,illustration3 ,plate #a--,,mona ,,lisa4
 ,frontispiece  ,in the ,louvre4 ,no4   
#afja4 #b ft #f #a_/b ins4 ,by #a ft4 #i
 ins4 7#j4gg x #j4ec7    ,,leonardo ,,da
 ,,vinci    ,by ,,maurice ,w4           
,,brockwell    ,illustrated ,with ,eight
 ,reproductions in ,colour              
,illustration   ,leonardo1 wrote an     
,english critic as far back as #agba1   
was a ,man so happy in his genius1 so   
consummate in his ,profession1 so       
accomplished in the ,arts1 so knowing in
 the ,sciences1 and withal1 so much     
esteemed by the ,age wherein he lived1  
his ,works so highly applauded by the   
,ages which have succeeded1 and his     
,name and ,memory still preserved with  
so much ,veneration by the present      
,age--that1 if anything could equal the 
,merit of the ,man1 it must be the      
,success he met with4 ,moreover1 'tis   
not in ,painting alone1 but in          
,philosophy1 too1 that ,leonardo        
surpassed all his ,brethren of the      
',pencil4'  ,this admirable summary of  

the great ,florentine painter's life's  
work still holds good to-day4           
,,contents  ,his ,birth ,his ,early     
,training ,his ,early ,works ,first     
,visit to ,milan ,in the ,east ,back in 
,milan ,the ,virgin of the ,rocks ,the  
,last ,supper ,the ,court of ,milan     
,leonardo ,leaves ,milan ,mona ,lisa    
,battle of ,anghiari ,again in ,milan   
,in ,rome ,in ,france ,his ,death ,his  
,art ,his ,mind ,his ,maxims ,his ,spell
 ,his ,descendants     ,,list ,,of      
,,illustrations  ,plate ,i4 ,mona ,lisa 
,in the ,louvre ,,ii4 ,annunciation     
,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence     
,,iii4 ,virgin of the ,rocks   ,in the  
,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,iv4 ,the  
,last ,supper   ,in the ,refectory of   
,santa ,maria delle ,grazie1 ,milan ,v4 
,copy of the ,last ,supper   ,in the    
,diploma ,gallery1 ,burlington ,house   
,,vi4 ,head of ,christ   ,in the ,brera 
,gallery1 ,milan ,,vii4 ,portrait       
7presumed7 of ,lucrezia ,crivelli   ,in 
the ,louvre ,,viii4 ,madonna1 ,infant   

,christ1 and ,st ,anne4   ,in the       
,louvre     ,,his ,,birth  ,leonardo ,da
 ,vinci1 the many-sided genius of the   
,italian ,renaissance1 was born1 as his 
name implies1 at the little town of     
,vinci1 which is about six miles from   
,empoli and twenty miles west of        
,florence4 ,vinci is still very         
inaccessible1 and the only means of     
conveyance is the cart of a general     
carrier and postman1 who sets out on his
 journey from ,empoli at sunrise and    
sunset4 ,outside a house in the middle  
of the main street of ,vinci to-day a   
modern and white-washed bust of the     
great artist is pointed to with much    
pride by the inhabitants4 ,leonardo's   
traditional birthplace on the outskirts 
of the town still exists1 and serves now
 as the headquarters of a farmer and    
small wine exporter4  ,leonardo di ,ser 
,piero d',antonio di ,ser ,piero di ,ser
 ,guido da ,vinci--for that was his full
 legal name--was the natural and        
first-born son of ,ser ,piero1 a country

 notary1 who1 like his father1          
grandfather1 and great-grandfather1     
followed that honourable vocation with  
distinction and success1 and who        
subsequently--when ,leonardo was a      
youth--was appointed notary to the      
,signoria of ,florence4 ,leonardo's     
mother was one ,caterina1 who afterwards
 married ,accabriga di ,piero del       
,vaccha of ,vinci4  ,illustration3      
,plate ,,ii4--,annunciation  ,in the    
,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence4 ,no4 #abhh4
 #c ft #c ins4 ,by #f ft #aa ins4 7#j4ii
 x #b4ah7  ,although this panel is      
included in the ,uffizi ,catalogue as   
being by ,leonardo1 it is in all        
probability by his master1 ,verrocchio4 
,the date of ,leonardo's birth is not   
known with any certainty4 ,his age is   
given as five in a taxation return made 
in #adeg by his grandfather ,antonio1 in
 whose house he was educated2 it is     
therefore concluded that he was born in 
#adeb4 ,leonardo's father ,ser ,piero1  
who afterwards married four times1 had  

eleven children by his third and fourth 
wives4 ,is it unreasonable to suggest   
that ,leonardo may have had these       
numbers in mind in #adif-adih when he   
was painting in his famous ,last ,supper
 the figures of eleven ,apostles and one
 outcast8  ,however1 ,ser ,piero seems  
to have legitimised his love child who  
very early showed promise of            
extraordinary talent and untiring       
energy4     ,,his ,,early ,,training    
,practically nothing is known about     
,leonardo's boyhood1 but ,vasari informs
 us that ,ser ,piero1 impressed with the
 remarkable character of his son's      
genius1 took some of his drawings to    
,andrea del ,verrocchio1 an intimate    
friend1 and begged him earnestly to     
express an opinion on them4 ,verrocchio 
was so astonished at the power they     
revealed that he advised ,ser ,piero to 
send ,leonardo to study under him4      
,leonardo thus entered the studio of    
,andrea del ,verrocchio about           
#adfi-adgj4 ,in the workshop of that    

great ,florentine sculptor1 goldsmith1  
and artist he met other craftsmen1 metal
 workers1 and youthful painters1 among  
whom was ,botticelli1 at that moment of 
his development a jovial habitue of the 
,poetical ,supper ,club1 who had not yet
 given any premonitions of becoming the 
poet1 mystic1 and visionary of later    
times4 ,there also ,leonardo came into  
contact with that unoriginal painter    
,lorenzo di ,credi1 his junior by seven 
years4 ,he also1 no doubt1 met          
,perugino1 whom ,michelangelo called    
that blockhead in art4 ,the genius and  
versatility of the ,vincian painter was1
 however1 in no way dulled by           
intercourse with lesser artists than    
himself2 on the contrary he vied with   
each in turn1 and readily outstripped   
his fellow pupils4 ,in #adgb1 at the age
 of twenty1 he was admitted into the    
,guild of ,florentine ,painters4        
,unfortunately very few of ,leonardo's  
paintings have come down to us4 ,indeed 
there do not exist a sufficient number  

of finished and absolutely authentic oil
 pictures from his own hand to afford   
illustrations for this short            
chronological sketch of his life's work4
 ,the few that do remain1 however1 are  
of so exquisite a quality--or were until
 they were comforted by the uninspired  
restorer--that we can unreservedly      
accept the enthusiastic records of      
tradition in respect of all his works4  
,to rightly understand the essential    
characteristics of ,leonardo's          
achievements it is necessary to regard  
him as a scientist quite as much as an  
artist1 as a philosopher no less than a 
painter1 and as a draughtsman rather    
than a colourist4 ,there is hardly a    
branch of human learning to which he did
 not at one time or another give his    
eager attention1 and he was engrossed in
 turn by the study of architecture--the 
foundation-stone of all true            
art--sculpture1 mathematics1 engineering
 and music4 ,his versatility was        
unbounded1 and we are apt to regret that

 this many-sided genius did not realise 
that it is by developing his power      
within certain limits that the great    
master is revealed4 ,leonardo may be    
described as the most ,universal ,genius
 of ,christian times-perhaps of all     
time4  ,illustration3 ,,plate           
,,iii4-,,the ,,virgin ,,of ,,the ,,rocks
  ,in the ,national ,gallery4 ,no4      
#ajic4 #f ft4 #a_/b in4 h4 by #c ft #i  
#a_/b in4 w4 7#a4hc x #a4ae7  ,this     
picture was painted in ,milan about     
#adie by ,ambrogio da ,predis under the 
supervision and guidance of ,leonardo da
 ,vinci1 the essential features of the  
composition being borrowed from the     
earlier ,vierge aux ,rochers1 now in the
 ,louvre4     ,,his ,,early ,,works  ,to
 about the year #adgb belongs the small 
picture of the ,annunciation1 now in the
 ,louvre1 which after being the subject 
of much contention among ,european      
critics has gradually won its way to    
general recognition as an early work by 
,leonardo himself4 ,that it was painted 

in the studio of ,verrocchio was always 
admitted1 but it was long catalogued by 
the ,louvre authorities under the name  
of ,lorenzo di ,credi4 ,it is now1      
however1 attributed to ,leonardo 7,no4  
#afjb ,a74 ,such uncertainties as to    
attribution were common half a century  
ago when scientific art criticism was in
 its infancy4  ,another painting of the 
,annunciation1 which is now in the      
,uffizi ,gallery 7,no4 #abhh7 is still  
officially attributed to ,leonardo4     
,this small picture1 which has been     
considerably repainted1 and is perhaps  
by ,andrea del ,verrocchio1 ,leonardo's 
master1 is the subject of ,plate ,,ii4  
,to ,january #adgc belongs ,leonardo's  
earliest dated work1 a pen-and-ink      
drawing--,a ,wide ,view over a ,plain1  
now in the ,uffizi4 ,the inscription    
together with the date in the top       
left-hand corner is reversed1 and proves
 a remarkable characteristic of         
,leonardo's handwriting--viz41 that he  
wrote from right to left2 indeed1 it has

 been suggested that he did this in     
order to make it difficult for any one  
else to read the words1 which were      
frequently committed to paper by the aid
 of peculiar abbreviations4  ,leonardo  
continued to work in his master's studio
 till about #adgg4 ,on ,january #ast of 
the following year1 #adgh1 he was       
commissioned to paint an altar-piece for
 the ,chapel of ,st4 ,bernardo in the   
,palazzo ,vecchio1 and he was paid      
twenty-five florins on account4 ,he1    
however1 never carried out the work1 and
 after waiting five years the ,signoria 
transferred the commission to ,domenico 
,ghirlandajo1 who also failed to        
accomplish the task1 which was          
ultimately1 some seven years later1     
completed by ,filippino ,lippi4 ,this   
panel of the ,madonna ,enthroned1 ,st4  
,victor1 ,st4 ,john ,baptist1 ,st4      
,bernard1 and ,st4 ,zenobius1 which is  
dated ,february #bj1 #adhe1 is now in   
the ,uffizi4  ,that ,leonardo was by    
this time a facile draughtsman is       

evidenced by his vigorous pen-and-ink   
sketch--now in a private collection in  
,paris--of ,bernardo ,bandini1 who in   
the ,pazzi ,conspiracy of ,april #adgh  
stabbed ,giuliano de' ,medici to death  
in the ,cathedral at ,florence during   
,high ,mass4 ,the drawing is dated      
,december #bi1 #adgi1 the date of       
,bandini's public execution in          
,florence4  ,in that year also1 no      
doubt1 was painted the early and1 as    
might be expected1 unfinished ,st4      
,jerome in the ,desert1 now in the      
,vatican1 the under-painting being in   
umber and terraverte4 ,its authenticity 
is vouched for not only by the internal 
evidence of the picture itself1 but also
 by the similarity of treatment seen in 
a drawing in the ,royal ,library at     
,windsor4 ,cardinal ,fesch1 a princely  
collector in ,rome in the early part of 
the nineteenth century1 found part of   
the picture--the torso--being used as a 
box-cover in a shop in ,rome4 ,he long  
afterwards discovered in a shoemaker's  

shop a panel of the head which belonged 
to the torso4 ,the jointed panel was    
eventually purchased by ,pope ,pius     
,,ix41 and added to the ,vatican        
,collection4  ,in ,march #adhj ,leonardo
 was commissioned to paint an           
altar-piece for the monks of ,st4       
,donato at ,scopeto1 for which payment  
in advance was made to him4 ,that he    
intended to carry out this contract     
seems most probable4 ,he1 however1 never
 completed the picture1 although it gave
 rise to the supremely beautiful cartoon
 of the ,adoration of the ,magi1 now in 
the ,uffizi 7,no4 #abeb74 ,as a matter  
of course it is unfinished1 only the    
under-painting and the colouring of the 
figures in green on a brown ground      
having been executed4 ,the rhythm of    
line1 the variety of attitude1 the      
profound feeling for landscape and an   
early application of chiaroscuro effect 
combine to render this one of his most  
characteristic productions4  ,vasari    
tells us that while ,verrocchio was     

painting the ,baptism of ,christ he     
allowed ,leonardo to paint in one of the
 attendant angels holding some          
vestments4 ,this the pupil did so       
admirably that his remarkable genius    
clearly revealed itself1 the angel which
 ,leonardo painted being much better    
than the portion executed by his master4
 ,this ,baptism of ,christ1 which is now
 in the ,accademia in ,florence and is  
in a bad state of preservation1 appears 
to have been a comparatively early work 
by ,verrocchio1 and to have been painted
 in #adhj-adhb1 when ,leonardo would be 
about thirty years of age4  ,to about   
this period belongs the superb drawing  
of the ,warrior1 now in the ,malcolm    
,collection in the ,british ,museum4    
,this drawing may have been made while  
,leonardo still frequented the studio of
 ,andrea del ,verrocchio1 who in #adgi  
was commissioned to execute the         
equestrian statue of ,bartolommeo       
,colleoni1 which was completed twenty   
years later and still adorns the ,campo 

di ,san ,giovanni e ,paolo in ,venice4  
,,first ,,visit ,,to ,,milan   ,about   
#adhb ,leonardo entered the service of  
,ludovico ,sforza1 having first written 
to his future patron a full statement of
 his various abilities in the following 
terms3--  ,having1 most illustrious     
lord1 seen and pondered over the        
experiments made by those who pass as   
masters in the art of inventing         
instruments of war1 and having satisfied
 myself that they in no way differ from 
those in general use1 ,i make so bold as
 to solicit1 without prejudice to any   
one1 an opportunity of informing your   
excellency of some of my own secrets4   
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4-,,the      
,,last ,,supper  ,refectory of ,st4     
,maria delle ,grazie1 ,milan4 ,about #ac
 feet #h ins4 h4 by #bf ft4 #g ins4 w4  
7#d4af x #h4ji7  ,he goes on to say that
 he can construct light bridges which   
can be transported1 that he can make    
pontoons and scaling ladders1 that he   
can construct cannon and mortars unlike 

those commonly used1 as well as         
catapults and other engines of war2 or  
if the fight should take place at sea   
that he can build engines which shall be
 suitable alike for defence as for      
attack1 while in time of peace he can   
erect public and private buildings4     
,moreover1 he urges that he can also    
execute sculpture in marble1 bronze1 or 
clay1 and1 with regard to painting1 can 
do as well as any one else1 no matter   
who he may be4 ,in conclusion1 he offers
 to execute the proposed bronze         
equestrian statue of ,francesco ,sforza 
which shall bring glory and never-ending
 honour to that illustrious house4  ,it 
was about #adhb1 the probable date of   
,leonardo's migration from ,florence to 
,milan1 that he painted the ,vierge aux 
,rochers1 now in the ,louvre 7,no4      
#aeii74 ,it is an essentially           
,florentine picture1 and although it has
 no pedigree earlier than #afbe1 when it
 was in the ,royal ,collection at       
,fontainebleau1 it is undoubtedly much  

earlier and considerably more authentic 
than the ,virgin of the ,rocks1 now in  
the ,national ,gallery 7,plate ,,iii474 
,he certainly set to work about this    
time on the projected statue of         
,francesco ,sforza1 but probably then   
made very little progress with it4 ,he  
may also in that year or the next have  
painted the lost portrait of ,cecilia   
,gallerani1 one of the mistresses of    
,ludovico ,sforza4 ,it has1 however1    
been surmised that that lady's features 
are preserved to us in the ,lady with a 
,weasel1 by ,leonardo's pupil           
,boltraffio1 which is now in the        
,czartoryski ,collection at ,cracow4    
,,in ,,the ,,east  ,the absence of any  
record of ,leonardo in ,milan1 or       
elsewhere in ,italy1 between #adhc and  
#adhg has led critics to the conclusion1
 based on documentary evidence of a     
somewhat complicated nature1 that he    
spent those years in the service of the 
,sultan of ,egypt1 travelling in        
,armenia and the ,east as his engineer4 

,,back ,,in ,,milan   ,in #adhg he was  
again resident in ,milan as general     
artificer--using that term in its widest
 sense--to ,ludovico4 ,among his various
 activities at this period must be      
mentioned the designs he made for the   
cupola of the cathedral at ,milan1 and  
the scenery he constructed for ,il      
,paradiso1 which was written by         
,bernardo ,bellincioni on the occasion  
of the marriage of ,gian ,galeazzo with 
,isabella of ,aragon4 ,about #adhi-adij 
he began his celebrated ,treatise on    
,painting and recommenced work on the   
colossal equestrian statue of ,francesco
 ,sforza1 which was doubtless the       
greatest of all his achievements as a   
sculptor4 ,it was1 however1 never cast  
in bronze1 and was ruthlessly destroyed 
by the ,french bowmen in ,april #aejj1  
on their occupation of ,milan after the 
defeat of ,ludovico at the battle of    
,novara4 ,this is all the more          
regrettable as no single authentic piece
 of sculpture has come down to us from  

,leonardo's hand1 and we can only judge 
of his power in this direction from his 
drawings1 and the enthusiastic praise of
 his contemporaries4  ,illustration3    
,,plate ,v4--,,copy ,,of ,,the ,,last   
,,supper  ,in the ,diploma ,gallery1    
,burlington ,house  ,this copy is       
usually ascribed to ,marco d',oggiono1  
but some critics claim that it is by    
,gianpetrino4 ,it is the same size as   
the original4    ,,the ,,virgin ,,of    
,,the ,,rocks   ,the ,virgin of the     
,rocks 7,plate ,,iii471 now in the      
,national ,gallery1 corresponds exactly 
with a painting by ,leonardo which was  
described by ,lomazzo about #aehd as    
being in the ,chapel of the ,conception 
in the ,church of ,st4 ,francesco at    
,milan4 ,this picture1 the only oeuvre  
in this gallery with which ,leonardo's  
name can be connected1 was brought to   
,england in #aggg by ,gavin ,hamilton1  
and sold by him to the ,marquess of     
,lansdowne1 who subsequently exchanged  
it for another picture in the           

,collection of the ,earl of ,suffolk at 
,charlton ,park1 ,wiltshire1 from whom  
it was eventually purchased by the      
,national ,gallery for ,l#ijjj4 ,signor 
,emilio ,motta1 some fifteen years ago1 
unearthed in the ,state ,archives of    
,milan a letter or memorial from        
,giovanni ,ambrogio da ,predis and      
,leonardo da ,vinci to the ,duke of     
,milan1 praying him to intervene in a   
dispute1 which had arisen between the   
petitioners and the ,brotherhood of the 
,conception1 with regard to the         
valuation of certain works of art       
furnished for the chapel of the         
,brotherhood in the church of ,st4      
,francesco4 ,the only logical deduction 
which can be drawn from documentary     
evidence is that the ,vierge aux        
,rochers in the ,louvre is the picture1 
painted about #adhb1 which between #adia
 and #adid gave rise to the dispute1 and
 that1 when it was ultimately sold by   
the artists for the full price asked to 
some unknown buyer1 the ,national       

,gallery version was executed for a     
smaller price mainly by ,ambrogio da    
,predisunder the supervision1 and with  
the help1 of ,leonardo to be placed in  
the ,chapel of the ,conception4  ,the   
differences between the earlier1 the    
more authentic1 and the more            
characteristically ,florentine ,vierge  
aux ,rochers1 in the ,louvre1 and the   
,virgin of the ,rocks1 in the ,national 
,gallery1 are that in the latter picture
 the hand of the angel1 seated by the   
side of the ,infant ,christ1 is raised  
and pointed in the direction of the     
little ,st4 ,john the ,baptist2 that the
 ,st ,john has a reed cross and the     
three principal figures have gilt nimbi1
 which were1 however1 evidently added   
much later4 ,in the ,national ,gallery  
version the left hand of the ,madonna1  
the ,christ's right hand and arm1 and   
the forehead of ,st4 ,john the ,baptist 
are freely restored1 while a strip of   
the foreground right across the whole   
picture is ill painted and lacks accent4

 ,the head of the angel is1 however1    
magnificently painted1 and by ,leonardo2
 the panel1 taken as a whole1 is        
exceedingly beautiful and full of charm 
and tenderness4     ,,the ,,last        
,,supper  ,between #adif and #adih      
,leonardo painted his chef d'oeuvre1 the
 ,last ,supper1 7,plate ,,iv47 for the  
end wall of the ,refectory of the       
,dominican ,convent of ,s4 ,maria delle 
,grazie at ,milan4 ,it was originally   
executed in tempera on a badly prepared 
stucco ground and began to deteriorate a
 very few years after its completion4   
,as early as #aeef it was half ruined4  
,in #afeb the monks cut away a part of  
the fresco including the feet of the    
,christ to make a doorway4 ,in #agbf one
 ,michelangelo ,belotti1 an obscure     
,milanese painter1 received ,l#cjj for  
the worthless labour he bestowed on     
restoring it4 ,he seems to have employed
 some astringent restorative which      
revived the colours temporarily1 and    
then left them in deeper eclipse than   

before4 ,in #aggj the fresco was again  
restored by ,mazza4 ,in #agif           
,napoleon's cavalry1 contrary to his    
express orders1 turned the refectory    
into a stable1 and pelted the heads of  
the figures with dirt4 ,subsequently the
 refectory was used to store hay1 and at
 one time or another it has been        
flooded4 ,in #ahbj the fresco was again 
restored1 and in #ahed this restoration 
was effaced4 ,in ,october #aijh         
,professor ,cavenaghi completed the     
delicate task of again restoring it1 and
 has1 in the opinion of experts1 now    
preserved it from further injury4 ,in   
addition1 the devices of ,ludovico and  
his ,duchess and a considerable amount  
of floral decoration by ,leonardo       
himself have been brought to light4     
,leonardo has succeeded in producing the
 effect of the coup de theatre at the   
moment when ,jesus said ,one of you     
shall betray me4 ,instantly the various 
apostles realise that there is a traitor
 among their number1 and show by their  

different gestures their different      
passions1 and reveal their different    
temperaments4 ,on the left of ,christ is
 ,st4 ,john who is overcome with grief  
and is interrogated by the impetuous    
,peter1 near whom is seated ,judas      
,iscariot who1 while affecting the calm 
of innocence1 is quite unable to conceal
 his inner feelings2 he instinctively   
clasps the money-bag and in so doing    
upsets the salt-cellar4  ,it will be    
remembered that the ,prior of the       
,convent complained to ,ludovico        
,sforza1 ,duke of ,milan1 that ,leonardo
 was taking too long to paint the fresco
 and was causing the ,convent           
considerable inconvenience4 ,leonardo   
had his revenge by threatening to paint 
the features of the impatient ,prior    
into the face of  ,judas ,iscariot4 ,the
 incident has been quaintly told in the 
following lines3--    ,padre ,bandelli1 
then1 complains of me   ,because1       
forsooth1 ,i have not drawn a line      
,upon the ,saviour's head2 perhaps1     

then1 he   ,could without trouble paint 
that head divine4   ,but think1 oh      
,signor ,duca1 what should be   ,the    
pure perfection of ,our ,saviour's      
face--   ,what sorrowing majesty1 what  
noble grace1   ,at that dread moment    
when ,he brake the bread1   ,and those  
submissive words of pathos said3    ',by
 one among you ,i shall be betrayed1'-- 
,and say if 'tis an easy task to find   
,even among the best that walk this     
,earth1   ,the fitting type of that     
divinest worth1   ,that has its image   
solely in the mind4   ,vainly my pencil 
struggles to express   ,the sorrowing   
grandeur of such holiness4   ,in patient
 thought1 in ever-seeking prayer1   ,i  
strive to shape that glorious face      
within1   ,but the soul's mirror1 dulled
 and dimmed by sin1   ,reflects not yet 
the perfect image there4   ,can the hand
 do before the soul has wrought2   ,is  
not our art the servant of our thought8 
,and ,judas too1 the basest face ,i see1
   ,will not contain his utter infamy2  

,among the dregs and offal of mankind   
,vainly ,i seek an utter wretch to find4
   ,he who for thirty silver coins could
 sell   ,his ,lord1 must be the ,devil's
 miracle4   ,padre ,bandelli thinks it  
easy is   ,to find the type of him who  
with a kiss   ,betrayed his ,lord4      
,well1 what ,i can ,i'll do2   ,and if  
it please his reverence and you1   ,for 
,judas' face ,i'm willing to paint his4 
99       99       99       99       99  
444 ,i dare not paint   ,till all is    
ordered and matured within1   ,hand-work
 and head-work have an earthly taint1   
,but when the soul commands ,i shall    
begin2   ,on themes like these ,i should
 not dare to dwell   ,with our good     
,prior--they to him would be   ,mere    
nonsense2 he must touch and taste and   
see1   ,and facts1 he says1 are never   
mystical4  ,illustration3 ,,plate       
,,vi4--,,the ,,head ,,of ,,christ  ,in  
the ,brera ,gallery1 ,milan4 ,no4 #bhj4 
#a ft4 #j-a_/b ins4 by #a ft4 #d ins4   
7#j4cb x #j4dj7  ,the copy of the ,last 

,supper 7,plate ,v47 by ,marco          
d',oggiono1 now in the ,diploma ,gallery
 at ,burlington ,house1 was made shortly
 after the original painting was        
completed4 ,it gives but a faint echo of
 that sublime work in which the ideal   
and the real were blended in perfect    
unity4 ,this copy was long in the       
possession of the ,carthusians in their 
,convent at ,pavia1 and1 on the         
suppression of that ,order and the sale 
of their effects in #agic1 passed into  
the possession of a grocer at ,milan4   
,it was subsequently purchased for      
,l#fjj by the ,royal ,academy on the    
advice of ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence1 who   
left no stone unturned to acquire also  
the original studies for the heads of   
the ,apostles4 ,some of these in red and
 black chalk are now preserved in the   
,royal ,library at ,windsor1 where there
 are in all #ade drawings by ,leonardo4 
,several other old copies of the fresco 
exist1 notably the one in the ,louvre4  
,francis ,i4 wished to remove the whole 

wall of the ,refectory to ,paris1 but he
 was persuaded that that would be       
impossible2 the ,constable de           
,montmorency then had a copy made for   
the ,chapel of the ,chateau d',ecouen1  
whence it ultimately passed to the      
,louvre4  ,the singularly beautiful     
,head of ,christ 7,plate ,,vi471 now in 
the ,brera ,gallery at ,milan1 is the   
original study for the head of the      
principal figure in the fresco painting 
of the ,last ,supper4 ,in spite of decay
 and restoration it expresses the most  
elevated seriousness together with      
,divine ,gentleness1 pain on account of 
the faithlessness of ,his disciples1 a  
full presentiment of ,his own death1 and
 resignation to the will of ,his        
,father4    ,,the ,,court ,,of ,,milan  
,ludovico1 to whom ,leonardo was now    
court-painter1 had married ,beatrice    
d',este1 in #adia1 when she was only    
fifteen years of age4 ,the young        
,duchess1 who at one time owned as many 
as eighty-four splendid gowns1 refused  

to wear a certain dress of woven gold1  
which her husband had given her1 if     
,cecilia ,gallerani1 the ,sappho of her 
day1 continued to wear a very similar   
one1 which presumably had been given to 
her by ,ludovico4 ,having discarded     
,cecilia1 who1 as her tastes did not lie
 in the direction of the ,convent1 was  
married in #adia to ,count ,ludovico    
,bergamini1 the ,duke in #adif became   
enamoured of ,lucrezia ,crivelli1 a     
lady-in-waiting to the ,duchess         
,beatrice4  ,leonardo1 as court painter1
 perhaps painted a portrait1 now lost1  
of ,lucrezia1 whose features are more   
likely to be preserved to us in the     
portrait by ,ambrogio da ,predis1 now in
 the ,collection of the ,earl of ,roden1
 than in the quite unauthenticated      
portrait 7,plate ,,vii471 now in the    
,louvre 7,no4 #afjj74  ,on ,january #b1 
#adig1 ,beatrice spent three hours in   
prayer in the church of ,st4 ,maria     
delle ,grazie1 and the same night gave  
birth to a stillborn child4 ,in a few   

hours she passed away1 and from that    
moment ,ludovico was a changed man4 ,he 
went daily to see her tomb1 and was     
quite overcome with grief4  ,in ,april  
#adih1 ,isabella d',este1 ,beatrice's   
elder1 more beautiful1 and more graceful
 sister1 at the sound of whose name all 
the muses rise and do reverence wrote to
 ,cecilia ,gallerani1 or ,bergamini1    
asking her to lend her the portrait     
which ,leonardo had painted of her some 
fifteen years earlier1 as she wished to 
compare it with a picture by ,giovanni  
,bellini4 ,cecilia graciously lent the  
picture--now presumably lost--adding her
 regret that it no longer resembled her4
    ,,leonardo ,,leaves ,,milan  ,among 
the last of ,leonardo da ,vinci's works 
in ,milan towards the end of #adii was1 
probably1 the superb cartoon of ,the    
,virgin and ,child with ,st4 ,anne and  
,st4 ,john1 now at ,burlington ,house4  
,though little known to the general     
public1 this large drawing on carton1 or
 stiff paper1 is one of the greatest of 

,london's treasures1 as it reveals the  
sweeping line of ,leonardo's powerful   
draughtsmanship4 ,it was in the ,pompeo 
,leoni1 ,arconati1 ,casnedi1 and ,udney 
,collections before passing to the      
,royal ,academy4  ,in #adii the stormy  
times in ,milan foreboded the end of    
,ludovico's reign4 ,in ,april of that   
year we read of his giving a vineyard to
 ,leonardo2 in ,september ,ludovico had 
to leave ,milan for the ,tyrol to raise 
an army1 and on the #adth of the same   
month the city was sold by ,bernardino  
di ,corte to the ,french1 who occupied  
it from #aejj to #aeab4 ,ludovico may   
well have had in mind the figure of the 
traitor in the ,last ,supper when he    
declared that ,since the days of ,judas 
,iscariot there has never been so black 
a traitor as ,bernardino di ,corte4 ,on 
,october #fth ,louis ,,xii4 entered the 
city4 ,before the end of the year       
,leonardo1 realising the necessity for  
his speedy departure1 sent six hundred  
gold florins by letter of exchange to   

,florence to be placed to his credit    
with the hospital of ,s4 ,maria ,nuova4 
,in the following year1 ,ludovico having
 been defeated at ,novara1 ,leonardo was
 a homeless wanderer4 ,he left ,milan   
for ,mantua1 where he drew a portrait in
 chalk of ,isabella d',este1 which is   
now in the ,louvre4 ,leonardo eventually
 arrived in ,florence about ,easter     
#aejj4 ,after apparently working there  
in #aeja on a second ,cartoon1 similar  
in most respects to the one he had      
executed in ,milan two years earlier1 he
 travelled in ,umbria1 visiting         
,orvieto1 ,pesaro1 ,rimini1 and other   
towns1 acting as engineer and architect 
to ,cesare ,borgia1 for whom he planned 
a navigable canal between ,cesena and   
,porto ,cese-natico4  ,illustration3    
,,plate ,,vii4-,,portrait 7,,presumed7  
,,of ,,lucrezia ,,crivelli  ,in the     
,louvre4 ,no4 #afjj #dhc4 #b ft by ,i ft
 #e ins4 7#j4fb x #j4dd7  ,this picture1
 although officially attributed to      
,leonardo1 is probably not by him1 and  

almost certainly does not represent     
,lucrezia ,crivelli4 ,it was once known 
as a ,portrait of a ,lady and is still  
occasionally miscalled ,la ,belle       
,feronniere4    ,,mona ,,lisa  ,early in
 #aejc he was back again in ,florence1  
and set to work in earnest on the       
,portrait of ,mona ,lisa 7,plate ,i471  
now in the ,louvre 7,no4 #afja74 ,lisa  
di ,anton ,maria di ,noldo ,gherardini  
was the daughter of ,antonio            
,gherardini4 ,in #adie she married      
,francesco di ,bartolommeo de ,zenobi   
del ,giocondo4 ,it is from the surname  
of her husband that she derives the name
 of ,la ,joconde1 by which her portrait 
is officially known in the ,louvre4     
,vasari is probably inaccurate in saying
 that ,leonardo loitered over it for    
four years1 and finally left it         
unfinished4 ,he may have begun it in the
 spring of #aeja and1 probably owing to 
having taken service under ,cesare      
,borgia in the following year1 put it on
 one side1 ultimately completing it     

after working on the ,battle of         
,anghiari in #aejd4 ,vasari's eulogy of 
this portrait may with advantage be     
quoted3 ,whoever shall desire to see how
 far art can imitate nature may do so to
 perfection in this head1 wherein every 
peculiarity that could be depicted by   
the utmost subtlety of the pencil has   
been faithfully reproduced4 ,the eyes   
have the lustrous brightness and        
moisture which is seen in life1 and     
around them are those pale1 red1 and    
slightly livid circles1 also proper to  
nature4 ,the nose1 with its beautiful   
and delicately roseate nostrils1 might  
be easily believed to be alive2 the     
mouth1 admirable in its outline1 has the
 lips uniting the rose-tints of their   
colour with those of the face1 in the   
utmost perfection1 and the carnation of 
the cheek does not appear to be painted1
 but truly flesh and blood4 ,he who     
looks earnestly at the pit of the throat
 cannot but believe that he sees the    
beating of the pulses4 ,mona ,lisa was  

exceedingly beautiful1 and while        
,leonardo was painting her portrait1 he 
took the precaution of keeping some one 
constantly near her to sing or play on  
instruments1 or to jest and otherwise   
amuse her4  ,leonardo painted this      
picture in the full maturity of his     
talent1 and1 although it is now little  
more than a monochrome owing to the free
 and merciless restoration to which it  
has been at times subjected1 it must    
have created a wonderful impression on  
those who saw it in the early years of  
the sixteenth century4 ,it is difficult 
for the unpractised eye to-day to form  
any idea of its original beauty4        
,leonardo has here painted this         
worldly-minded woman--her portrait is   
much more famous than she herself ever  
was--with a marvellous charm and        
suavity1 a finesse of expression never  
reached before and hardly ever equalled 
since4 ,contrast the head of the ,christ
 at ,milan1 ,leonardo's conception of   
divinity expressed in perfect humanity1 

with the subtle and sphinx-like smile of
 this languorous creature4  ,the        
landscape background1 against which     
,mona ,lisa is posed1 recalls the       
severe1 rather than exuberant1 landscape
 and the dim vistas of mountain ranges  
seen in the neighbourhood of his own    
birthplace4 ,the portrait was bought    
during the reign of ,francis ,i4 for a  
sum which is to-day equal to about      
,l#ahjj4 ,leonardo1 by the way1 does not
 seem to have been really affected by   
any individual affection for any woman1 
and1 like ,michelangelo and ,raphael1   
never married4  ,in ,january #d1 #aejd1 
,leonardo was one of the members of the 
,committee of ,artists summoned to      
advise the ,signoria as to the most     
suitable site for the erection of       
,michelangelo's statue of ,david1 which 
had recently been completed4            
,,battle ,,of ,,anghiari  ,in the       
following ,may he was commissioned by   
the ,signoria to decorate one of the    
walls of the ,council ,hall of the      

,palazzo ,vecchio4 ,the subject he      
selected was the ,battle of ,anghiari4  
,although he completed the cartoon1 the 
only part of the composition which he   
eventually executed in colour was an    
incident in the foreground which dealt  
with the ,battle of the ,standard4 ,one 
of the many supposed copies of a study  
of this mural painting now hangs on the 
south-east staircase in the ,victoria   
and ,albert ,museum4 ,it depicts the    
,florentines under ,cardinal ,ludovico  
,mezzarota ,scarampo fighting against   
the ,milanese under ,niccolo ,piccinino1
 the ,general of ,filippo ,maria        
,visconti1 on ,june #bi1 #addj4         
,,again ,,in ,,milan  ,leonardo was back
 in ,milan in ,may #aejf in the service 
of the ,french ,king1 for whom he       
executed1 apparently with the help of   
assistants1 the ,madonna1 the ,infant   
,christ1 and ,saint ,anne 7,plate       
,,viii474 ,the composition of this      
oil-painting seems to have been built up
 on the second cartoon1 which he had    

made some eight years earlier1 and which
 was apparently taken to ,france in     
#aeaf and ultimately lost4    ,,in      
,,rome  ,from #aeac-aeae he was in      
,rome1 where ,giovanni de' ,medici had  
been elected ,pope under the title of   
,leo ,x4 ,he did not1 however1 work for 
the ,pope1 although he resided in the   
,vatican1 his time being occupied in    
studying acoustics1 anatomy1 optics1    
geology1 minerals1 engineering1 and     
geometry6    ,,in ,,france  ,at last in 
#aeaf1 three years before his death1    
,leonardo left his native land for      
,france1 where he received from ,francis
 ,i4 a princely income4 ,his powers1    
however1 had already begun to fail1 and 
he produced very little in the country  
of his adoption4 ,it is1 nevertheless1  
only in the ,louvre that his            
achievements as a painter can to-day be 
adequately studied4  ,illustration3     
,,plate ,,viii4-,,madonna1 ,,infant     
,,christ1 ,,and ,,st4 ,,anne  ,in the   
,louvre4 ,no4 #aejh4 #e ft4 #g in4 h4 by

 #d ft4 #c in4 w4 7#a4gj x #a4bi7       
,painted between #aeji and #aeaf with   
the help of assistants4  ,on ,october   
#aj1 #aeaf1 when he was resident at the 
,manor ,house of ,cloux near ,amboise in
 ,touraine with ,francesco ,melzi1 his  
friend and assistant1 he showed three of
 his pictures to the ,cardinal of       
,aragon1 but his right hand was now     
paralysed1 and he could no longer colour
 with that sweetness with which he was  
wont1 although still able to make       
drawings and to teach others4  ,it was  
no doubt in these closing years of his  
life that he drew the ,portrait of      
,himself in red chalk1 now at ,turin1   
which is probably the only authentic    
portrait of him in existence4    ,,his  
,,death  ,on ,april #bc1 #aeai--;,easter
 ,eve--exactly forty-five years before  
the birth of ,shakespeare1 ,leonardo da 
,vinci made his will1 and on ,may #b of 
the same year he passed away4  ,vasari  
informs us that ,leonardo1 having become
 old1 lay sick for many months1 and     

finding himself near death and being    
sustained in the arms of his servants   
and friends1 devoutly received the ,holy
 ,sacrament4 ,he was then seized with a 
paroxysm1 the forerunner of death1 when 
,king ,francis ,i41 who was accustomed  
frequently and affectionately to visit  
him1 rose and supported his head to give
 him such assistance and to do him such 
favour as he could in the hope of       
alleviating his sufferings4 ,the spirit 
of ,leonardo1 which was most divine1    
conscious that he could attain to no    
greater honour1 departed in the arms of 
the monarch1 being at that time in the  
seventy-fifth year of his age4 ,the not 
over-veracious chronicler1 however1 is  
here drawing largely upon his           
imagination4 ,leonardo was only         
sixty-seven years of age1 and the ,king 
was in all probability on that date at  
,st4 ,germain-en ,laye6  ,thus died ,mr4
 ,lionard de ,vincy1 the noble          
,milanese1 painter1 engineer1 and       
architect to the ,king1 ,state          

,mechanician and former ,professor of   
,painting to the ,duke of ,milan4  ,may 
,god ,almighty grant him ,his eternal   
peace1 wrote his friend and assistant   
,francesco ,melzi4 ,every one laments   
the loss of a man whose like ,nature    
cannot produce a second time4    ,,his  
,,art  ,leonardo1 whose birth antedates 
that of ,michelangelo and ,raphael by   
twenty three and thirty-one years       
respectively1 was thus in the forefront 
of the ,florentine ,renaissance1 his    
life coinciding almost exactly with the 
best period of ,tuscan painting4        
,leonardo was the first to investigate  
scientifically and to apply to art the  
laws of light and shade1 though the     
preliminary investigations of ,piero    
della ,francesca deserve to be recorded4
  ,he observed with strict accuracy the 
subtleties of chiaroscuro--light and    
shade apart from colour2 but1 as one    
critic has pointed out1 his gift of     
chiaroscuro cost the colour-life of many
 a noble picture4 ,leonardo was a       

tonist1 not a colourist1 before whom the
 whole book of nature lay open4  ,it was
 not instability of character but       
versatility of mind which caused him to 
undertake many things that having       
commenced he afterwards abandoned1 and  
the probability is that as soon as he   
saw exactly how he could solve any      
difficulty which presented itself1 he   
put on one side the merely perfunctory  
execution of such a task4  ,in the      
,forster collection in the ,victoria and
 ,albert museum three of ,leonardo's    
note-books with sketches are preserved1 
and it is stated that it was his        
practice to carry about with him1       
attached to his girdle1 a little book   
for making sketches4 ,they prove that he
 was left-handed and wrote from right to
 left4     ,,his ,,mind  ,we can readily
 believe the statements of ,benvenuto   
,cellini1 the sixteenth-century         
,goldsmith1 that ,francis ,i4 did not   
believe that any other man had come into
 the world who had attained so great a  

knowledge as ,leonardo1 and that not    
only as sculptor1 painter1 and          
architect1 for beyond that he was a     
profound philosopher4 ,it was ,cellini  
also who contended that ,leonardo da    
,vinci1 ,michelangelo1 and ,raphael are 
the ,book of the ,world4  ,leonardo     
anticipated many eminent scientists and 
inventors in the methods of             
investigation which they adopted to     
solve the many problems with which their
 names are coupled4 ,among these may be 
cited ,copernicus' theory of the earth's
 movement1 ,lamarck's classification of 
vertebrate and invertebrate animals1 the
 laws of friction1 the laws of          
combustion and respiration1 the         
elevation of the continents1 the laws of
 gravitation1 the undulatory theory of  
light and heat1 steam as a motive power 
in navigation1 flying machines1 the     
invention of the camera obscura1        
magnetic attraction1 the use of the     
stone saw1 the system of canalisation1  
breech loading cannon1 the construction 

of fortifications1 the circulation of   
the blood1 the swimming belt1 the       
wheelbarrow1 the composition of         
explosives1 the invention of paddle     
wheels1 the smoke stack1 the mincing    
machine6 ,it is1 therefore1 easy to see 
why he called ,mechanics the ,paradise  
of the ,sciences4  ,leonardo was a      
,,superman4     ,,his ,,maxims          
,the eye is the window of the soul4     
,tears come from the heart and not from 
the brain4      ,the natural desire of  
good men is knowledge4      ,a beautiful
 body perishes1 but a work of art dies  
not4      ,every difficulty can be      
overcome by effort4      ,time abides   
long enough for those who make use of   
it4      ,miserable men1 how often do   
you enslave yourselves     to gain      
money6     ,,his ,,spell  ,the influence
 of ,leonardo was strongly felt in      
,milan1 where he spent so many of the   
best years of his life and founded a    
,school of painting4 ,he was a close    
observer of the gradation and reflex of 

light1 and was capable of giving to his 
discoveries a practical and aesthetic   
form4 ,his strong personal character and
 the fascination of his genius          
enthralled his followers1 who were      
satisfied to repeat his types1 to       
perpetuate the grey-hound eye1 and to   
make use of his little devices4 ,among  
this group of painters may be mentioned 
,boltraffio1 who perhaps painted the    
,presumed ,portrait of ,lucrezia        
,crivelli 7,plate ,,vii471 which is     
officially attributed in the ,louvre to 
the great master himself4     ,,his     
,,descendants   ,signor ,uzielli has    
shown that one ,tommaso da ,vinci1 a    
descendant of ,domenico 7one of         
,leonardo's brothers71 was a few years  
ago a peasant at ,bottinacio near       
,montespertoli1 and had then in his     
possession the family papers1 which now 
form part of the archives of the        
,accademia dei ,lincei at ,rome4 ,it was
 proved also that ,tommaso had given his
 eldest son the glorious name of        

,leonardo4