the latter case, we are talking about the creation of a grandiose equestrian monument to Francesco Sforza, the father of Lodovico. Since Moro visited Florence in April 1478, there is an assumption that even then he met Leonardo da Vinci and negotiated about working on “The Horse.” In 1482, with the permission of Lorenzo Medici, the master left for Milan. A list of things that he took with him has been preserved - among them many drawings and two paintings are mentioned: “The Finished Madonna. The other is almost in profile.” Obviously, they meant “Madonna Litta” (St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum). It is believed that the master finished it already in Milan around 1490. An excellent preparatory drawing for it - an image of a woman's head - is kept in the collection of the Louvre (No. 2376). Active interest in this work on the part of researchers arose after its acquisition by the Imperial Hermitage (1865) from the collection of Duke Antonio Litta in Milan. The authorship of Leonardo da Vinci has been repeatedly denied, but now, after research and exhibition of the painting in Rome and Venice (2003-2004), it has become generally accepted.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna Litta. OK. 1491-91

There are several more portraits, executed with the elegance characteristic of Leonardo, but compositionally they are solved more simply and do not have the spiritual mobility that makes the image of Cecilia fascinating. These are the “Portrait of a Lady” in profile (Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana), “Portrait of a Musician” (1485, ibid.) - perhaps Franchino Gaffurio, regent of the Milan Cathedral and composer - and the so-called “Bella Feroniera” (portrait of Lucrezia Crivelli?) from the collection of the Louvre.

Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of a Musician, 1485-1490

On behalf of Lodovico Moro, Leonardo da Vinci performed for Emperor Maximilian the painting “The Nativity,” about which an anonymous biographer writes that it was “revered by connoisseurs as a masterpiece of one-of-a-kind and amazing art.” Her fate is unknown.

Leonardo da Vinci. Bella Ferroniera (Beautiful Ferroniera). OK. 1490

Leonardo's largest painting created in Milan was the famous "Last Supper", painted on the end wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo da Vinci began the actual execution of the composition in 1496. This was preceded by a long period of deliberation. In the collections of Windsor and Venetian Academy There are numerous drawings, sketches, sketches related to this work, among which the heads of the apostles especially stand out for their expressiveness. It is not known exactly when the master completed the work. It is generally believed that this happened in the winter of 1497, but a note sent by Moro to his secretary Marchesino Stange and referring to this year says: “Demand that Leonardo finish his work in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie.” Luca Pacioli reports that Leonardo completed the painting in 1498. As soon as the painting saw the light, a pilgrimage of painters began, who more or less successfully copied it. “There are paintings, frescoes, graphic, mosaic versions, as well as carpets that repeat the composition of Leonardo da Vinci” (T. K. Kustodieva). The earliest of them are kept in the collections of the Louvre (Marco d'Odzhono?) and the Hermitage (No. 2036).

Leonardo da Vinci. Last Supper, 1498

The composition of “The Last Supper” in its “airy volume” seems to be a continuation of the refectory hall. The master was able to achieve such an effect due to his excellent knowledge of perspective. The Gospel scene appears here “close to the viewer, humanly understandable and at the same time not losing either its high solemnity or its deep drama” (M. A. Gukovsky). The glory of the great work, however, could not protect “The Last Supper” either from the destruction of time or from the barbaric attitude of people. Due to the dampness of the walls, the paints began to fade during Leonardo da Vinci’s lifetime, and in 1560 Lomazzo reported in his “Treatise on Painting,” albeit somewhat exaggerating, that the painting was “completely destroyed.” In 1652, the monks enlarged the door of the refectory and destroyed the image of the feet of Christ and the apostles next to Him. Artists also contributed their share of destruction. So, in 1726, a certain Belotti, “who claimed to have the secret of bringing colors to life” (G. Sayle), rewrote the entire picture. In 1796, when Napoleon's troops entered Milan, a stable was built in the refectory, and the soldiers amused themselves by throwing fragments of bricks at the heads of the apostles. In the 19th century “The Last Supper” was reconstructed several more times, and during the Second World War, during the bombing of Milan by British aircraft, the side wall of the refectory collapsed. Restoration work, which began after the war and consisted of strengthening and partially clearing the paintings, was completed in 1954. More than twenty years later (1978), restorers began a grandiose effort to remove later layers, which was completed only in 1999. Several centuries later, you can again see the bright and clean paints of a genuine master's painting.

Obviously, immediately after arriving in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci turned to the design of the monument to Francesco Sforza. Numerous sketches indicate changes in the master’s plan, who initially wanted to present the horse rearing (in all equestrian monuments that existed at that time, the horse was shown calmly walking). Such a composition, given the huge size of the sculpture (about 6 m high; according to other sources - about 8 m), created almost insurmountable difficulties during casting. The solution to the problem was delayed, and Moro instructed the Florentine ambassador in Milan to order another sculptor from Florence, which he reported Lorenzo Medici in a letter dated July 22, 1489. Leonardo had to work closely on “The Horse.” However, in the summer of 1490, work on the monument was interrupted by the trip of Leonardo and Francesco di Giorgio Martini to Pavia to advise on the construction of the cathedral. In early September, preparations began for Lodovico’s wedding, and then the master carried out numerous assignments for the new ruler, Beatrice. At the beginning of 1493, Lodovico ordered Leonardo to speed up the work in order to show the statue during the next wedding celebrations: Emperor Maximilian was marrying Moreau's niece, Bianca Maria. The clay model of the statue - “The Great Colossus” - was completed on time, by November 1493. The master abandoned the original idea and showed the horse walking calmly. About it final version Only a few sketches of the monument give an idea. It was technically impossible to cast the entire sculpture at once, so the master began experimental work. In addition, about eighty tons of bronze were required, which was collected only by 1497. All of it was used for cannons: Milan was expecting an invasion by the troops of the French king Louis XII. In 1498, when the political position of the duchy temporarily improved, Lodovico commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint the hall in the Castello Sforzesco - the Sala delle Acce, and on April 26, 1499 he signed a deed of gift for a vineyard in the vicinity of Milan. This was the last favor shown by the Duke to the artist. On August 10, 1499, French troops entered the territory of the Duchy of Milan, on August 31, Lodovico fled from the city, and on September 3, Milan surrendered. The Gascon marksmen of Louis XII destroyed a clay statue while competing in crossbow shooting. Apparently, even after this, the monument made a strong impression, since two years later, Duke of Ferrara Ercole I d'Este negotiated its acquisition. Further fate monument is unknown.

Leonardo da Vinci remained in the occupied city for some time, and then, together with Luca Pacioli, went to Mantua to the court of Isabella Gonzaga. For political reasons (Isabella was the sister of Beatrice, Moreau’s wife, who had died by that time - in 1497), the margravess did not want to provide patronage to the artist. However, she wanted Leonardo da Vinci to paint her portrait. Without stopping in Mantua, Leonardo and Pacioli went to Venice. In March 1500 master musical instruments Lorenzo Gusnasco da Pavia wrote to Isabella in a letter: “Here in Venice is Leonardo Vinci, who showed me an outline portrait of Your Lordship, which is as well executed according to nature as possible.” Obviously, we were talking about a drawing currently kept in the Louvre. The master never completed a picturesque portrait. In April 1500 Leonardo and Pacioli were already in Florence. During this short – just over two years – quiet period of Leonardo da Vinci’s life, he was mainly engaged in technical research (in particular, the design of an aircraft) and, at the request of the Florentine government, took part in an examination to identify the reasons for the subsidence of the Church of San Salvatore on the hill of San Miniato. According to Vasari, at that time Filippino Lippi received an order for an altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata. Leonardo “declared that he would be willing to do such work,” and Filippino kindly gave him the order. The idea for the painting “St. Anne” apparently came to Leonardo da Vinci while still in Milan. There are numerous drawings of this composition, as well as a magnificent cardboard (London, National Gallery), but it did not form the basis of the final decision. Exhibited by the master after Easter in 1501 for public viewing, the cardboard did not survive, but, judging by the documents that have survived to this day, it was its composition that was repeated by the master in the well-known painting from the Louvre. Thus, on April 3, 1501, the Vicar General of the Carmelites Pietro da Nuvolario, who was in correspondence with Isabella Gonzaga, informed her, describing in detail the composition of the cardboard, that, in his opinion, the image of St. Anna embodies the Church, which does not want “His sufferings to be turned away from Christ.” It is unclear when exactly the altar painting was completed. Perhaps the master finished it in Italy, where it was acquired by Francis I, as Paolo Giovio reports, without specifying when or from whom. In any case, the customers did not receive it and in 1503 they again turned to Filippino, but he did not satisfy their wishes.

At the end of July 1502 Leonardo da Vinci entered the service of Cesare Borgia, son Pope AlexanderVI, who by this time, trying to create his own possessions, had captured almost all of Central Italy. As chief military engineer, Leonardo traveled around Umbria, Tuscany, Romagna, drawing up plans for fortresses and consulting local engineers on improving the defense system, and created maps for military needs. However, already in March 1503 he was again in Florence.

By the beginning of the first decade of the 16th century. includes the creation of the famous work Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Mona Lisa - La Gioconda (Paris, Louvre), a painting that has no equal in the number of interpretations and controversies it has generated. The portrait of the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo combines the amazing concreteness of reality with such spiritual ambiguity and generality of the universal that it outgrows the boundaries of the genre and ceases to be a portrait in the proper sense of the word. “This is not a mysterious woman, this is a mysterious being” (Leonardo. M. Batkin). The very first description of the painting given by Vasari is contradictory, who assures that Leonardo da Vinci worked on it for four years and did not finish, but immediately writes admiringly that the portrait “reproduces all the smallest details that the subtlety of painting can convey.”

Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), c. 1503-1505

Another painting created by Leonardo da Vinci during these years, “Madonna with a Spindle,” is described in detail by Pietro da Nuvolario in a letter to Isabella Gonzaga dated April 4, 1503. The vicar reports that the artist painted it for the secretary of Louis XII. The fate of the painting is unknown. A good copy of the 16th century gives an idea of ​​it. (collection of the Duke of Buccleuch in Scotland).

During the same period, Leonardo returned to his anatomy studies, which he began in Milan in the building of the Grand Hospital. In Florence, doctors and university students, with special permission from the government, worked on the premises of Santa Croce. The treatise on anatomy that the master was going to compile was not carried out.

In the fall of 1503, through the permanent gonfalonier Pietro Soderini, Leonardo da Vinci received an order for a large painting - painting one of the walls of the new hall - the Council Hall, added in 1496 to the Palazzo della Signoria. On October 24, the artist was given the keys to the so-called Papal Hall of the Monastery of Santa Maria Novella, where he began work on the cardboard. By decree of the Signoria he received 53 gold florins in advance and permission to receive small sums “from time to time.” The completion date for the work was February 1505. The theme of the future work was the Battle of Anghiari (June 29, 1440) between the Florentines and Milanese. In August 1504, Michelangelo received an order for the second painting for the Council Hall - “The Battle of Cascina”. Both craftsmen completed the work on time, and the cardboards were displayed to the public in the Council Chamber. They made a tremendous impression; artists immediately began to copy them, but it was impossible to determine the winner in this unique competition. Both cardboards have not survived. The central part of Leonardo da Vinci's composition was the scene of the battle for the banner. Only about it can one currently get some idea thanks to a drawing by Raphael (Oxford, Christ Church Library), executed by him in 1505-1506, as well as from a copy of Rubens (Paris, Louvre). However, it is unknown where exactly Rubens, who lived in Italy in 1600-1608, made his copy from. An anonymous biographer of Leonardo da Vinci reports that after the death of the master, most of the cardboard “Battle of Anghiari” could be seen in the hospital of Santa Maria Novella, and “the group of horsemen remaining in the palazzo” also belonged to it. In 1558 Benvenuto Cellini in his “Biography” he writes that the cardboards hung in the Papal Hall and “while they were intact, they were a school for the whole world.” From this we can conclude that in the 1550s Leonardo's cardboard, at least as a whole, no longer existed.

Leonardo da Vinci. Battle of Anghiari, 1503-1505 (detail)

Contrary to custom, Leonardo completed the painting on the wall of the Council Chamber quickly. As the anonymous author reports, he worked on a new soil of his own invention and used the heat of a brazier to dry it as quickly as possible. However, the wall dried unevenly, its upper part did not hold the paint, and the painting turned out to be hopelessly damaged. Soderini demanded completion of the work or return of the money. The situation was temporarily resolved by leaving for Milan, at the invitation of his viceroy, Charles d'Amboise, Marquis de Chaumont. The artist entered into an agreement with the Signoria, according to which he undertook to return in three months, and in case of violation of the obligation, to pay a penalty of 150 gold florins. June 1 1506 Leonardo da Vinci went to Milan. In a letter dated August 18, Charles d'Amboise asks the Florentine government to keep the artist at his disposal for some time. In the response letter (dated August 28), consent was given, but with the condition of repaying the debt. Since the money was not sent, Soderini again appealed to the governor on October 9, demanding compliance with the agreement. Finally, on January 12, 1507, the Florentine ambassador to the French court informed the members of the Signoria that Louis XII wanted to leave Leonardo in Milan until his arrival. Two days later, the king personally signed a letter with the same content. In April 1507, Leonardo received his vineyard back and at the beginning of May he was able to pay 150 florins. The king arrived in Milan on May 24: Leonardo da Vinci took an active part in organizing processions and performances for this occasion. Thanks to the intervention of Louis, on August 24, the long-term process over the “Madonna of the Rocks” ended. The painting remained at the master’s disposal, but he, together with Ambrogio de Predis (Evangelista had died by this time), had to paint another one on the same subject within two years (London, National Gallery).

From September 1507 to September 1508 Leonardo da Vinci was in Florence: it was necessary to conduct litigation over an inheritance. The elderly Ser Piero, Leonardo's father, died back in 1504 at the age of ninety, leaving ten sons and two daughters.

Saint Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ. Painting by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1510

In Milan, Leonardo da Vinci completed “Saint Anne” and painted several more paintings, the most famous of which is “John the Baptist” (Paris, Louvre). Currently, the “Bacchus” stored there is also recognized as the work of Leonardo.

Leonardo da Vinci. John the Baptist, 1513-1516

Leda was also in the French royal collection. The last time this painting was mentioned in the inventory of Fontainebleau was in 1694. According to legend, it was destroyed at the request of Madame de Maintenon, the last favorite of Louis XIV. An idea of ​​its composition is given by several drawings by the master and several repetitions that differ in detail (the best is attributed to Cesare da Sesto and is kept in the Uffizi).

Leda. Work tentatively attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, 1508-1515

Besides paintings, Leonardo da Vinci was engaged in Milan designing a monument to Marshal Trivulzio, who was on French service. A small bronze model in the collection of the Budapest Museum is believed to be associated with this project. If this is so, then Leonardo da Vinci again returned to the idea of ​​​​a dynamic composition with a galloping horse.

In 1511 troops Pope JuliaII in alliance with the Venetian Republic and Spain, they expelled the French. During 1511-1512 Leonardo lived for a long time with his friend, the nobleman Girolamo Melzi, on his estate in Vaprio. Girolamo's son, Francesco, became a student and passionate admirer of the aging master. In 1513, Leo X de' Medici was elected to the papal throne, with whose brother, Giuliano, who was interested in alchemy, Leonardo da Vinci was friendly. On September 14, 1513 Leonardo left for Rome. Giuliano assigned him a salary and allocated premises for work. In Rome, the master drew up projects for the refurbishment of the papal mint and drainage of the Pontic swamps. Vasari noted that for the papal datarius (chief of the chancellery) Baldassare Turini of Pescia, Leonardo da Vinci completed two paintings - “Madonna” and an image of “a child of amazing beauty and grace” (not traced).

On December 31, 1514, Louis XII died, and Francis I, who succeeded him, recaptured Milan in September 1515. It is believed that Leonardo met with the king in Bologna, where the pope negotiated with him. But, perhaps, the artist saw him earlier - in Pavia, at the celebrations in honor of his entry into the city, and then he made the famous mechanical lion, from whose opening chest lilies poured out. In this case, in Bologna, Leonardo da Vinci was in the retinue of Francis, and not Leo X. Having received an offer to go to the king’s service, the master left for France in the fall of 1516 with Francesco Melzi. The last years of Leonardo da Vinci's life were spent in the small castle of Cloux, not far from Amboise. He was given a pension of 700 ecus. In the spring of 1517, in Amboise, where the king loved to be, they celebrated the baptism of the Dauphin, and then the wedding of the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo de' Medici and the daughter of the Duke of Bourbon. The celebrations were designed by Leonardo. In addition, he was involved in the design of canals and locks to improve the area, and created architectural projects, in particular a project for the reconstruction of the Romorantin castle. Perhaps the ideas of Leonardo da Vinci served as the basis for the construction of Chambord (begun in 1519). On October 18, 1516, Leonardo was visited by the secretary of Cardinal Louis of Aragon. According to him, due to the paralysis of his right hand, the artist “can no longer write with his usual tenderness... but he can still make drawings and teach others.” On April 23, 1519, the artist drew up a will, according to which manuscripts, drawings and paintings became the property of Melzi. The master died on May 2, 1519, according to legend - in the arms of the King of France. Melzi transported Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts to Italy and kept them on his estate in Vaprio until the end of his days. The now widely known “Treatise on Painting”, which had a huge influence on european art, compiled by Melzi based on the teacher's notes. About seven thousand sheets of Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts have survived. Their largest collections are in the collection of the Institute of France in Paris; in Milan - in the Ambrosian Library (Codex Atlanticus) and in the Castello Sforzesco (Codex Trivulzio); in Turin (Bird Flight Code); Windsor and Madrid. Their publication began in the 19th century. and still one of the best critical editions of Leonardo's manuscripts are two volumes of texts with commentaries published by Richter in 1883 (Richter J.P. The literary works of Leonardo da Vinci. London, 1883. Vol. 1-2). Supplemented and commented by K. Pedretti, they were published a second time in Los Angeles in 1977.

Literature:Leonardo da Vinci. A book about painting. M., 1934; Leonardo da Vinci. Selected works. L., 1935; Leonardo da Vinci. Anatomy. Ideas and drawings. M., 1965; Vasari 2001. T. 3; Seail G. Leonardo da Vinci as an artist and scientist. St. Petersburg, 1898; Volynsky A. Life of Leonardo da Vinci. St. Petersburg, 1900 (republished: St. Petersburg, 1997); Benoit A. N. History of painting of all times and peoples. St. Petersburg, 1912; Wrangel N."Benois Madonna" by Leonardo da Vinci. St. Petersburg, 1914; Lipgart E.K. Leonardo and his school. L., 1928; Dzhivelegov A.K. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1935 (republished: M., 1969); Lazarev V. N. Leonardo da Vinci. L., 1936; Ainalov D. V. Sketches about Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1939; Gukovsky M. A. Mechanics of Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1947; Lazarev V. N. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1952; Alpatov M. V. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1952; Gabrichevsky A. G. Leonardo the Architect // Soviet Architecture. M., 1952. Issue. 3; Zhdanov D. A. Leonardo da Vinci - anatomist. L., 1955; Gukovsky M. A. Leonardo da Vinci: Creative biography. M.; L., 1958; Gukovsky M. A. Madonna Litta: Painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Hermitage. L.; M., 1959; Guber A. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1960; Zubov V. P. Leonardo da Vinci. 1452-1519. M., 1961; Gukovsky M. A. Columbine. L., 1963; Rutenburg V. I. Titans of the Renaissance. L., 1976; Vipper 1977. T. 2; Nardini B. Life of Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1978; Kustodieva T.K."Benois Madonna" by Leonardo da Vinci. L., 1979; Rzepinska M. What do we know about the “Lady with an Ermine” from the Czartoryski Museum. Krakow, 1980; Gastev A. A. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1982; Codex Leonardo from the private collection of Armand Hammer: Ext. L., 1984; Pedretti K. Leonardo. M., 1986; Smirnova I. A. Monumental painting Italian Renaissance. M., 1987; Batkin L. M. Leonardo da Vinci and the features of Renaissance creative thinking. M., 1990; Santi B. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1995; Wallace R. World of Leonardo, 1452-1519. M., 1997; Kustodieva 1998; Chunky M. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1998; Sonina T.V.“Madonna Benois” by Leonardo da Vinci // Italian collection. St. Petersburg, 1999. Issue. 3; Sonina T.V.“Madonna of the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci: Semantics of the image // Decree. Op. St. Petersburg, 2003. Issue. 7; Leonardo da Vinci and the culture of the Renaissance: Sat. Art. M., 2004; Herzfeld M. About one sheet of Leonardo's sketches. Contribution to the characterization of the master’s image // Italian collection. St. Petersburg, 2006. Issue. 9; Clark K. Leonardo da Vinci: Creative biography. St. Petersburg, 2009.

Richter J.P. (ed.) The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci: In 2 vols. London, 1883 (rev.: 1970); Beltrami L.(ed.) Il codice di Leonardo da Vinci della Biblioteca del Principe Trivulzio in Milano. Milano, 1891; Sabachnikoff T., Piumati G., Ravaisson-Mollien C. (eds.) I manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci: Codice sul volo degli uccelli e varie altre materie. Paris, 1893; Piumati G. (ed.) Il Codice Atlantico di Leonardo da Vinci nella Biblioteca Ambrosiana di Milano: 35 voi. Milano, 1894-1904; Fonahn D.C.L., Hopstock H. (eds.) Quaderni d'anatomia: 6 voi. Kristiania, 1911-1916; II Codice Forster I, etc. // Reale Commissione Vinciana: 5 voi. Roma, 1930-1936; I manoscritti e i disegni di Leonardo da Vinci: II Codice A. / / Reale Commissione Vinciana, Rome, 1938; MacCurdy E. (ed.) The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci: 2 vols. London, 1938; I manoscritti e i disegni di Leonardo da Vinci: II Codice B. // Reale Commissione Vinciana. Rome, 1941; Brizio A. M. (ed.) Scritti scelti di Leonardo da Vinci. Torino, 1952; Courbeau A., De Toni N.(ed.) The Manuscripts in the Bibliotheque de l'Institut de France, Paris. Firenze, 1972; Reti L. (ed.) The Madrid Codices: 5 vols. New York, 1974.

Pacioli L. De divina proportione. Venezia, 1509; Alberimi E Memoriale di molte statue e picture che sono nella inclyta cipta di Florentia. Firenze, 1510; Giovio P. Elogia virorum illustrum (MS.; e. 1527) // Gli elogi degli uomini illustri / Ed. R. Meregazzi. Rome, 1972; II Codice Magliabechiano (MS.; e. 1540) / Ed. C. Frey. Berlin, 1892. Amoretti C. Memorie storiche su la vita, gli studi e le opere di Leonardo da Vinci. Milano, 1804; Pater W. Leonardo da Vinci (1869) // Studies in this History of this Renaissance. London, 1873; HerzfeldM. Leonardo da Vinci. Der Denker, Forscher und Poet. Jena, 1906; Solmi E. Le fonti dei manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci. Torino, 1908; Malaguzzi Valeri E La corte di Ludovico il Moro. Milano, 1915. Voi. II: Bramante e Leonardo; Beltrami L. Documenti e memorie riguardanti la vita e le opere di Leonardo da Vinci. Milano, 1919; Calvi G. I manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci del punto di visto cronologico, storico e biografico. Bologna, 1925; Heydenreich L. Leonardo da Vinci: 2 vols. Basel, 1954; Pomilio M., Della Chiesa A. O. L "Opera pittorica completa di Leonardo. Milano, 1967; Gould C. Leonardo: The Artist and Non-artist. London, 1975; Wasserman J. Leonardo da Vinci. New York, 1975; Chastel A. The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo da Vinci and their Art of the Artist. New York, 1981; Kemp M. Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous Works of Nature and Man. London, 1981; MaraniP. Leonardo: Cat. compi. Firenze, 1989; Turner A.R. Inventing Leonardo. New York, 1993; Lo sguardo degli angeli: Verrocchio, Leonardo e il Battesimo di Cristo / A cura di A. Natali. Firenze, 1998; Kustodieva T, PaolucciA., Pedretti C., Strinati C. Leonardo. La Madonna Litta dall "Ermitage di San Pietroburgo. Roma, 2003; Kemp M. Leonardo da Vinci. Experience, Experiment and Design. London, 2006.