101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci by Shana Priwer Read Free Book Online Page B

of Milan. The French King Louis XII invoked a claim on Sforza's property, and Ludovico ultimately died in a French prison. So much for the great warrior, and for Leonardo's great patron.
    While Sforza spent a lot of time embroiled in political turmoil, he made a point of investing in the arts and especially in Leonardo da Vinci. Under Sforza's patronage, Leonardo created some of his most famous works. When applying for the job with Sforza, Leonardo wrote a detailed list of his engineering and military credentials, with his artistic skills listed almost as an afterthought. Fortunately, Sforza took advantage of all of Leonardo's talents!
    Leonardo came into his own while under the Duke of Milan's patronage. He got the chance to experiment with painting, sculpture, weapons design, architecture, and machinery. Leonardo was an artist, but he was also a realist; he understood the necessity of defense, even though he didn't agree with the concept of war. Of course, he also didn't want to alienate his sponsor. As the duke's chief military engineer, Leonardo invented several different war machines and weapons during this period.
    Beyond his military inventions, Leonardo created two of his most famous paintings while in Milan. He started The Virgin of the Rocks in 1483, a painting intended for the altar at the Chapel of the Immacolata, located in the church of San Francesco Grande. The contract was extremely specific: The monks wanted the painting to be composed in a certain way, and it had to be done using certain materials. As you'll see in number 36, the notoriously individualistic Leonardo quickly ran into problems.
    During this period, Leonardo also began work on The Last Supper (see number 37). Commissioned by the Duke of Milan himself, this work was to be painted on the refectory wall of the family chapel, the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The giant mural was almost thirty feet long—pretty amazing that it was actually completed. However, it began to deteriorate almost immediately, most likely due to the type of paints Leonardo used and the extreme humidity of the refectory's walls. Many attempts were made to restore it over time, culminating with a painstaking effort finished in 1999.

22
Look out, it's Cesare Borgia!
    One of the Renaissance's more notorious political figures, Cesare Borgia (the Duke of Valencia) lived from 1476 to 1507. Born out of wedlock, he was actually the son of Pope Alexander VI. Initially, Borgia set out on the path to become a cleric, but he wound up as the Archbishop of Valencia (modern-day Spain) while his father was traveling down the road to papacy. Supposedly one of his father's favorites, Borgia probably used his family connections to obtain several official positions.
    You may recognize the name Cesare Borgia as the murdering Renaissance politico who killed his own brother. Rumor has it that he did indeed murder his sibling, Giovanni, in 1497. There isn't much proof, although Cesare was said to have been jealous of his brother's high social position, and may have also fought with him over a woman. He had a violent reputation and may have been responsible for several other murders. Sounds like an all-around nice guy, right?
    In 1498, Borgia did an about-face, changing his unruly ways after assuming the role of general of the Church. Because he was the illegitimate son of a priest, he had a hard time finding a suitable royal bride, so he spent much of the following year traveling, promoting his career, and dealing with various responsibilities. He also led the efforts to unite the fighting Italian city-states.
    By the early 1500s, Borgia owned land all over Italy, at least part of which he had taken by force. He was quite a character—in between the murdering and the stealing, somehow he found time to be crowned Duke of Romagna for a period! As his power grew, so did his enemies. When his father died in 1503, Cesare was forced to leave Rome. It all went downhill from there.