Leonardo: Flights of the Mind/The Studio

After 10 years with Verrocchio as his pupil, in 1477 Leonardo da Vinci set up his own studio in Florence.  He had already completed Ginevra and demonstrated his ability to go beyond his master.  There was a lot of competition at the time and Leonardo, as maestro, begins taking on apprentices.  This is not without scandal as Paolo de Leonardo de Vinci da Firenze is put in prison for the "wicked life he had followed there."  (Bentivoglio letter of 1479)   It appears that we can add Paolo to Leonardo's list of boyfriends including Jacopo Saltarelli and Fioravanti di Domenio.  Paolo was a master in marquetry, the highly skilled and much demanded craft of inlaying wood.

Despite all of the gossip surrounding him, Leonardo received his first commission in 1478.  It was for an altarpiece for the chapel of the Palazzo Vecchio (the Capella di San Barnardo).  There are no sketches known for this piece.  Filippino Lippi completed an altarpiece which shows the Madonna and angels with very "Leonardesco" elements and it is thought that it comes from a lost Leonardo cartoon of c. 1478. Another painting, the Benois Madonna, appears to have more credibility as relating to the "2 vergini" he began in 1482.  It has "a sweetness and freshness and movement which immediately lift it beyond the posed, hieratic elegance of the Verrocchio Madonnas with their blond hair and lifted little fingers."  (Nicholl)  The sketches for this are some of Leonardo's most brilliant Florentine works.

In 1478, Leonardo was caught by a disturbance in the Florence cathedral.  There was an attempt on the life of Lorenzo de Medici whereby his brother, Guiliano, was stabbed.  There were many public executions. Bernardo di Bandino escaped but was returned to Florence.  Leonardo was at the hanging and prepared an in situ drawing.  "As the body dangles in its final indignity, with bound hands and unshod feet, Leonardo captures a strange sense of repose."  (Nicholl)

Leonardo had another apprentice named Tommaso, or Zoroastro.  He was an alchemist and was thought to help with Leonardo's early efforts as an engineer.  Leonardo studied Brunelleschi's ingenious hoists and cranes.  He demonstrated how to hoist the Baptistery in order to place steps under it.  There are writings that indicate Leonardo had a circle of acquaintances, four of whom were scientists and scholars.  Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, or Paolo the physician, was an influence on aerial perspective, optical illusion, and astronomy. This shows Leonardo's insatiable interest in sciences.  Leonardo also delved in poetry and music.