The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (96 page)

Get the Friar di Brera to show you [the book] '
de Ponderibus
'
[Footnote 11:
Brera
, now _Palazzo delle Scienze ed Arti. Until
1571 it was the monastery of the order of the Umiliati and
afterwards of the Jesuits.

De ponderibus
, compare No. 1436, 3.],—

Of the measurement of San Lorenzo,—

I lent certain groups to Fra Filippo de Brera, [Footnote 13:
Brera
, now _Palazzo delle Scienze ed Arti. Until 1571 it was the
monastery of the order of the Umiliati and afterwards of the
Jesuits.

De ponderibus
, compare No. 1436, 3.]—

Memorandum: to ask Maestro Giovannino as to the mode in which the
tower of Ferrara is walled without loopholes,—

Ask Maestro Antonio how mortars are placed on bastions by day or by
night,—

Ask Benedetto Portinari how the people go on the ice in Flanders,—

On proportions by Alchino, with notes by Marliano, from Messer
Fazio,—

The measurement of the sun, promised me by Maestro Giovanni, the
Frenchman,—

The cross bow of Maestro Gianetto,—

The book by Giovanni Taverna that Messer Fazio,—

You will draw Milan [21],—

The measurement of the canal, locks and supports, and large boats;
and the expense,—

Plan of Milan [Footnote 23:
Fondamento
is commonly used by
Leonardo to mean ground-plan. See for instance p. 53.],—

Groups by Bramante [Footnote 24:
Gruppi
. See Vol. I p. 355, No.
600, note 9.],—

The book on celestial phenomena by Aristoteles, in Italian [Footnote
25:
Meteora
. By this Leonardo means no doubt the four books. He
must refer here to a MS. translation, as no Italian translation is
known to have been published (see No. 1477 note).],—

Try to get Vitolone, which is in the library at Pavia [Footnote 26:
Vitolone
see No. 1506, note.

Libreria di Pavia
. One of the most famous of Italian libraries.
After the victory of Novara in April 1500, Louis XII had it conveyed
to France, '
come trofeo di vittoria
'!] and which treats of
Mathematics,—He had a master [learned] in waterworks and get him to
explain the repairs and the costs, and a lock and a canal and a mill
in the Lombard fashion.

A grandson of Gian Angelo's, the painter has a book on water which
was his fathers.

Paolino Scarpellino, called Assiolo has great knowledge of water
works.

[Footnote 12:
Sco Lorenzo
. A church at Milan, see pp. 39, 40 and
50.]

[Footnote 13. 24:
Gruppi
. See Vol. I p. 355, No. 600, note 9.]

[Footnote 16: The
Portinari
were one of the great merchant-
families of Florence.]

1449.

Francesco d'Antonio at Florence.

1450.

Giuliano Condi[1],—Tomaso Ridolfi,— Tomaso Paganelli,—Nicolo del
Nero,—Simone Zasti,—Nasi,—the heir of Lionardo Manelli,
—Guglielmo di Ser Martino,—Bartolomeo del Tovaglia,—Andrea
Arrigucci,— Nicolo Capponi,—Giovanni Portinari.

[Footnote: I.
Guiliano Gondi
. Ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo's
father, lived till 1480, in a house belonging to Giuliano Gondi. In
1498 this was pulled down to make room for the fine Palazzo built on
the Piazza San Firenze by Giuliano di San Gallo, which still exists.
In the
Riassunto del Catasto di Ser Piero da Vinci
, 1480, Leonardo
is not mentioned; it is evident therefore that he was living
elsewhere. It may be noticed incidentally that in the
Catasto di
Giuliano Gondi
of the same year the following mention is made of
his four eldest sons:

Lionardo mio figliuolo d'eta d'anni 29, non fa nulla, Giovambatista
d'eta d'anni 28 in Ghostantinopoli, Billichozo d'eta d'anni 24 a
Napoli, Simone d'eta d'anni 23 in Ungheria.

He himself was a merchant of gold filigree (
facciamo lavorare una
bottegha d'arte di seta … facciamo un pocho di trafico a Napoli
}.
As he was 59 years old in 1480, he certainly would not have been
alive at the time of Leonardo's death. But Leonardo must have been
on intimate terms with the family till the end of his life, for in a
letter dated June 1. 1519, in which Fr. Melzi, writing from Amboise,
announces Leonardo's death to Giuliano da Vinci at Florence (see p.
284), he says at the end "
Datemene risposta per i Gondi
" (see
UZIELLI,
Ricerche
, passim).

Most of the other names on the list are those of well-known
Florentine families.]

1451.

Pandolfino.

1452.

Vespuccio will give me a book of Geometry.

[Footnote: See No. 844, note, p. 130.]

1453.

Marcantonio Colonna at Santi Apostoli.

[Footnote: In July 1506 Pope Julius II gave Donna Lucrezia della
Rovere, the daughter of his sister Lucchina, in marriage to the
youthful Marcantonio Colonna, who, like his brothers Prospero and
Fabrizio, became one of the most famous Captains of his family. He
gave to him Frascati and made him a present of the palazzo he had
built, when Cardinal, near the church of Santi Apostoli which is now
known as the Palazzo Colonna (see GREGOROVIUS,
Gesch. der Stadt
Rom.
Vol. VIII, book XIV I, 3. And COPPI,
Mem. Colonnesi
p.
251).]

1454.

A box, a cage,— A square, to make the bird [Footnote 2: Vasari
states that Leonardo invented mechanical birds which moved through
the air. Compare No. 703.],— Pandolfino's book, mortar [?],— Small
knives, Venieri for the

[Footnote: Much of No. 1444 is repeated in this memorandum.]

Pen for ruling, stone,—star,—

To have the vest dyed, Alfieri's tazza,—

The Libraries, the book on celestial
                       phenomena,—

Lactantius of the go to the house of
Daldi,— the Pazzi,

Boots, shoes and small gimlet,—
hose,

Lac, …….,—

An apprentice for …..,—
models,

Grammar of Lo- the amount of the
renzo de' Medici, …

Giovanni del Sodo …..
for…,—the broken

Sansovino, the….

Piero di Cosino the wings,—

[Footnote 16:
Pier di Cosimo
the well known Florentine painter
1462-1521. See VASARI,
Vite
(Vol. IV, p. 134 ed. Sansoni 1880)
about Leonardo's influence on Piero di Cosimo's style of painting.]

Filippo and Lorenzo [Footnote 17:
Filippo e Lorenzo
; probably the
painters Filippino Lippi and Lorenzo di Credi. L. di Credi's
pictures and Vasari's history of that painter bear ample evidence to
his intimate relations with Leonardo.],—A ruler-,— Spectacles,—to
do the….. again,—Tomaso's book,—Michelagnolo's chain,—The
multiplication of roots,—Of the bow and strinch,—The map of the
world from Benci,— Socks,—The clothes from the custom-house
officier,—Cordova leather,—Market books, —waters of
Cronaca,—waters of Tanaglino…, —the caps,—Rosso's mirror; to
see him make it,—1/3 of which I have 5/6,—on the celestial
phenomena, by Aristotle [Footnote 36:
Meteora
. See No. 1448,
25.],—boxes of Lorenzo di Pier Francesco [Footnote 37:
Lorenzo di
Pier Francesco
and his brother
Giovanni
were a lateral branch of
the
Medici
family and changed their name for that of
Popolani.],—Maestro Piero of the Borgo,—To have my book
bound,—Show the book to Serigatto,— and get the rule of the clock
[Footnote 41: Possibly this refers to the clock on the tower of the
Palazzo Vecchio at Florence. In February 1512 it had been repaired,
and so arranged as to indicate the hours after the French manner
(twelve hours a. m. and as many p. m.).],—
ring,—nutmeg,—gum,—the square,—Giovan' Batista at the piazza,
de' Mozzi,—Giovanni Benci has my book and jaspers,—brass for the
spectacles.

1455.

Search in Florence for……

1456.

Bernardo da Ponte … Val di Lugano … many veins for anatomical
demonstration.

[Footnote: This fragmentary note is written on the margin of a
drawing of two legs.]

1457.

Paolo of Tavechia, to see the marks in the German stones.

[Footnote: This note occurs on a pen and ink drawing made by
Leonardo as a sketch for the celebrated large cartoon in the
possession of the Royal Academy of Arts, in London. This cartoon is
commonly supposed to be identical with that described and lauded by
Vasari, which was exhibited in Florence at the time and which now
seems to be lost. Mr. Alfred Marks, of Long Ditton, in his valuable
paper (read before the Royal Soc. of Literature, June 28, 1882) "On
the St. Anne of Leonardo da Vinci", has adduced proof that the
cartoon now in the Royal Academy was executed earlier at Milan. The
note here given, which is written on the sheet containing the study
for the said cartoon, has evidently no reference to the drawing on
which it is written but is obviously of the same date. Though I have
not any opening here for discussing this question of the cartoon, it
seemed to me important to point out that the character of the
writing in this note does not confirm the opinion hitherto held that
the Royal Academy cartoon was the one described by Vasari, but, on
the contrary, supports the hypothesis put forward by Mr. Marks.]

Notes on pupils (1458-1468.)

1458.

Giacomo came to live with me on St.-Mary Magdalen's[Footnote:
Il di
della Maddalena.
July 22.] day, 1490, aged 10 years. The second day
I had two shirts cut out for him, a pair of hose, and a jerkin, and
when I put aside some money to pay for these things he stole 4
lire
the money out of the purse; and I could never make him
confess, though I was quite certain of the fact.—Thief, liar,
obstinate, glutton.

The day after, I went to sup with Giacomo Andrea, and the said
Giacomo supped for two and did mischief for four; for he brake 3
cruets, spilled the wine, and after this came to sup where I ….

Item: on the 7th day of September he stole a silver point of the
value of 22 soldi from Marco[Footnote 6:
Marco
, probably
Leonardo's pupil Marco d'Oggionno; 1470 is supposed to be the date
of his birth and 1540 of his death.

Che stava con meco.
We may infer from this that he left the master
shortly after this, his term of study having perhaps expired.] who
was living with me, 4
lire
this being of silver; and he took it
from his studio, and when the said Marco had searched for it a long
while he found it hidden in the said Giacomo's box 4
lire
.

Item: on the 26th January following, I, being in the house of Messer
Galeazzo da San Severino [Footnote 9: Galeazzo. See No. 718 note.],
was arranging the festival for his jousting, and certain footmen
having undressed to try on some costumes of wild men for the said
festival, Giacomo went to the purse of one of them which lay on the
bed with other clothes, 2 lire 4 S, and took out such money as was
in it.

Item: when I was in the same house, Maestro Agostino da Pavia gave
to me a Turkish hide to have (2 lire.) a pair of short boots made of
it; this Giacomo stole it of me within a month and sold it to a
cobbler for 20 soldi, with which money, by his own confession, he
bought anise comfits.

Item: again, on the 2nd April, Giovan Antonio [Footnote 16: Giovan
Antonio, probably Beltraffio, 1467 to 1516.] having left a silver
point on a drawing of his, Giacomo stole it, and this was of the
value of 24 soldi (1 lira 4 S.)

The first year-

A cloak, 2 lire,
6 shirts, 4 lire,
3 jerkins, 6 lire,
4 pairs of hose, 7 lire 8 soldi,
1 lined doublet, 5 lire,
24 pairs of shoes, 6 lire 5 soldi,
A cap, 1 lira,
laces, 1 lira.

[Footnote: Leonardo here gives a detailed account not only of the
loss he and others incurred through Giacomo but of the wild tricks
of the youth, and we may therefore assume that the note was not made
merely as a record for his own use, but as a report to be forwarded
to the lad's father or other responsible guardian.]

1459.

On the last day but one of September;

Thursday the 27th day of September Maestro Tommaso came back and
worked for himself until the last day but one of February. On the
18th day of March, 1493, Giulio, a German, came to live with
me,—Lucia, Piero, Leonardo.

On the 6th day of October.

1460.

1493. On the 1st day of November we settled accounts. Giulio had to
pay 4 months; and Maestro Tommaso 9 months; Maestro Tommaso
afterwards made 6 candlesticks, 10 days' work; Giulio some
fire-tongs 15 days work. Then he worked for himself till the 27th
May, and worked for me at a lever till the 18th July; then for
himself till the 7th of August, and for one day, on the fifteenth,
for a lady. Then again for me at 2 locks until the 20th of August.

1461.

On the 23rd day of August, 12 lire from Pulisona. On the 14th of
March 1494, Galeazzo came to live with me, agreeing to pay 5 lire a
month for his cost paying on the l4th day of each month.

His father gave me 2 Rhenish florins.

On the l4th of July, I had from Galeazzo 2 Rhenish florins.

1462.

On the 15th day of September Giulio began the lock of my studio
1494.

1463.

Saturday morning the 3rd of August 1504 Jacopo the German came to
live with me in the house, and agreed with me that I should charge
him a carlino a day.

1464.

1511. On the 26th of September Antonio broke his leg; he must rest
40 days.

[Footnote: This note refers possibly to Beltraffio.]

1465.

I left Milan for Rome on the 24th day of September, 1513, with
Giovanni [Footnote 2:
Giovan;
it is not likely that Leonardo
should have called Giovan' Antonio Beltraffio at one time Giovanni,
as in this note and another time Antonio, as in No. 1464 while in
No. 1458 l. 16 we find
Giovan'Antonio
, and in No. 1436, l.6
Beltraffio
. Possibly the Giovanni here spoken of is Leonardo's
less known pupil Giovan Pietrino (see No. 1467, 5).], Francesco di
Melzi [Footnote 2,3:
Francesco de' Melzi
is often mentioned, see
Nos. 1350.], Salai [Footnote 3:
Salai
. See No. 1519 note.],
Lorenzo and il Fanfoia.