The life of Leonardo da Vinci
by John William Brown
Leonardo da Vinci achieves glory at the Court of Ludovico Sforza "Il Moro"
This digression has obliged us, for the moment, to lose sight of Leonardo. Ludovico il Moro, at whose request he went to the court of Milan, although only nominally Regent, governed that state with absolute authority; for his nephew Giovan Galeazzo possessed merely the title, and enjoyed the pageantry of sovereignty, without the slightest power. Ludovico Sforza, surnamed " Il Moro," not from his darkness of complexion, as is erroneously stated by Gibbon, but from his having taken a mulberry-tree, in Italian "Moro", for his device, was a prince of great talents, and one of the first politicians of the age.
Although the more noble qualities of his mind were obscured by ambition, he was greatly beloved by all who were about his person, and admitted to his intimate society. He was frank and pleasing in his manners, easy of access, and liberal even to profusion to those who possessed his confidence. To a very handsome and prepossessing exterior he united the most powerful eloquence. He successfully cultivated the Arts of Peace, and lost no opportunity of thawing to his court those who had most distinguished themselves in the arts and sciences.
It was his opinion that much more might be done by![]()
council than by arms; and that the pen was frequently of more weight than the sword; he was therefore averse to warlike enterprises, and always preferred obtaining his object by overreaching his adversaries in politics and intrigue. To such a men Leonardo da Vinci must have been invaluable. His various talents, to a prince who so well knew how to appreciate them, were of the greatest importance, and he was received at his court with every possible demonstration of favour and affection. It would far exceed the limits of this work to enumerate all the celebrated men whom Ludovico had drawn around him under the laudable pretence of his nephew's instruction and amusement. The poet Belincionni has enumerated them in his various compositions; and Leonardo is always mentioned in most honourable terms:
Del Vinci e suoi pennelli e suoi colori, I moderni e gli antichi hanno paura."
The Padre Luca Paciolo, who was the friend and companion of Leonardo and the great restorer of mathematics in Italy, places our hem before all his contemporaries, and makes the following playful allusion to his name; "Il Vince in scoltura, getto, e pittura, con ciascuna il nome verifica."
Vasari is greatly mistaken in ![]()
supposing that Ludovico sent for Da Vinci merely to amuse him with his musical talents: for it appears very improbable that this prince, who was so well aware of Leonardo's knowledge and taste for the fine arts, from having the famous " Rotella del Fico" in his possession, which was painted by him when a young man, should have considered him in the light of a musician. Whatever reputation he might have gained for playing on the lyre, it is evident that he himself considered that accomplishment a mere pastime, as he never makes the slightest mention of his musical abilities in the celebrated letter addressed by him to the Duke of Milan : and if the enlightened politics and vast ideas of Ludovico it Moro are considered, it will be readily conceived that Leonardo was sent for with the view of giving instruction to others as well as of working himself, by instituting an Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which he was to have the chief direction.
We know also from the beat historians of the period, that this wary prince, from the moment of his brother Galena. Maria's assassination, had formed the plan of usurping his throne, and therefore was ![]()
particularly anxious to draw over to his party the moat celebrated men in Italy; as the protection and patronage of such eminent persona could not fail to increase his reputation and strengthen his power. The advantage of such a mode of proceeding had been already seen in the popularity of the
