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1513-1519
The last years: Rome and France
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Pope Leo X and Roman culture
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Under Alexander VI, Julius II, and Leo X, Rome
seemed set fair to realizing the humanistic ideal of
reconciling Christian and classical culture. Like his
predecessor, Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici and son of the
Magnificent), pursued the ideal of the renovatio as a
symbol of the ideal continuity with the ancient city,
reaffirming the cultural bond between Rome and Florence.
After the pontificate of the "warrior pope", Rome
appeared to be consolidating its political position,
affirming the principles of universal peace and
humanism, while asserting its prestige through secular
wealth and luxury. Consistent with Leo X's ambitious
aims were the grandiose achievements of Michelangelo,
Sebastiano del Piombo and, above all, Raphael.
Michelangelo, already at work on the Tomb of Julius II,
moved to Florence to work on the Medici Tombs. Raphael,
the successor to Bramante as chief architect of St
Peter's and decorator of the Vatican Stanze, extolled
the ideals of humanistic culture, and selected
historical episodes as allusions to the current papacy.
He received an extraordinary number of commissions. In
1515 the pope commissioned him to execute the cartoons
for the tapestries for the Sistine Chapel; and his
famous letter of 1519 to Leo X documented his post as
keeper of the city's antiquities.
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Michelangelo, The Tomb of Julius II,
not later than 1545, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.
The original project included the monument as part of a
rededication of the church.
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Michelangelo, Lunette of the Prophet Aminadab, 1508-12,
Sistine Chapel, Rome.
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Raphael, The Triumph of Galatea, 1511,
La Farnesina, Rome.
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Raphael, Portrait of Leo X between Two
Cardinals, 1518-19,
Galleria Palatina, Florence.
An experienced diplomat, art lover, and patron, the
pope, quite apart from his official duties, was
confronted by grave political and religious
problems, such as the struggle between Charles V and
Francis I for the imperial succession, and the
Lutheran Reformation. His pontificate was marked by
scandal and corruption.
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Leonardo at the French court
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On the death of the duke of Nemours, Leonardo moved to the
court of Francis I as "premier peintre, ingenieur, architecte du roi,
meschanicien du roi", living in the palace of Cloux at Amboise on a
pension of a thousand scudi, with an annuity for Melzi and Salaino
as long as he lived. His famous plan for the royal palace of
Romorantin with fountains and pools for aquatic jousts never came to
fruition but was reflected in later chateaux. He pursued his studies
in geometry, and his interest in hydraulics was manifested in the
project for connecting the Atlantic and the Mediterranean by linking
the Loire to the Saone. As an artist, Leonardo was still busy
finishing the Mona Lisa, the Leda, the St Anne,
and the St John; and he produced the drawings for the
Deluge, which, with its obsessively catastrophic vision of
nature, represented a dying universe. Francis I probably
commissioned from him the anamorphosis of a lion with a dragon. He
was invited to organize court entertainments, as well as the
festivities for the baptism of the Dauphin and, probably, the
wedding of Lorenzo Medici, duke of Urbino.
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Leonardo da Vinci, Studies of Cats and Camels, St George
and the Dragon,
Royal Library, Windsor.
The drawings from Leonardo's old age contain a greater element
of fantasy
and seem disassociated from naturalistic observation.
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Leonardo da Vinci
Study sheet with cats, dragon and other animals
1513-15
Pen, ink, black chalk on paper
Royal Library, Windsor
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Leonardo da Vinci
Sketch for the Royal Palace of Romorantin,
Royal Library, Windsor.
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Jean-Dominique Ingres
The Death of Leonardo da Vinci
1818
Musee du Petit Palais, Paris.
The story that Leonardo died in the arms of the king is considered to
belong to legend,
but Francis I undoubtedly appreciated the artist's exceptional genius. |
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