Читать книгу Leonardo da Vinci - Vincenzo Delle Donne - Страница 3

Nature, which he adored with religious fervor and considered as the only source of his knowledge, always meant well with him. Even on this warm spring day, when Leonardo was about to take his leave to indulge in earthly life. In some ways nature itself had abounded in his regard. This was the unanimous opinion of his friends and of all those who were close to him, who loved him. Whoever met him, even those without religious belief , were nevertheless inclined to believe that he had been the Son of God on earth. There was no better metaphor to express that Leonardo had been something exceptional, something unique in the course of human history. And indeed, his spirit and soul highlighted a marvellous deity he made speechless and happy: a unique human understanding and kindness was reflected in order to portray divine grace and unprecedented beauty in his art. Without a doubt, the limitless experience of imminent death was also radical and unpredictable for him. The experience? Didn't the old man with a long beard and pendant hair, now lying on his bed, breathing heavily and with his right hand paralyzed for a long time, elevate his life experience as the maxim that man should aspire and act? In any case, he always preached it not only to his students and teachers, but also to his colleagues and friends, making himself many enemies. This list of enemies included clergymen who publicly condemned his thoughts as heretic and subversive. He himself had completely internalized and lived by this maxim since childhood. Experiencing, seeing and understanding what was happening around him gave him the greatest pleasure. He was a man driven by inner motions, a restless man, constantly driven to reach the knowledge of the laws of nature. That he had left many things unfinished did not bother him at all.

He smelled the prickly air of spring through the open window. He heard the birds chirping noisily, and their songs were mixed with the sound of water flowing fast from the nearby stream. Could there be a better time and place to say goodbye to life? Leonardo had difficulty talking. He knew that his last hour was approaching. Even the young pupil, who had remained faithful to him in his last period of life, sensed him, holding his left hand tenderly. That hand with strong and long fingers that, guided by the unbridled thirst for knowledge and regardless of social taboos, had tried to get to the bottom of the structures of matter and the laws of life in general. He had dissected the corpses of men, of pregnant women, he had carved their skulls and uncovered the bones within human legs, to understand the inner nature and the mystery of the mechanics of human movement. The same hand was able to imitate and deeply represent man and the surrounding nature with a few simple brushstrokes. The pupil, whom Leonardo had loved and trained in an idolatrous and altruistic way, turning him into a worthy painter, wondered, like everyone else on his deathbed, how his master was now facing the experience of death. He too was tormented by many questions to which his beloved master was waiting, for which he was looking for an answer. Even while being alive his master was a international celebrity thanks to his talents as an engineer, painter and scientist and who was considered the unparalleled universal genius of this epoch-making threshold, surrendered helplessly to the will of human nature. What was he thinking about now, seeing the fleeting moments of his life? Would Almighty God have mercy on him when he crossed the threshold of the Last Judgment? He would forgive him for the nightly sacrilege of dissecting "30 people of all ages" to see how the man was made inside. How are the muscles made, how do the mechanisms of the bones work and what happened to the soul after death? Many questions, which those present at the bedside inevitably asked, but which of course remained unanswered. For the Catholic Church his actions were pure heresy. There was no shadow of doubt and not even a hint of justification. The punishment for such an outrage was also clear to everyone: normally for such crimes either one ended up at the stake or certainly in hell. The Inquisition and the stake were spared him when he was alive, because he always had rich and powerful patrons who had protected him. But was he now able to avoid divine purgatory on his own?

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo Figlio di Piero di Vinci, Leonardo in brief, was already eulogized and praised as the universal genius of human history even when he was alive. The illegitimate son of a notary from rural Tuscany had come a long way. He spoke to rich patricians, spoke to ambitious princes and ruthless generals, but also to vain kings and sumptuous popes. Leonardo had a hectic life behind him, full of events and successes. Vinci, Florence, Milan, Pavia, Rome, Mantua, Venice, Milan, Amboise: Leonardo had travelled restlessly from city to city, from master to master, from battle to battle, always in search of completing any commission, guided by his unstoppable ingenuity, always wanting to transcend the limits of human knowledge. No order was too delicate for the notorious perfectionist, no new way too dangerous or too arduous, no new task unsolvable. All the phenomena of nature and man were worth to Leonardo to be faced and explored. He was always inspired to expose the lawfulness of life, always crossing the fine line between the forbidden and the allowed. There was nothing to reproach, for he had followed only common sense, the finesse of time and the transience of earthly life at all times.

Leonardo set new standards in painting, architecture and sculpture, also as a musician, mechanical engineer and inventor. He noted his valuable practical knowledge acquired as an inventor of cryptography. He wrote it down in mirror writing, writing the letters as if they were reflected by a mirror, from right to left, as if he wanted to protect his knowledge from prying eyes and the access of nefarious contemporaries. The artist, the inventor and the scientist parts of Leonardos persona complemented each other in a perfect way within himself. Never has a person received such a complete education. He also illustrated "his experiences" with disturbing drawings that described reality much more than elaborate essays. His enemies and other envious people had publicly described him as a sodomite, as homosexuals were then called to hurt and discredit him. Leonardo endured the fierce attacks with unprecedented kindness and patience. Wasn't his homosexuality also desired by nature?

His breathing suddenly became considerably heavier. He felt the weight of his 67 years with every movement. Some parts of his body did not react as he wanted. Now that he was retracing the most important stages of his life, he felt a great sense of gratitude. Not many people in his time were allowed to age as he did. Examples of a premature death abounded, even in his artistic environment. His great Florentine benefactor, for example Lorenzo de' Medici, who had established a bright age, had only lived 43 years, despite his money, power and reputation. His great master Andrea del Verrocchio, in whose workshop Leonardo had learned the various techniques of art, had died at the age of 53. When the plague or other contagious diseases spread, there was no way out. Infectious diseases, for which there was no antidote, did not take into account age and wealth, nor social status and beauty.

Leonardo perceived material wealth as very fleeting and ephemeral, a thought that was confirmed many times during his long career. Every time he considered himself at the height his personal and professional success, suddenly something happened that put everything in question. Sometimes he was very unlucky, after being kissed by luck many times. Looking back now, he had the feeling that he had often been in the wrong place at the wrong time or that he had bet on the wrong people. But one thing he had learned despite everything: money was moody like a first woman and not worth being adored like a mama. Even though he used to gnaw on hunger, he didn't really care about money. Friendship was more important to him than anything else. At home in Florence, Leonardo was known for never having overestimated the role of money. His magnanimity and generosity were known in the city. It was said that if customers insisted on giving him an advance, he always replied that he didn't paint for the money and therefore didn't need an advance. Not only about this attitude towards money, he held real lessons, but also about his love for nature and wildlife, while wearing the clothes of the teacher and preacher. In this way Leonardo, unintentionally, clearly retraced the footsteps of St. Francis who, more than two centuries earlier, had not only written magnificent poems with his famous hymn Canticle of Creatures, but who had also shown that in the Middle Ages it was not necessary to know Latin to speak in the vernacular literature of the universal themes of man. St. Francis had shown that love for nature, creation and God could also be expressed in the language of ordinary people. St. Francis, who had become immortal through his vow of poverty and humility, used the vulgar Italian language of his time to reach the hearts of humble people. This is exactly the purpose that Leonardo also wanted.

Leonardo's love of nature was so deep-rooted that at festivals and markets he bought birds offered by merchants in cages and freed them in front of the amazed merchants. This gesture was often met with malice and surprise by bystanders. For ordinary people, the capture of birds was the only allowed in feudal society and they were the only animals that could be captured and killed without punishment. Leonardo did not tolerate, however, this evil treatment of such adorable creatures from the heavens.

But at this time of departure there was no time for philosophical-natural thoughts. Even at this difficult time Leonardo thought more practical. He was not plagued by the wearisome fear of death. There was no sign that fear of dying would take away his dignity. Even at the hour of his death, Leonardo remained calm and had the notary Guglielmo Boreau called to his deathbed, so that earthly things would be regulated after his death according to his last will. In the presence of five other witnesses and his inseparable favourite pupil Francesco de' Melzi, the master quietly tried to dictate his last will to the diligent notary. It was April 23, 1519. His other favourite diabolical pupil Gian Giacomo de' Caprotti alias Salaj was not present in this difficult hour. Yet for 27 long, beautiful and turbulent years they had shared a table, a bed and a job and had crossed Italy and France far and wide. Leonardo had welcomed him into his workshop at the age of ten: first as an odd job boy and servant, but soon he became both a favourite pupil and his inspirational muse. How many times had Salaj served as a model for him and how many times had he put his hands on paintings in which "Maestro Lionardo" had simply lost the desire to finish them. Two years before, Leonardo's and Salaj's routes had surprisingly separated. Was there jealousy at stake? In any case, Salaj had returned to Milan, where he had built a house on Leonardo's property at the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie which Leonardo had received from Ludovico il Moro. Right next to that monastery where Leonardo had made himself many admirers with his magnificent fresco of the Last Supper of Jesus but also theologically many enemies.

The place of Gian Giacomo de’ Caprotti, now visible to all, had been taken by the faithful Francesco de' Melzi, who would have been the reason for some quarrels among his favourite students. Now Melzi was appointed by Leonardo as an executor. Gian Giacomo de' Caprotti, on the other hand, was very far away. Between Amboise and Milan there were long, arduous and boring days of travel. When Leonardo's health worsened and his death seemed imminent, Francesco de' Melzi sent a letter to Gian Giacomo de’ Caprotti who left immediately. But so far he had not arrived. Could he see his beloved Master alive for one last time?

Leonardo sensed that his life force was about to end. It was a law of nature, which he accepted without complaining. He closed his eyes for a moment and saw himself as an eccentric young man, dressed as a coloured parrot, walking in a colourful and sharp Florence. When he reopened his eyes and had to face reality again, he was racking his brains over a suitable place for his burial. Where did the great artist, prince of the Florentine Renaissance, want to be buried? Did he want to be transferred to his beloved Tuscany, in Florence after his death? Where were other great artists of the city buried? Where did your brilliant artistic career begin? Although Leonardo had become the ambassador of Florence and had brought his way of life and his sense of beauty to the world outside Florence, to the princely courts of Italy and Europe, somehow, however, at the end of his life, he felt betrayed by the city that had catapulted him to the Olympus of art. He embodied like no other the unprecedented era of art in the city on the Arno, which took place between 1450 and 1550 mainly at the behest of the Medici and would later be called "Renaissance" and "spirit of the Renaissance".

In his last will, Leonardo decided, surprisingly, to be buried in the church of Saint-Florentin at the castle of Clos Lucé. In France, therefore, and not in Florence, as his friends and students expected. Here, where he had last conducted the renovation work in the castle of Amboise, he wanted to find eternal rest. Certainly this decision was dictated by the bitterness and sense of abandonment he felt towards the Lords of Florence. The Medici family had made him great once, but in the end also "destroyed" him, as he had noted in his diary. Perhaps Leonardo's decision to be buried in France was also a concession to the King of France, who had welcomed him so kindly in recent years, and supported him with a truly princely apanage. Perhaps the place of his funeral was part of the agreement that Leonardo had met with King François I^er before making his last trip to France. But why did he want to be buried in this church? What did the church of Saint-Florentin at the Clos Lucé castle mean to the artist? The name could derive from "Virgin Lucis", translated as "Virgin of Light". Was it perhaps the Madonna that Leonardo painted to fulfill his role as the first court painter? It is also assumed that the fresco in the chapel of Anne de Bretagne, on the ground floor, was probably painted by his pupil Francesco de' Melzi. Like many things in the life of the universal genius, these are only hypotheses. Because Leonardo was already suffering from illness at that time and was no longer able to paint. The church is located a few hundred metres from Amboise Castle and notes show that Leonardo felt that the environment was a jewel of nature and a delight for his senses.

The question of the funeral, which worried Leonardo now on his deathbed, remained. It was his last staging that concerned him closely and nothing should go wrong. The incomparable master of ceremonies, however, this time as his client, in addition to surprising those present, wanted to send a final message to posterity. He wanted to leave the stage of life as he had lived it. How was the funeral to be celebrated? Like a funeral or more like a party? Unbridled, thoughtful or sad like life itself? He was very conflicted about it. Leonardo had organized several sparkling parties for his aristocratic contractors, with which he was happy, surprised and enchanted. Everyone was very impressed, because they were amazed by the dramaturgy and the surprise effects. At his last party, which saw him as the undisputed protagonist, everything had to work as cohesive as possible and be suitable for his character: he had to be generous, simple and modest. It was a flashy reflection of his character, the worthy conclusion of his lively life. Leonardo established that 60 "beggars" with a candle in their hands should follow the funeral procession and that the funeral was to be organized by Franciscan friars and beggars. Even in this difficult time Leonardo demonstrated his talent and love for staging and symbolism. Because the number 60 is full of symbolic meaning: on 60 pearls we speak of the Rosary of the Virgin Mary. The number 60 is synonymous with heaven, it is mentioned in the Bible 32 times. The number also indicates the global karma of the universe and divine providence in general. Leonardo remained mysterious until his death. He also established that three solemn masses should be celebrated, a perfect number, and should be read after his death by deacons and subdeacons. But this is not enough. Thirty other "inferior" masses in Saint-Grégoire, in Saint-Denis and in the church of the beggars were to be read in his memory. A farewell ceremony, scenic and evocative, that had to reflect the way in which he had dealt with his whole life. Did Leonardo, who had always considered himself an atheist, want to make peace with God? Was this the inescapable sign that he had repented of his actions on his deathbed and now asked God's forgiveness for his "crimes"?

But what worried him most was his legacy, the fate of his estate and his codes: not only his paintings, but his discoveries, his archives, his treatises and his inventions. Copying in a certain sense his father's profession, which was a notary, Leonardo felt like a notary of nature, life and the visible world, noting down and commenting on everything he saw and studied. Who was responsible for his spiritual legacy? Who should have guarded it? Fortunately, there was the docile Francesco de' Melzi, who loved deeply and perhaps also a little passionately. Leonardo loved his goodness and sweetness, knowing that he could count on him. So it was no surprise that Leonardo appointed Francesco de' Melzi as executor of the will. Leonardo entrusted him with all his books, the important Codex Atlanticus and other instruments and Portracti for art and painting. In addition, his drawings and part of his sumptuous wardrobe. He knew that he would give his heritage in reliable hands. And the beloved and sometimes hated master student Gian Giacomo de’ Caprotti, who was missing at this time? Of all people would he be relatively excluded from the legacy? Would he feel betrayed, bequeathed - after a 27-year loyalty and cooperation? Why had Gian Giacomo been punished after Leonardo's death in the opinion of many? Did the young Count Francesco de' Melzi play an important role when it came to deciding to whom the master's inheritance should go?

However, there has never been an intrigue about Leonardo's legacy. Also because Leonardo had settled the whole question of his inheritance to the satisfaction of all. Salaj had been paid royalty the year before for his faithful services. In 1518 Leonardo had sold to the French king the three paintings he had brought from Italy to France and which the king so desired. Among these there was also the famous Mona Lisa. Leonardo received 1250 Italian Scudi for these paintings, which he deposited into an account in Milan and then the portrait was collected by Salaj. The French note written by the financial secretaries of King François I^er, found in the nineties of the last century, allows this conclusion: "A messire Salay de Pietredorain, paintre, pour quelques tables de paintures qu'il a baillèes au Roy, II, mVIcIIIIl. t. IIIs. IIIId. (2604 livres 3 sols 4 denier tournois)." In addition, Gian Giacomo de’ Caprotti received not only Leonardo's precious collection of gems, but also his perhaps most dazzling clothing left by the master in Milan. These were the festive accessories of an eccentric, vain and fashionable man who liked to show his sense of art and his finesse even in his daily wardrobe. Leonardo's greatest pride was the three jackets made with precious fabrics that he wore only on special festive occasions: a purple damask, a black goblet and a black silk taffeta.

Leonardo also did not forget the little maid Mathurine, who had cooked exquisitely since 1517 according to vegetarian instructions. The faithful maid received Leonardo's linen and two golden ducats. Even the Florentine half-brothers and stepsisters were considered in Leonardo's last will. He bequeathed to them his estates at Fiesole and 400 golden Scudi, which he had deposited at the end of his first period in Milan at Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. Even at the point of death, Leonardo once again proved his unprecedented magnanimity, even towards his half-brothers. Leonardo was not touchy. Yet years earlier, after the death of his father Piero and his uncle Francesco some years later, he had felt a certain disappointment for having been excluded from his father's inheritance by his half-brothers. Then the French king Louis XII himself had sent a letter to the government of the city of Florence, trying to influence the judgment of the Florentine court in favour of Leonardo. The royal letter had no effect. In the end, Leonardo lost his trial and was formally excluded from his father's inheritance. But the bitterness he felt for this negative outcome did not last long and soon removed those miserable family intrigues.

A few days after his will was written, on May 2, 1519, Leonardo died. According to the biographer of the Florentine artist Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo would have converted and accepted the existence of God at that difficult time. In fact, according to Vasari, Leonardo suddenly no longer spoke of the primacy of experience and the sober consideration of the outside world. Now instead he would have repented and asked God for forgiveness. Are these considerations pure truth or a much overworked invention? This detail cannot be fully clarified. In the face of death, Leonardo would have blamed himself in a loud voice for having insulted both God and man in general in his art. Even at that moment, whose insatiable thirst for experience and knowledge knew no limits, he would have doubted his actions in front of the small company gathered around his bedside. He would have proclaimed himself out loud a heretic, a sorcerer and an alchemist, at least this is how Vasari describes these last moments of the maestro. Did the great universal genius convert to God, therefore, at the point of death? When he was still lucid and full of life he had in any case thought differently about death: in a much more progressive and modern way. As a well spent day gives a good night's sleep, once noted with hope and pessimistically in his treatise on painting, even a well lived life gives a beautiful death.

The French King François I^er, who was in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was not at Leonardo's bedside, although some later paintings wanted this to be believed. This propaganda effect would have been great for François I^er if he had been present at the moment when the universal genius was leaving earthly life, also because the king had long courted him and had given him princely treatment. In addition to leaving Leonardo his summer residence on the Loire for the last few years of his life, the king gave him a princely apanage of 5,000 ducats of gold a year. Leonardo had never obtained so much money. A true friendship had developed between Leonardo and the king. Their conversations often revolved around art and philosophy, but also beauty and architecture. This is also why Leonardo is still seen in France more as a philosopher rather than an artist or inventor.

The French king burst into tears when he received the news of Leonardo's death. The ambitious regent lost forever an intelligent interlocutor. He had listened with delight when Leonardo explained to him the connections between life and art. For Luisa di Savoia's son, the ideas of the Florentine Renaissance were, however, a brilliant example to emulate, which he intended to transfer throughout France. With Leonardo he had one of his main protagonists as a conversation partner, who initiated him to the principles of new painting, sculpture and architecture. He had attracted the "Milanese nobleman" after a long courtship, so the Florentine Leonardo was mistakenly mentioned in the official note at his funeral in Amboise, naming him "first painter" at the French court, as well as "engineer and architect of the king". François I^er now considered himself very fortunate that the remains of the universal genius remained on French soil to document the continuity of the Florentine Renaissance at the French court. Moreover, this was a small idealistic legitimacy for the French king, who had the not entirely legitimate claim to bring not only the Duchy of Milan, but much of northern Italy under his rule. By the way, was the slip in the memorandum on Leonardo's presumed "Milanese origin", considered an intentional affront to his native city, due perhaps to precise instructions from Leonardo to remember posthumously the recent betrayal? Or is it simply a negligible mistake on the part of those who put the universal genius at his last rest? Even this cannot be definitively clarified.

Even during his lifetime, Leonardo ignored religious taboos by anatomizing people and horses, inventing flying machines or studying plants to develop poisons rather than seeking or improving the divine in creation. For example, in 1486 Leonardo first expressed his conviction that man could be able to fly. In his codices he then explained meticulously and with extraordinary foresight how this should happen in detail. According to Leonardo, man, with large wings, could overcome the resistance of the air and then conquer the air, subdue it and finally rise above it. Leonardo's basic knowledge of flying was thus anticipated at the beginning of the 16th century. From March 14th to April 15, 1505 Leonardo wrote the Treaty of Birds in which he recorded the secrets of flight. In 1508 he completed it with studies on the anatomy of birds and the resistance of the air. In the end, he completed everything with observations of gravity and air currents. Then he designed the first parachute and built the first prototype of a flying machine. In another project, he even developed a diver, some say it's a submarine. However, according to his own account, Leonardo did not want to make his plans generally available because of the "bad nature of man". Is this one of the reasons why he encrypted his immense knowledge? Leonardo often resembled an evil alchemist rather than a sensitive artist. His imagination and ingenuity knew no bounds. His irregular nature was often a blessing, but also a curse. Was this the real reason why he didn't complete many projects?

Leonardo was always dissatisfied with himself and the world. He confesses it in his diaries repeatedly. He rushed from one job to another, he was restless and inconstant. The Catholic Church only interested him because he was the biggest client at the beginning of his artistic career. In fact, he had little love for religion. In vain the eloquent master avoided talking about religious categories like the soul. Instead of defining what the soul is, which in any case cannot be seen, he observed critically in his books, it would be much better to study the things that can be recognized by experience, because only this empirical experience does not mislead man. Because where mathematical sciences cannot be applied, one cannot be certain of anything. Was the theme of the soul a means of the church to deceive man? With this doubt Leonardo began his last journey into the realm of the dead.

It took two long months after his death for Leonardo to be buried according to his last will on August 12, 1519 in the church of Saint-Florentin in Amboise. His last wishes were meticulously applied and implemented. The first universal genius in the history of mankind found his eternal rest here. But his rest in peace did not last long. Only 50 years after his death Leonardo's tomb became the object of contention during the religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots who fought in France for power with never before witnessed cruelty. Leonardo's tomb was probably later disgraced by the Huguenots because, as a Tuscan, it was associated with the hated Catherine de' Medici. Ironically, Leonardo, who had always refused any exploitation by the Church, was among the fronts of religious zealots. The plausible reason is because he came from a country that represented the arbitrariness of Catholicism and the papacy. Of Leonardo's mortal remains, in this bloody battle of the French church, all traces were lost, as if the memory of the great scholar were deliberately erased. Only after more than four centuries, in 1984, did the scientists discover bones at a certain point that they finally managed to attribute to Leonardo. In the chapel of Saint-Hubert at the castle of Amboise, they found their well-deserved resting point.