The life of Leonardo da Vinci by John William Brown

Leonardo da Vinci loses his patron

The flight of his patron, and the subsequent change in the government of Milan, must have caused the greatest regret to Da Vinci and his friends, who had equal reason to lament his fate as a prince and an individual, as they were all obliged to him for the means of continuing their studies and exercising their talents. He had been their patron and friend, and although his enemies accuse him of having encouraged the Fine Area solely from ostentation, the greatest praise is due to him for the manner in which he promoted general knowledge. His worth must also have been more appreciated by his literary friends when brought into comparison with their new masters for Louis the Twelfth, after he had made his grand entry into Milan, thought of nothing but fetes and entertainments during the time he remained there and the French in general were extremely indifferent to the progress of literature and the arts. They destroyed a magnificent building which Leonardo had designed for Galeazzo da San Severino, and wantonly broke up his model for the equestrian statue, both of which must have caused him great mortification.

Finding his talents neglected, himself unrewarded, and his works no longer esteemed, without any immediate prospect of his former patron's reestablishment in Milan, Leonardo determined to leave a city where his finances were so much reduced, and his situation so unpleasantly altered. It appears, however, that he delayed his departure until the year 1500, and that he waited the issue of Il Moro's return to Milan at the request of his faithless subjects, when they revolted against the French. Hoping to maintain himself by force, the Ex-Duke raised a body of Swiss mercenaries, who, instead of fighting in his defence, basely sold him to his enemies, by whom he was taken in disguise with his brother the Cardinal Ascanio, and several of his followers. Il Moro was imprisoned in the castle of Locher in France, where he died of a broken heart at the unhappy issue of all his wild dreams of ambition, after ten years of confinement.

Although Italy has every reason to lament his politics, which first subjected her to a foreign yoke, she ought not to forget his many virtues. The historians of that period praise him for clemency and prudence; and his ambition was more than punished by a long and rigorous confinement, which, as Guicciardini says, "enclosed within the narrow limits of his cell projects of ambition which a few months previous the whole boundaries of Italy would have been insufficient to contain." During the uncertainty of this revolution, while awaiting the result of his patron's last struggle for power, Da Vinci remained at Vaprio, to be out of the way of the cabals and disturbances of the capital. This would have given him an opportunity of studying the source of the Adda, which had always been a favourite object of his researches.

Or perhaps he lingered behind in hopes of seeing Milan again restored to tranquillity, and the love for the Arts revived in a place where he had so highly distinguished himself. He must also have been extremely unwilling to lose the fruits of his long services to this State, as he considered himself attached to the Court of Milan, whatever sovereign might be at the head of that Government. But, perceiving at length that the French thought of nothing but their amusements, he made up his mind to return to his own country; and ahortly after, accompanied by his friends Salaj and Luca Paciolo, net out for Florence, where he resolved to take up his residence, and hoped to find employment.

In the meantime the Government of Florence had passed into other hands, and hed undergone an almost entire change. Disgusted with the arrogance and imbecility, of Pietro dei Medici's conduct, his fellow-citizens had revolted from his sway, and banished him and his whole fondly, declaring them enemies to the State. They had elected Pietro Soderini, one of their principal citizens, as their lord, with the title of "Gonfaloniere Perpetuo," and the city was now enjoying more tranquillity than it had experienced since the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The immense wealth produced by their extensive commerce enabled the Florentines to cultivate the Fine Arts, and adorn their city with public buildings, notwithstanding the miseries and disturbances occasioned by the perpetual struggles of contending parties to obtain a preponderance in the government of the State. Their patriotism and public spirit overcame every difficulty, and the pride of all was interested in enriching their country with works of art, and in giving employment to the first artists of that period.