Leonardo da Vinci - Kathleen Krull [6]
“The painter must strive to be universal,” Leonardo would write later. From Verrocchio he learned that an artist should be capable of rendering anything in nature.
Leonardo was definitely a quick learner. Word spread fast that the new apprentice could draw and paint like an angel. Verrocchio delegated more and more work to him. The boy’s confidence must have soared.
Life at Verrocchio’s was not all work and no play. The shop was a gathering place for artistic and literary young men. Artists from other shops would stop by, as would travelers passing through Florence. They exchanged recipes for paints, modeled for one another, and drank wine. Ideas ricocheted about all things—philosophy, nature, science, and the latest books.
Leonardo’s early education in scientific matters came from chatting with visitors to Verrocchio’s workshop. Collectors in Turkey and Greece who had libraries of ancient manuscripts—including the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle—were now selling them to collectors in Florence. Every time a manuscript from ancient times was translated, a buzz would go around the city.
Leonardo and his friends also enjoyed playing the role of artistic rebels, out to shock respectable citizens with frivolous behavior. Nothing too outrageous, as the laws were strict and penalties often severe. Mainly pranks—Leonardo was famous for the stink balls he created out of fish remains or decomposing animals.
Leonardo seemed to fit right in. Perhaps it was the only time in his life when this was true. He had friends from all walks of life, respectable and otherwise. A good singer, he also excelled at the viol, a stringed instrument played with a bow. He invented party tricks, like throwing red wine into a cup of boiling oil to make colorful flames erupt. Witty at parties, he told good riddles and funny stories (most of which haven’t stood the test of time).
Even accounts that rarely describe appearances always call Leonardo handsome. He was probably asked to pose for other artists. While long flowing robes were the fashion of the day, he wore rose-colored tunics that stopped short of his knee. His hair and beard were carefully combed and curled. In an age when bathing was optional, he was fanatic about being clean. He hated getting any paint under his fingernails.
The Medici fostered a party atmosphere around Florence, with jousting tournaments, carnivals, feasting, and other pleasurable amusements. Having fun was more important than anything. Leonardo, besides helping to provide decorations via the workshop, was reportedly an enthusiastic partygoer.
But he was also a private person. He spent time alone, thinking. He still took long walks in the hills nearby, carrying pen and paper everywhere in his sack. Even then he did not believe in walking for mere relaxation—it was an opportunity to “exercise” his eyes. A true artist never stopped perfecting observation skills.
His mind was open to beauty and to its opposite. In slums and hospitals, he looked for people he considered grotesque or deformed, furthering his study of anatomy. He would follow unusual-looking people for days, sketching.
“The desire to know is natural to good men,” Leonardo wrote later, endlessly curious about more and more subjects.
Meanwhile, Florence was becoming famous—or notorious, depending on your point of view—for its openness to new, even controversial, ideas.
Once Gutenberg invented movable type, books began to be printed at a rapid rate. Because there were so many more books around, many more people learned to read. Now, ancient works of literature were printed and bound into books that people (wealthy ones) could actually buy. For any one new book on the market, thirty buyers were fighting to buy it and read it.
The universities cultivated independent thought. Paolo Toscanelli, the most famous astronomer of the time, taught in Florence.