It
is believed that between 1476 and 1478 Leonardo had
his own workshop. In 1478, he was commissioned to paint
an altarpiece for the Pallazzo Vecchio in Florence.
This assignment took him three years before he started
a new painting called the Adoration of the Magi for
the monarchy of San Donato a Scopeto. He was not able
to complete the project as he moved to Milan in 1482.
Leonardo settled and worked for Duke Ludovico Sforza
in Milan for 18 years. The duke had blind faith in Leonardo’s
abilities so he allowed him to work at his free will.
He, not only worked as a court artist but also designed
festivals, sculpted a colossal equestrian monument for
the drinker’s father and worked as an engineer.
In the span of 18 years, he became interested in non-artistic
matters. He applied his growing knowledge of mechanics
to his duties as a civil and military engineer. In addition,
he took up different branches of science such as anatomy,
biology, mathematics and physics. Amidst such activities,
he was able to finish one of his masterpieces –
The Last Supper.
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The year 1499 saw the fall of Milan to the French, which made Leonardo leave the city to seek employment elsewhere. At the age of 47, Leonardo’s zeal and lust for life never decreased. By April 1500, he was back in Florence. During this period, he was a mapmaker and military engineer for Cesave Borgia in Italy. This made his stay at Florence impossible. Again in Florence in 1503, Leonardo took several high profile artistic projects, such as the Battle of Anghiari, mural for the Council Chamber of the Town Hall, the portrait of Mona Lisa, and the lost Leda and the Swan. He never used to while away his time uselessly. His scientific pursuits continued and deepened. His interest in anatomy led him to perform dissections and he undertook a systematic study of the flight of birds.
In 1506, Leonardo returned to Milan and started working for the new French government. Except for a year’s stay in Florence (period of 1507-08), he remained in Milan for seven years. The artistic project, which demanded Leonardo’s total focus, was the equestrian monument to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio. Like the Sforza monument earlier, this project was also never completed. At this point in time he ventured into technical and scientific drawings. In 1513, he traveled to Rome along with Pope Leo X’s brother, Giuliano de Medici, where he stayed for 3 years. In 1516-17, Leonardo left Italy forever to become architectural advisor to King Francis I of France who was a great patron of Leonardo. |
Fading
Colors
King
Francis I took great care of Leonardo. At the court
of France, he commanded great respect and popularity.
In autumn of 1516, Leonardo arrived in Amboise along
with his famous painting Mona Lisa in his baggage. In
the small and cozy Castle of Cloud, Leonardo spent his
last years. The castle is now called Le Clos Luce. In
France, Leonardo didn’t paint but he made hydrological
studies.
The
next year paralysis struck Leonardo on the right side
of his body. Even in this condition, he was keen to
continue his hydrological studies. On 23rd April 1519,
Leonardo wrote his last Will. Leonardo died on 2nd May
1519 in Amboise, when he was 67 years old.
The
Chapel of St Hubert, situated inside the King’s
castle in Amboise is the last resting-place of Leonardo
da Vinci. Actually, he was buried in the heart of the
King’s castle in the cloister of San Florentino.
After destruction of the church, the mortal remains
of Leonardo da Vinci were transferred to the chapel
of St Hubert.
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