144-682: The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice , northern Italy . It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal , within the sestiere of Dorsoduro . It was originally the gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia , the art academy of Venice, from which it became independent in 1879, and for which the Ponte dell'Accademia and
288-455: A kite came to his cradle and opened his mouth with its tail; commentators still debate whether the anecdote was an actual memory or a fantasy. In the mid-1460s, Leonardo's family moved to Florence, which at the time was the centre of Christian Humanist thought and culture. Around the age of 14, he became a garzone (studio boy) in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio , who was the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his time. This
432-461: A commission from the Monks of San Donato a Scopeto. It is a complex composition, of about 250 x 250 centimetres. Leonardo did numerous drawings and preparatory studies, including a detailed one in linear perspective of the ruined classical architecture that forms part of the background. In 1482 Leonardo went to Milan at the behest of Lorenzo de' Medici in order to win favour with Ludovico il Moro, and
576-648: A factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes , after Manzikert . Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half-century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self, until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453 . Situated on the Adriatic Sea , Venice had always traded extensively with
720-612: A finger in her bible to mark the place and raises her hand in a formal gesture of greeting or surprise. This calm young woman appears to accept her role as the Mother of God , not with resignation but with confidence. In this painting, the young Leonardo presents the humanist face of the Virgin Mary, recognising humanity's role in God's incarnation. In the 1480s, Leonardo received two very important commissions and commenced another work that
864-487: A foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means. Therefore, the city's early employment of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when
1008-469: A frequent namesake and subject in culture . Leonardo is identified as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western art and is often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance. Despite having many lost works and fewer than 25 attributed major works – including numerous unfinished works – he created some of the most influential paintings in
1152-537: A fur-lined cloak. On 12 August 1519, Leonardo's remains were interred in the Collegiate Church of Saint Florentin at the Château d'Amboise. Some 20 years after Leonardo's death, Francis was reported by the goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini as saying: "There had never been another man born in the world who knew as much as Leonardo, not so much about painting, sculpture and architecture, as that he
1296-454: A hundred years it was described by one viewer as "completely ruined." Leonardo, instead of using the reliable technique of fresco, had used tempera over a ground that was mainly gesso , resulting in a surface subject to mould and to flaking. Despite this, the painting remains one of the most reproduced works of art; countless copies have been made in various mediums. Toward the end of this period, in 1498 Leonardo's trompe-l'œil decoration of
1440-665: A letter which described the diverse things that he could achieve in the fields of engineering and weapon design, and mentioned that he could paint. He brought with him a silver string instrument – either a lute or lyre – in the form of a horse's head. With Alberti, Leonardo visited the home of the Medici and through them came to know the older Humanist philosophers of whom Marsiglio Ficino , proponent of Neoplatonism ; Cristoforo Landino , writer of commentaries on Classical writings, and John Argyropoulos , teacher of Greek and translator of Aristotle were
1584-646: A local oral tradition recorded by the historian Emanuele Repetti , is that he was born in Anchiano , a country hamlet that would have offered sufficient privacy for the illegitimate birth, though it is still possible he was born in a house in Florence that Ser Piero almost certainly had. Leonardo's parents both married separately the year after his birth. Caterina – who later appears in Leonardo's notes as only "Caterina" or "Catelina" –
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#17327767984841728-594: A painting commission of unknown subject matter, but cancelled it when the artist set about developing a new kind of varnish . Leonardo became ill, in what may have been the first of multiple strokes leading to his death. He practised botany in the Vatican Gardens , and was commissioned to make plans for the Pope's proposed draining of the Pontine Marshes . He also dissected cadavers , making notes for
1872-456: A posthumous inventory of his belongings; it was assessed at 505 lire, an exceptionally high valuation for a small panel portrait. Despite the thousands of pages Leonardo left in notebooks and manuscripts, he scarcely made reference to his personal life. Within Leonardo's lifetime, his extraordinary powers of invention, his "great physical beauty" and "infinite grace," as described by Vasari , as well as all other aspects of his life, attracted
2016-479: A powerful maritime empire (an Italian thalassocracy known also as repubblica marinara ). In addition to Venice there were seven others: the most important ones were Genoa , Pisa , and Amalfi ; and the lesser known were Ragusa , Ancona , Gaeta and Noli . Its own strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of pirates along
2160-734: A priest to make his confession and to receive the Holy Sacrament . Vasari also records that the King held Leonardo's head in his arms as he died, although this story may be legend rather than fact. In accordance with his will, sixty beggars carrying tapers followed Leonardo's casket. Melzi was the principal heir and executor, receiving, as well as money, Leonardo's paintings, tools, library and personal effects. Leonardo's other long-time pupil and companion, Salaì, and his servant Baptista de Vilanis, each received half of Leonardo's vineyards . His brothers received land, and his serving woman received
2304-410: A rich flowing garment, raised wings and bearing a lily. Although previously attributed to Ghirlandaio, the larger work is now generally attributed to Leonardo. In the smaller painting, Mary averts her eyes and folds her hands in a gesture that symbolised submission to God's will. Mary is not submissive, however, in the larger piece. The girl, interrupted in her reading by this unexpected messenger, puts
2448-643: A rocky landscape rather than architectural details. The painting was eventually finished; in fact, two versions of the painting were finished: one remained at the chapel of the Confraternity, while Leonardo took the other to France. The Brothers did not get their painting, however, nor the de Predis their payment, until the next century. Leonardo's most remarkable portrait of this period is the Lady with an Ermine , presumed to be Cecilia Gallerani ( c. 1483–1490 ), lover of Ludovico Sforza. The painting
2592-572: A saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era. Venice's long decline started in the 15th century. Venice confronted the Ottoman Empire in the Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430) and sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks in 1453. After the Fall of Constantinople , Sultan Mehmed II declared the first of
2736-487: A senator-like assembly of nobles, and the general citizenry with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected doge. Church and various private property was tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join
2880-526: A series of Ottoman-Venetian wars that cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Vasco da Gama 's 1497–1499 voyage opened a sea route to India around the Cape of Good Hope and destroyed Venice's monopoly. Venice's oared vessels were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing oceans, therefore Venice was left behind in the race for colonies . The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and struck again between 1575 and 1577. In three years,
3024-492: A successful career. Despite his family history, Leonardo only received a basic and informal education in (vernacular) writing, reading, and mathematics; possibly because his artistic talents were recognised early, so his family decided to focus their attention there. Later in life, Leonardo recorded his earliest memory, now in the Codex Atlanticus . While writing on the flight of birds, he recalled as an infant when
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#17327767984843168-450: A time. This was beyond the comprehension of the prior of the convent, who hounded him until Leonardo asked Ludovico to intervene. Vasari describes how Leonardo, troubled over his ability to adequately depict the faces of Christ and the traitor Judas , told the duke that he might be obliged to use the prior as his model. The painting was acclaimed as a masterpiece of design and characterisation, but it deteriorated rapidly, so that within
3312-406: A town plan of Imola in order to win his patronage. Upon seeing it, Cesare hired Leonardo as his chief military engineer and architect. Later in the year, Leonardo produced another map for his patron, one of Chiana Valley , Tuscany, so as to give his patron a better overlay of the land and greater strategic position. He created this map in conjunction with his other project of constructing a dam from
3456-513: A treatise on vocal cords ; these he gave to an official in hopes of regaining the Pope's favour, but he was unsuccessful. In October 1515, King Francis I of France recaptured Milan. On 21 March 1516 Antonio Maria Pallavicini, the French ambassador to the Holy See , received a letter sent from Lyon a week previously by the royal advisor Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet , containing
3600-401: A very young man: a local peasant made himself a round buckler shield and requested that Ser Piero have it painted for him. Leonardo, inspired by the story of Medusa , responded with a painting of a monster spitting fire that was so terrifying that his father bought a different shield to give to the peasant and sold Leonardo's to a Florentine art dealer for 100 ducats , who in turn sold it to
3744-789: A viceroy (the Exarch ) appointed by the Emperor in Constantinople . Ravenna and Venice were connected by just sea routes, and with the Venetians' isolation came increasing autonomy. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores formed the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the lagoon, dating from c. 568 . The traditional first doge of Venice , Paolo Lucio Anafesto (Anafestus Paulicius),
3888-588: A walled defense ( civitatis murus ) between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here. Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his rule. He ordered the pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast; Charlemagne's own son Pepin of Italy , king of the Lombards, under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by
4032-430: Is 3.3 °C (37.9 °F), and for July this figure is 23.0 °C (73.4 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 748 millimetres (29.4 in); snow isn't a rarity between late November and early March. During the most severe winters, the canals and parts of the lagoon can freeze, but with the warming trend of the past 30–40 years, the occurrence has become rarer. The city
4176-460: Is characterised by the pose of the figure with the head turned at a very different angle to the torso, unusual at a date when many portraits were still rigidly in profile. The ermine plainly carries symbolic meaning, relating either to the sitter, or to Ludovico who belonged to the prestigious Order of the Ermine . Leonardo's most famous painting of the 1490s is The Last Supper , commissioned for
4320-572: Is considered by several historians to be the first factory in history, and was the base of Venice's naval power. The sovereignty of Venice came to an end in 1797, at the hands of Napoleon . Subsequently, in 1866, the city became part of the Kingdom of Italy . Venice has been known as "La Dominante", "La Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic ", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". The lagoon and
4464-407: Is further supported by the documentation on the so-called "apostolic families", the twelve founding families of Venice who elected the first doge , who in most cases trace their lineage back to Roman families. Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen, on the islands in the original marshy lagoons, who were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding
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4608-627: Is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto ( Rivoalto , "High Shore")—said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421 (the Feast of the Annunciation ). Beginning as early as AD 166–168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main Roman town in the area, present-day Oderzo . This part of Roman Italy was again overrun in
4752-471: Is located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region. The city is situated on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by 438 bridges. The historic center of Venice is divided into six districts, or sestieri, which are named Cannaregio , Castello, Dorsoduro , San Marco, San Polo, and Santa Croce. Venice sits atop alluvial silt washed into the sea by the rivers flowing eastward from
4896-579: Is predominantly Roman Catholic (85.0% of the resident population in the area of the Patriarchate of Venice in 2022 ), but because of the long-standing relationship with Constantinople , there is also a noticeable Orthodox presence; and as a result of immigration, there is now a large Muslim community (about 25,000 or 9.5% of city population in 2018 ) and some Hindu , and Buddhist inhabitants. Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519)
5040-541: Is speculation that since one of the accused, Lionardo de Tornabuoni, was related to Lorenzo de' Medici, the family exerted its influence to secure the dismissal. Since that date much has been written about his presumed homosexuality and its role in his art, particularly in the androgyny and eroticism manifested in Saint John the Baptist and Bacchus and more explicitly in a number of erotic drawings. Despite
5184-482: Is the only extant example of Leonardo's sculpture. Leonardo was otherwise free to pursue his scientific interests. Many of Leonardo's most prominent pupils either knew or worked with him in Milan, including Bernardino Luini , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio , and Marco d'Oggiono . In 1507, Leonardo was in Florence sorting out a dispute with his brothers over the estate of his father, who had died in 1504. By 1508, Leonardo
5328-486: Is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres (43 in), the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float on lagoon side while hinged at sea floor on seaside, thus blocking the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work was due to be completed by 2018. A Reuters report stated that
5472-573: Is usually identified as the Caterina Buti del Vacca, who married the local artisan Antonio di Piero Buti del Vacca, nicknamed L'Accattabriga , 'the quarrelsome one'. Ser Piero married Albiera Amadori – having been betrothed to her the previous year – and after her death in 1464, went on to have three subsequent marriages. From all the marriages, Leonardo eventually had 16 half-siblings (of whom 11 survived infancy) who were much younger than he (the last
5616-614: Is widely regarded to have been a genius who epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works comprise a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary Michelangelo . Born out of wedlock to a successful notary and a lower-class woman in, or near, Vinci , he was educated in Florence by the Italian painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio . He began his career in
5760-632: The Vitruvian Man , which is displayed only rarely as the work, being on paper, is fragile and sensitive to light. In 2019, the Louvre in Paris requested the loan of the drawing for its exhibition of works by Leonardo. The request was refused by a cultural heritage group. A court tribunal in Venice, however, decided that the work would suffer no ill effects if shipped with great care and displayed under controlled conditions. The work was, therefore, part of
5904-530: The Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi and the church of Santa Maria della Carità thus became the home of the Accademia. The Scuola della Carità was the oldest of the six Scuole Grandi and the building dates back to 1343, though the scuola was formed in 1260. The Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi was started in 1561 by Andrea Palladio , though it was never fully completed. The facade of Santa Maria della Carità
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6048-557: The Dalmatian coast , the city became a flourishing trade centre between Western Europe and the rest of the world, especially with the Byzantine Empire and Asia , where its navy protected sea routes against piracy. The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The doge already possessed
6192-584: The Duke of Milan . By 1472, at the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke , the guild of artists and doctors of medicine, but even after his father set him up in his own workshop, his attachment to Verrocchio was such that he continued to collaborate and live with him. Leonardo's earliest known dated work is a 1473 pen-and-ink drawing of the Arno valley (see below). According to Vasari,
6336-611: The Great Council , which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials, and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council, or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected " doge ", or duke, to be
6480-603: The Italian Wars , marginalising its political influence. However, Venice remained a major exporter of agricultural products and until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing centre. The Republic of Venice lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the War of the First Coalition . Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population. He removed
6624-680: The Mona Lisa , the Last Supper , and the Virgin of the Rocks . Leonardo first gained attention for his work on the Baptism of Christ , painted in conjunction with Verrocchio. Two other paintings appear to date from his time at Verrocchio's workshop, both of which are Annunciations . One is small, 59 centimetres (23 in) long and 14 cm (5.5 in) high. It is a " predella " to go at
6768-529: The Renaissance . Some of his smaller inventions, however, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy , civil engineering, hydrodynamics , geology, optics , and tribology , but he did not publish his findings and they had little to no direct influence on subsequent science. Leonardo da Vinci, properly named Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ("Leonardo, son of ser Piero from Vinci"),
6912-636: The Republic of Venice for almost a millennium, from 810 to 1797. It was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance , and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto , as well as an important centre of commerce—especially silk, grain, and spice , and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been
7056-779: The Sala delle Asse was painted for the Duke of Milan in the Castello Sforzesco . In 1505, Leonardo was commissioned to paint The Battle of Anghiari in the Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred) in the Palazzo Vecchio , Florence. Leonardo devised a dynamic composition depicting four men riding raging war horses engaged in a battle for possession of a standard, at the Battle of Anghiari in 1440. Michelangelo
7200-632: The Suez Canal , which opened in 1869, between Asia and Central Europe, while Venice very quickly lost its competitive edge and commercial strength. During World War II , the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler , a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on
7344-582: The Venetian dialectal equivalent of the Latin dux ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is duke , in standard Italian duca (see also " duce ".) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo III's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition of this, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken
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#17327767984847488-458: The Western canon . The Mona Lisa is his best known work and is the world's most famous individual painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon. In 2017, Salvator Mundi , attributed in whole or part to Leonardo, was sold at auction for US$ 450.3 million , setting a new record for
7632-477: The most expensive painting ever sold at public auction. Revered for his technological ingenuity , he conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle , concentrated solar power, a ratio machine that could be used in an adding machine , and the double hull . Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during
7776-538: The plague killed some 50,000 people. In 1630, the Italian plague of 1629–31 killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens. Venice began to lose the position as a centre of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth. France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in
7920-507: The 1490s Leonardo had already been described as a "Divine" painter. Among the qualities that make Leonardo's work unique are his innovative techniques for laying on the paint; his detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, botany and geology; his interest in physiognomy and the way humans register emotion in expression and gesture; his innovative use of the human form in figurative composition; and his use of subtle gradation of tone. All these qualities come together in his most famous painted works,
8064-474: The 16th century that these relationships were of a sexual or erotic nature. Walter Isaacson in his biography of Leonardo makes explicit his opinion that the relations with Salaì were intimate and homosexual. Earlier in Leonardo's life, court records of 1476, when he was aged twenty-four, show that Leonardo and three other young men were charged with sodomy in an incident involving a known male prostitute. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence, and there
8208-449: The Accademia boat landing station for the vaporetto water bus are named. The two institutions remained in the same building until 2004, when the art school moved to the Ospedale degli Incurabili . The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded on 24 September 1750; the statute dates from 1756. The first director was Giovanni Battista Piazzetta ; Gianbattista Tiepolo became the first president after his return from Würzburg . It
8352-468: The Alps across the Veneto plain, with the silt being stretched into long banks, or lidi , by the action of the current flowing around the head of the Adriatic Sea from east to west. Subsidence , the gradual lowering of the surface of Venice, has contributed – along with other factors – to the seasonal Acqua alta ("high water") when the city's lowest lying surfaces may be covered at high tide. Those fleeing barbarian invasions who found refuge on
8496-540: The Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia . In 1848 a revolt briefly re-established the Venetian republic under Daniele Manin , but this was crushed in 1849. In 1866, after the Third Italian War of Independence , Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy . From the middle of the 18th century, Trieste and papal Ancona , both of which became free ports, competed with Venice more and more economically. Habsburg Trieste in particular boomed and increasingly served trade via
8640-402: The Baptist , a work that won such admiration that "men [and] women, young and old" flocked to see it "as if they were going to a solemn festival." In Cesena in 1502, Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia , the son of Pope Alexander VI , acting as a military architect and engineer and travelling throughout Italy with his patron. Leonardo created a map of Cesare Borgia's stronghold,
8784-409: The Byzantine Empire and the Middle East . By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and to support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by
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#17327767984848928-425: The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception and The Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie . In the spring of 1485, Leonardo travelled to Hungary (on behalf of Sforza) to meet king Matthias Corvinus , and was commissioned by him to paint a Madonna . In 1490 he was called as a consultant, together with Francesco di Giorgio Martini , for the building site of the cathedral of Pavia and
9072-464: The Duke of Milan to paint the Sala delle Asse in the Sforza Castle , c. 1498. The project became a trompe-l'œil decoration that made the great hall appear to be a pergola created by the interwoven limbs of sixteen mulberry trees, whose canopy included an intricate labyrinth of leaves and knots on the ceiling. When Ludovico Sforza was overthrown by France in 1500, Leonardo fled Milan for Venice , accompanied by his assistant Salaì and friend,
9216-405: The French king's instructions to assist Leonardo in his relocation to France and to inform the artist that the King was eagerly awaiting his arrival. Pallavicini was also asked to reassure Leonardo that he would be well received at court, both by the King and by his mother, Louise of Savoy . Leonardo entered Francis's service later that year, and was given the use of the manor house Clos Lucé near
9360-526: The Gallerie dell'Accademia are still housed. The collections of the Accademia were first opened to the public on 10 August 1817. The Gallerie dell'Accademia became independent from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia in 1879. Like other state museums in Italy, it falls under the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali , the Italian Ministry of Culture and Heritage. The Napoleonic administration had disbanded many institutions in Venice including some churches, convents and Scuole . The Scuola della Carità,
9504-402: The Holy Family on the road to Egypt. The painting demonstrates an eerie beauty as the graceful figures kneel in adoration around the infant Christ in a wild landscape of tumbling rock and whirling water. While the painting is quite large, about 200×120 centimetres , it is not nearly as complex as the painting ordered by the monks of San Donato, having only four figures rather than about fifty and
9648-472: The King's residence at the royal Château d'Amboise . He was frequently visited by Francis, and drew plans for an immense castle town the King intended to erect at Romorantin . He also made a mechanical lion, which during a pageant walked towards the King and – upon being struck by a wand – opened its chest to reveal a cluster of lilies. Leonardo was accompanied during this time by his friend and apprentice Francesco Melzi, and
9792-475: The Louvre's exhibition from 24 October 2019 to 24 February 2020. Venice Venice ( / ˈ v ɛ n ɪ s / VEN -iss ; Italian : Venezia [veˈnɛttsja] ; Venetian : Venesia [veˈnɛsja] , formerly Venexia [veˈnɛzja] ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region . It is built on a group of 126 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of
9936-417: The MOSE Project attributed the delay to "corruption scandals". The project is not guaranteed to be successful and the cost has been very high, with as much as approximately €2 billion of the cost lost to corruption. According to a spokesman for the National Trust of Italy ( Fondo Ambiente Italiano ): Mose is a pharaonic project that should have cost €800m [£675m] but will cost at least €7bn [£6bn]. If
10080-433: The acquisition, from Alexandria , of relics claimed to be of St Mark the Evangelist ; these were placed in the new basilica. Winged lions – visible throughout Venice – are the emblem of St Mark . The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop, and as Byzantine power waned, its own autonomy grew, leading to eventual independence. From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Venice developed into
10224-414: The art of combining complex figure compositions with detailed architectural backgrounds. Piero della Francesca had made a detailed study of perspective , and was the first painter to make a scientific study of light. These studies and Leon Battista Alberti 's treatise De pictura were to have a profound effect on younger artists and in particular on Leonardo's own observations and artworks. Much of
10368-643: The artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting, and modelling. Leonardo was a contemporary of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Perugino, who were all slightly older than he was. He would have met them at the workshop of Verrocchio or at the Platonic Academy of the Medici . Florence was ornamented by the works of artists such as Donatello's contemporaries Masaccio , whose figurative frescoes were imbued with realism and emotion, and Ghiberti , whose Gates of Paradise , gleaming with gold leaf , displayed
10512-451: The barriers are closed at only 90 cm of high water, most of St Mark's will be flooded anyway; but if closed at very high levels only, then people will wonder at the logic of spending such sums on something that didn't solve the problem. And pressure will come from the cruise ships to keep the gates open. On 13 November 2019, Venice was flooded when waters peaked at 1.87 m (6 ft), the highest tide since 1966 (1.94 m). More than 80% of
10656-475: The base of a larger composition, a painting by Lorenzo di Credi from which it has become separated. The other is a much larger work, 217 cm (85 in) long. In both Annunciations, Leonardo used a formal arrangement, like two well-known pictures by Fra Angelico of the same subject, of the Virgin Mary sitting or kneeling to the right of the picture, approached from the left by an angel in profile, with
10800-480: The cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods – the Acqua alta , that rise to a height of several centimetres over its quays – regularly following certain tides. In many old houses, staircases once used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable. Studies indicate that
10944-414: The chief executive; he would usually hold the title until his death, although several Doges were forced, by pressure from their oligarchical peers, to resign and retire into monastic seclusion, when they were felt to have been discredited by political failure. The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the doge),
11088-659: The city are linked by 472 bridges. The islands are in the shallow Venetian Lagoon , an enclosed bay lying between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile ). In 2020, around 258,685 people resided in greater Venice or the Comune di Venezia , of whom around 51,000 live in the historical island city of Venice ( centro storico ) and the rest on
11232-466: The city continues sinking at a relatively slow rate of 1–2 mm per year; therefore, the state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE Project ( Italian : Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico ), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates, expected to be completed in late 2023; the idea
11376-457: The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic . Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city. This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment. Additionally, the lowest part of Venice, St Mark's Basilica , is only 64 centimetres (25 in) above sea level, and one of
11520-606: The city itself. However, the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste, and Trento were repeatedly bombed . On 29 April 1945, a force of British and New Zealand troops of the British Eighth Army , under Lieutenant General Freyberg , liberated Venice, which had been a hotbed of anti-Mussolini Italian partisan activity. Venice was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, inscribing it as "Venice and its Lagoon". Venice
11664-484: The city was covered by water, which damaged cultural heritage sites, including more than 50 churches, leading to tourists cancelling their visits. The planned flood barrier would have prevented this incident according to various sources, including Marco Piana, the head of conservation at St Mark's Basilica. The mayor promised that work on the flood barrier would continue, and the Prime Minister announced that
11808-613: The city, but then spent much time in the service of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Later, he worked in Florence and Milan again, as well as briefly in Rome , all while attracting a large following of imitators and students. Upon the invitation of Francis I , he spent his last three years in France, where he died in 1519. Since his death, there has not been a time where his achievements, diverse interests, personal life , and empirical thinking have failed to incite interest and admiration, making him
11952-498: The city. A Washington Post report provided a more thorough analysis: "The sea level has been rising even more rapidly in Venice than in other parts of the world. At the same time, the city is sinking, the result of tectonic plates shifting below the Italian coast. Those factors together, along with the more frequent extreme weather events associated with climate change, contribute to floods." Henk Ovink , an expert on flooding, told CNN that, while environmental factors are part of
12096-523: The curiosity of others. One such aspect was his love for animals, likely including vegetarianism and according to Vasari, a habit of purchasing caged birds and releasing them. Leonardo had many friends who are now notable either in their fields or for their historical significance, including mathematician Luca Pacioli , with whom he collaborated on the book Divina proportione in the 1490s. Leonardo appears to have had no close relationships with women except for his friendship with Cecilia Gallerani and
12240-500: The diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw in 810. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory, and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast. In 828 the new city's prestige increased with
12384-732: The early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila . The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsula, that of the Lombards in 568, left the Eastern Roman Empire only a small strip of coastline in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the Exarchate of Ravenna , administered from that ancient port and overseen by
12528-639: The entrance to the cathedral of Venice, St Mark's Basilica (The originals have been replaced with replicas, and are now stored within the basilica.) After the fall of Constantinople, the former Eastern Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago , and captured Crete. The seizure of Constantinople proved as decisive
12672-458: The fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax, Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the practice spread to other countries. During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside . It was realized that extraction of water from the aquifer was
12816-535: The field, was confirmed by Leo as dux and given the added title of hypatus (from the Greek for " consul "). In 751, the Lombard King Aistulf conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna , leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was at Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in
12960-429: The first real international financial centre, emerging in the 9th century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 14th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. For centuries Venice possessed numerous territories along the Adriatic Sea and within the Italian peninsula , leaving a significant impact on the architecture and culture that can still be seen today. The Venetian Arsenal
13104-509: The foreground sprawls his symbol, a great lion whose body and tail make a double spiral across the base of the picture space. The other remarkable feature is the sketchy landscape of craggy rocks against which the figure is silhouetted. The daring display of figure composition, the landscape elements and personal drama also appear in the great unfinished masterpiece, the Adoration of the Magi ,
13248-528: The foremost. Also associated with the Platonic Academy of the Medici was Leonardo's contemporary, the brilliant young poet and philosopher Pico della Mirandola . In 1482, Leonardo was sent as an ambassador by Lorenzo de' Medici to Ludovico il Moro , who ruled Milan between 1479 and 1499. Leonardo worked in Milan from 1482 until 1499. He was commissioned to paint the Virgin of the Rocks for
13392-432: The founding or building of Venice, tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees – from nearby Roman cities such as Patavium ( Padua ), Aquileia , Tarvisium ( Treviso ), Altinum , and Concordia (modern Portogruaro ), as well as from the undefended countryside – who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Hun invasions. This
13536-582: The gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city. Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. Venice was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy . It was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of
13680-477: The government would be accelerating the project. The city's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro , blamed the floods on climate change . The chambers of the Regional Council of Veneto began to be flooded around 10 pm, two minutes after the council rejected a plan to combat global warming. One of the effects of climate change is sea level rise which causes an increase in frequency and magnitude of floodings in
13824-472: The historic parts of the city within the lagoon were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, covering an area of 70,176.4 hectares (173,410 acres). Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture , and artwork. Venice is known for several important artistic movements – especially during the Italian Renaissance – and has played an important role in
13968-439: The history of instrumental and operatic music; it is the birthplace of Baroque music composers Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi . In the 21st century, Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has often been ranked one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It has been described by The Times as one of Europe's most romantic cities and by The New York Times as "undoubtedly
14112-530: The household of his paternal grandfather, Antonio da Vinci, but it is possible that he spent the years before then in the care of his mother in Vinci, either Anchiano or Campo Zeppi in the parish of San Pantaleone. He is thought to have been close to his uncle, Francesco da Vinci, but his father was probably in Florence most of the time. Ser Piero, who was the descendant of a long line of notaries, established an official residence in Florence by at least 1469 and had
14256-510: The lagoon probably increased with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories, as refugees sought asylum in the area. In 775/6, the episcopal seat of Olivolo ( San Pietro di Castello ) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811–827) the ducal seat moved from Malamocco to the more protected Rialto, within present-day Venice. The monastery of St Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark , as well as
14400-403: The lagoon). 47.8% of the population in 2021 were male and 52.2% were female; minors (ages 18 and younger) were 14.7% of the population compared to elderly people (ages 65 and older) who numbered 27.9%. This compared with the Italian average of 16.7% and 23.5%, respectively. The average age of Venice residents was 48.6 compared to the Italian average of 45.9. In the five years between 2016 and 2021,
14544-508: The mainland ( terraferma ). Together with the cities of Padua and Treviso , Venice is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6 million. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC. The city was historically the capital of
14688-499: The mathematician Luca Pacioli . In Venice, Leonardo was employed as a military architect and engineer, devising methods to defend the city from naval attack. On his return to Florence in 1500, he and his household were guests of the Servite monks at the monastery of Santissima Annunziata and were provided with a workshop where, according to Vasari, Leonardo created the cartoon of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John
14832-438: The most beautiful city built by man". However, the city faces challenges including an excessive number of tourists, pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings. In light of the fact that Venice and its lagoon are under constant threat in terms of their ecology and cultural heritage, Venice's UNESCO listing has been under constant examination. Although no surviving historical records deal directly with
14976-425: The most flood-prone parts of the city. In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief, Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of a stamp tax. When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice introduced paper , with the superscription "AQ" and imprinted instructions, which was to be used for "letters to officials". At first, this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until
15120-405: The next thirty years. Salaì executed a number of paintings under the name of Andrea Salaì, but although Vasari claims that Leonardo "taught him many things about painting," his work is generally considered to be of less artistic merit than others among Leonardo's pupils, such as Marco d'Oggiono and Boltraffio . At the time of his death in 1524, Salaì owned a painting referred to as Joconda in
15264-746: The only two large equestrian statues of the Renaissance, Donatello 's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice, and became known as the Gran Cavallo . Leonardo completed a model for the horse and made detailed plans for its casting , but in November 1494, Ludovico gave the metal to his brother-in-law to be used for a cannon to defend the city from Charles VIII of France . Contemporary correspondence records that Leonardo and his assistants were commissioned by
15408-482: The painting in Verrocchio's workshop was done by his assistants. According to Vasari, Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on his The Baptism of Christ ( c. 1472–1475 ), painting the young angel holding Jesus's robe with skill so far superior to his master's that Verrocchio purportedly put down his brush and never painted again (the latter claim probably being apocryphal). The new technique of oil paint
15552-448: The painting is barely begun, the composition can be seen and is very unusual. Jerome , as a penitent , occupies the middle of the picture, set on a slight diagonal and viewed somewhat from above. His kneeling form takes on a trapezoid shape, with one arm stretched to the outer edge of the painting and his gaze looking in the opposite direction. J. Wasserman points out the link between this painting and Leonardo's anatomical studies. Across
15696-503: The painting was abandoned. The third important work of this period is the Virgin of the Rocks , commissioned in Milan for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. The painting, to be done with the assistance of the de Predis brothers , was to fill a large complex altarpiece . Leonardo chose to paint an apocryphal moment of the infancy of Christ when the infant John the Baptist , in protection of an angel, met
15840-583: The papacy (as Leo X); Leonardo went to Rome that September, where he was received by the pope's brother Giuliano . From September 1513 to 1516, Leonardo spent much of his time living in the Belvedere Courtyard in the Apostolic Palace , where Michelangelo and Raphael were both active. Leonardo was given an allowance of 33 ducats a month and, according to Vasari, decorated a lizard with scales dipped in quicksilver . The pope gave him
15984-455: The population of Venice declined by 2.7%, while Italy as a whole declined by 2.2%. The population in the historic old city declined much faster: from about 120,000 in 1980 to about 60,000 in 2009, and to 50,000 in 2021. As of 2021 , 84.2% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant groups include: 7,814 (3.1%) Bangladeshis , 6,258 (2.5%) Romanians , 4,054 (1.6%) Moldovans , 4,014 (1.6%) Chinese , and 2,514 (1%) Ukrainians . Venice
16128-451: The problem, "historic floods in Venice are not only a result of the climate crisis but poor infrastructure and mismanagement". The government of Italy committed to providing 20 million euros in funding to help the city repair the most urgent aspects although Brugnaro's estimate of the total damage was "hundreds of millions" to at least 1 billion euros. On 3 October 2020, the MOSE
16272-447: The recent awareness and admiration of Leonardo as a scientist and inventor, for the better part of four hundred years his fame rested on his achievements as a painter. A handful of works that are either authenticated or attributed to him have been regarded as among the great masterpieces. These paintings are famous for a variety of qualities that have been much imitated by students and discussed at great length by connoisseurs and critics. By
16416-528: The refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. It represents the last meal shared by Jesus with his disciples before his capture and death, and shows the moment when Jesus has just said "one of you will betray me", and the consternation that this statement caused. The writer Matteo Bandello observed Leonardo at work and wrote that some days he would paint from dawn till dusk without stopping to eat and then not paint for three or four days at
16560-618: The rise of Venice's power. Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade , which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire . As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople , which were originally placed above
16704-597: The ruling class was preoccupied with commerce. Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism, and executed nobody for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation . This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the papacy . In this context, the writings of the Anglican divine William Bedell are particularly illuminating. Venice
16848-421: The sandy islands of Torcello, Iesolo, and Malamocco, in this coastal lagoon, learned to build by driving closely spaced piles consisting of the trunks of alder trees, a wood noted for its water resistance, into the mud and sand, until they reached a much harder layer of compressed clay . Building foundations rested on plates of Istrian limestone placed on top of the piles. Between autumn and early spring,
16992-503: The sea to Florence, in order to allow a supply of water to sustain the canal during all seasons. Leonardo had left Borgia's service and returned to Florence by early 1503, where he rejoined the Guild of Saint Luke on 18 October of that year. By this same month, Leonardo had begun working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo , the model for the Mona Lisa , which he would continue working on until his twilight years. In January 1504, he
17136-422: The son of a Lombard aristocrat, who is considered to have been his favourite student. The Council of Florence wished Leonardo to return promptly to finish The Battle of Anghiari , but he was given leave at the behest of Louis XII , who considered commissioning the artist to make some portraits. Leonardo may have commenced a project for an equestrian figure of d'Amboise; a wax model survives and, if genuine,
17280-550: The titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria . Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River , were known as the Terraferma ; they were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat (on which the city depended). In building its maritime commercial empire, Venice dominated
17424-520: The trade in salt, acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean , including Crete , and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and became a major power-broker in the Near East . By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo , Brescia , and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it
17568-765: The two Este sisters, Beatrice and Isabella . While on a journey that took him through Mantua , he drew a portrait of Isabella that appears to have been used to create a painted portrait, now lost. Beyond friendship, Leonardo kept his private life secret. His sexuality has been the subject of satire, analysis, and speculation. This trend began in the mid-16th century and was revived in the 19th and 20th centuries, most notably by Sigmund Freud in his Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood . Leonardo's most intimate relationships were perhaps with his pupils Salaì and Melzi . Melzi, writing to inform Leonardo's brothers of his death, described Leonardo's feelings for his pupils as both loving and passionate. It has been claimed since
17712-399: The urging of Pope Gregory II . The exarch, held responsible for the acts of his master, Byzantine Emperor Leo III , was murdered, and many officials were put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own independent leader for the first time, although the relationship of this to the uprisings is not clear. Ursus was the first of 117 "doges" ( doge is
17856-513: The young Leonardo was the first to suggest making the Arno river a navigable channel between Florence and Pisa . In January 1478, Leonardo received an independent commission to paint an altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Bernard in the Palazzo Vecchio , an indication of his independence from Verrocchio's studio. An anonymous early biographer, known as Anonimo Gaddiano , claims that in 1480 Leonardo
18000-540: Was 65, which may indicate why he left works such as the Mona Lisa unfinished. He continued to work at some capacity until eventually becoming ill and bedridden for several months. Leonardo died at Clos Lucé on 2 May 1519 at the age of 67, possibly of a stroke. Francis I had become a close friend. Vasari describes Leonardo as lamenting on his deathbed, full of repentance, that "he had offended against God and men by failing to practice his art as he should have done." Vasari states that in his last days, Leonardo sent for
18144-482: Was a very great philosopher." Salaì , or Il Salaino ("The Little Unclean One", i.e., the devil), entered Leonardo's household in 1490 as an assistant. After only a year, Leonardo made a list of his misdemeanours, calling him "a thief, a liar, stubborn, and a glutton," after he had made off with money and valuables on at least five occasions and spent a fortune on clothes. Nevertheless, Leonardo treated him with great indulgence, and he remained in Leonardo's household for
18288-542: Was about the time of the death of Verrocchio's master, the great sculptor Donatello . Leonardo became an apprentice by the age of 17 and remained in training for seven years. Other famous painters apprenticed in the workshop or associated with it include Ghirlandaio , Perugino , Botticelli , and Lorenzo di Credi . Leonardo was exposed to both theoretical training and a wide range of technical skills, including drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, and woodwork, as well as
18432-579: Was activated for the first time in response to a predicted high tide event, preventing some of the low-lying parts of the city (in particular the Piazza San Marco) from being flooded. According to the Köppen climate classification , Venice has a mid-latitude, four season humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), with cool, damp winters and warm, humid summers. The 24-hour average temperature in January
18576-481: Was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks , in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and palaeontology . Leonardo
18720-559: Was applied to areas of the mostly tempera work, including the landscape, the rocks seen through the brown mountain stream, and much of Jesus's figure, indicating Leonardo's hand. Additionally, Leonardo may have been a model for two works by Verrocchio: the bronze statue of David in the Bargello and the archangel Raphael in Tobias and the Angel . Vasari tells a story of Leonardo as
18864-549: Was back in Milan, living in his own house in Porta Orientale in the parish of Santa Babila. In 1512, Leonardo was working on plans for an equestrian monument for Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , but this was prevented by an invasion of a confederation of Swiss, Spanish and Venetian forces, which drove the French from Milan. Leonardo stayed in the city, spending several months in 1513 at the Medici's Vaprio d'Adda villa. In March 1513, Lorenzo de' Medici's son Giovanni assumed
19008-460: Was born on 15 April 1452 in, or close to, the Tuscan hill town of Vinci , 20 miles from Florence . He was born out of wedlock to Piero da Vinci (Ser Piero da Vinci d'Antonio di ser Piero di ser Guido; 1426–1504), a Florentine legal notary , and Caterina di Meo Lippi ( c. 1434–1494 ), from the lower class. It remains uncertain where Leonardo was born; the traditional account, from
19152-484: Was born when Leonardo was 46 years old) and with whom he had very little contact. Very little is known about Leonardo's childhood and much is shrouded in myth, partially because of his biography in the frequently apocryphal Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550) by 16th-century art historian Giorgio Vasari . Tax records indicate that by at least 1457 he lived in
19296-1570: Was completed in 1441 by Bartolomeo Bon . The Gallerie dell’Accademia contains masterpieces of Venetian painting up to the 19th century, generally arranged chronologically though some thematic displays are evident. Artists represented include: Giovanni d'Alemagna , Jacopo and Leandro Bassano , Lazzaro Bastiani , Jacopo , Gentile and Giovanni Bellini , Bernardo Bellotto , Paris Bordone , Hieronymus Bosch , Canaletto , Antonio Canova , Vittore Carpaccio , Giulio Carpioni , Rosalba Carriera , Cima da Conegliano , Pietro da Cortona , Domenico Fetti , Jacobello del Fiore , Fra Galgario , Pietro Gaspari , Luca Giordano , Giovanni Antonio and Francesco Guardi , Giorgione , Francesco Hayez , Giulia Lama , Charles Le Brun , Johann Liss , Leonardo da Vinci , Pietro and Alessandro Longhi , Lorenzo Veneziano , Johann Carl Loth , Lorenzo Lotto , Francesco Maffei , Giovanni Mansueti , Andrea Mantegna , Rocco Marconi , Michele Marieschi , Hans Memling , Michele di Matteo da Bologna , Palma Vecchio and Giovane , Paolo Veneziano , Giovanni Battista Piazzetta , Piero della Francesca , Bonifacio de' Pitati , Giambattista Pittoni , Mattia Preti , Sebastiano and Marco Ricci , Benedetto Rusconi , Carlo Saraceni , Giovanni Battista and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo , Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto , Titian , Cosmè Tura , Paolo Veronese , Giorgio Vasari , Antonio , Bartolomeo and Alvise Vivarini , Giuseppe Zais , Francesco Zuccarelli . The collection includes Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of
19440-481: Was elected in 697, as written in the oldest chronicle by John, deacon of Venice c. 1008 . Some modern historians claim Paolo Lucio Anafesto was actually the Exarch Paul , and Paul's successor, Marcello Tegalliano , was Paul's magister militum (or "general"), literally "master of soldiers". In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy , at
19584-597: Was living with the Medici and often worked in the garden of the Piazza San Marco, Florence , where a Neoplatonic academy of artists, poets and philosophers organised by the Medici met. In March 1481, he received a commission from the monks of San Donato in Scopeto for The Adoration of the Magi . Neither of these initial commissions were completed, being abandoned when Leonardo went to offer his services to Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza . Leonardo wrote Sforza
19728-491: Was of ground-breaking importance in terms of composition. Two of the three were never finished, and the third took so long that it was subject to lengthy negotiations over completion and payment. One of these paintings was Saint Jerome in the Wilderness , which Bortolon associates with a difficult period of Leonardo's life, as evidenced in his diary: "I thought I was learning to live; I was only learning to die." Although
19872-534: Was one of the first institutions to study art restoration starting in 1777 with Pietro Edwards, and formalised by 1819 as a course. In 1807 the academy was re-founded by Napoleonic decree. The name was changed from Veneta Academia di Pittura, Scultura e Architettura to Accademia Reale di Belle Arti, "royal academy of fine arts", and the academy was moved to the Palladian complex of the Scuola della Carità , where
20016-755: Was one of the largest in Europe in the High Middle Ages , with a population of 60,000 in AD 1000; 80,000 in 1200; and rising up to 110,000–180,000 in 1300. In the mid-1500s the city's population was 170,000, and by 1600 it approached 200,000. In 2021, there were 254,850 people residing in the Comune of Venice (the population figure includes 50,434 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico), 177,621 in Terraferma (the mainland); and 26,795 on other islands in
20160-528: Was part of a committee formed to recommend where Michelangelo's statue of David should be placed. He then spent two years in Florence designing and painting a mural of The Battle of Anghiari for the Signoria, with Michelangelo designing its companion piece, The Battle of Cascina . In 1506, Leonardo was summoned to Milan by Charles II d'Amboise , the acting French governor of the city. There, Leonardo took on another pupil, Count Francesco Melzi ,
20304-425: Was struck by the equestrian statue of Regisole , of which he left a sketch. Leonardo was employed on many other projects for Sforza, such as preparation of floats and pageants for special occasions; a drawing of , and wooden model for, a competition to design the cupola for Milan Cathedral ; and a model for a huge equestrian monument to Ludovico's predecessor Francesco Sforza . This would have surpassed in size
20448-522: Was supported by a pension totalling 10,000 scudi . At some point, Melzi drew a portrait of Leonardo ; the only others known from his lifetime were a sketch by an unknown assistant on the back of one of Leonardo's studies ( c. 1517 ) and a drawing by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino depicting an elderly Leonardo with his right arm wrapped in clothing. The latter, in addition to the record of an October 1517 visit by Louis d'Aragon , confirms an account of Leonardo's right hand being paralytic when he
20592-561: Was threatened by invaders. Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called golden bulls or "chrysobulls", in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the empire; but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and
20736-453: Was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most noted, occasion was in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V . The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world; the leading printer was Aldus Manutius , who invented paperback books that could be carried in
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