Most of the sketches and studies for Leonardo's works of art and
engineering are found on his shopping lists, personal notes, and
personal expenditure ledgers.
No one was allowed to enter Leonardo's den, where he kept, as Giorgio
Vasari in "Lives of the Artists", describes: "a number of green and
other kinds of lizards, crickets, serpents, butterflies, locusts,
hats, and various strange creatures of this nature".
Leonardo's clients were often dissatisfied with his glacial pace, lack
of professional discipline, and inability to conclude his assignments.
He was frequently involved in litigation. The Cofraternity of the
Immaculate Conception sued him when he failed to produce the Virgin on
the Rocks, an altarpiece they commissioned from him in 1483. The court
proceedings lasted 10 years. The head of Jesus in "The Last Supper"
was left blank because Leonardo did not dare to paint a human model,
nor did he trust his imagination sufficiently. Leonardo worked four
years on the Mona Lisa but never completed it, either. He carried it
with him wherever he went.
Leonardo's terra cota model for a colossal bronze sculpture of the
father of his benefactor and employer, Ludovico Sforza, was used for
target practice by invading French soldiers in 1499.
Pages:
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179