Even knowing that his birthright situation was then a common occurrence, Leonardo had a hard time accepting this humiliating heritage. It was 1467 and Leonardo had just turned fifteen. His birth father immediately arranged for him to relocate, and placed Leonardo to work as an apprentice with a local, well known, Master painter. This was the final blow to Leonardo’s ego. Father and son hardly ever saw each other afterwards.

1. LEONARDO THE LAST YEARS
Leonardo da Vinci
The Early Years by Ton Pascal
It was 1467 and Leonardo had
just turned fifteen. For the past
six years Leonardo had been
living with his grandfather, in
Florence. His birth father had
remarried for the second time
but still refused to legitimate
Leonardo. Even knowing that
his birthright situation was then
a common occurrence,
Leonardo had a hard time
accepting this humiliating
heritage.
He had grown into a well
mannered, and very handsome young man. His birth father immediately arranged for
him to relocate, and placed Leonardo to work as an apprentice with a local, well
known, Master painter. On that fatidic day Leonardo became an Artisan. The
prevailing Italian law had sealed his future; an illegitimate child had no social
rights. With no right to a family name, from now on he must sign simply, Leonardo,
and he could add, from (da) Vinci, the town he was born. He would never go to
university, have the right to own property in any Italian domain, or like his birth father,
hold a public office. This was the final blow to Leonardo’s ego. Father and son hardly
ever saw each other afterwards.
The young Leonardo, in the prime of his youth, entered the busy atelier of Andreas
del Verrocchio. Verrocchio was an architect, sculptor, goldsmith and painter who ran
a large and successful workshop in Florence. Painters, apprentices, and servants,
they all worked and lived, cramped up, in the same property. But, what a great time it
was for the young Leonardo. His life had taken a three hundred and sixty degrees
turnaround. It was like a blessing in disguise.
Verrocchio’s huge atelier was full of
eccentric, boisterous, gay, and amusing
people. The majority were openly
homosexuals, including his new mentor and
Master. Here Leonardo found the family he
had always dreamed about. Leonardo
suddenly found himself free to pursue new
experiences. Free to discover and explore
his blossoming sexuality.
TPD Inc. 103 Avenue Rd. Suite 810, Toronto, ON, M5R 2G9 Canada.
Web site: www.leonardo‐tly.com email: tonpascal@leonardo‐tly.com
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2. LEONARDO THE LAST YEARS
Late 1469, the young and flamboyant Francesco Botticini, who also worked in the
atelier, got an especial commission to do a painting of the legend of “Tobias and The
Three Archangels”. He asked Leonardo to be the model for the angel Saint Michael.
(Leonardo is the one on the far left.) Botticini finished the painting the following year,
and by then everybody wanted the handsome, young Leonardo, to be their model.
Even his Master had decided to use Leonardo as
his model. Verrocchio had accepted a
commission from Lorenzo de Medici for a
sculpture of the bible’s hero “The Young David
and Goliath.” This is without doubt Verrocchio’s
most beautiful and better known sculpture. The
biggest innovations introduced in this 125 cm tall
bronze sculpture were the replacement of the
traditional ‘sling shot’ by a sword, and having
Goliath’s decapitated head at David’s feet. When
the piece was finished and delivered in 1473,
every artist in Florence, or visiting, copied this
new pose and attitude of the biblical hero.
This was the ‘Golden Age’ of Florence, under the
Medici’s rule.
In 1474 Verrocchio got a commission from the
Church of San Savi to do a painting of “The
Baptism of Christ.”
The commission specified that the images for this
altar piece should follow the events exactly as
recorded in the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke
and John: Jesus came to the Jordan River
where John baptized him. The event
concluded with heavens opening, and a dove-
like descent of the Holy Spirit.
Verrocchio had decided to do this commission in
oil paint, a technique only used until then in Italy,
for durable item like parade shields, or
accessories. There was so much work going on
at Verrocchio’s atelier that quite often several
painters worked on one painting at the same
time. In order to have it delivered on time, the
above commission was no exception. Verrocchio
did the essential parts of the main characters
and other painters finished the details. Leonardo
was entrusted to do the angel kneeling on the
left side.
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3. LEONARDO THE LAST YEARS
At that time Leonardo was also working on another of Verrocchio’s painting using the
same oil technique, “The Annunciation.”
Verrocchio had informed his assistants that the commission for this “Annunciation”,
from the monastery
of San Bartolomeo,
required a
symbolic, biblical
account of the
event, but with an
Italian connotation,
which of course
would please the
Medici family.
Verrocchio cleverly
rose up to the
occasion. He conceived the angel holding a Madonna lily, a symbol of Mary's virginity
and of the city of Florence. For the marble desk in front of Mary, he used the same
design of the tomb of Piero and Giovanni de Medici in the Basilica of San Lorenzo,
which Verrocchio had just finished sculpting. Verrocchio instructed Leonardo to
complete all the background of the painting and the angel. On this artwork Verrocchio
used lead-based paint and heavy brush strokes, while Leonardo used light brush
strokes and no lead. For the angel, he copied the wings from those of a bird in flight.
The city in the background was Leonardo’s first approach of his new, signature
painting technique ‘sfumato’. There are no harsh outlines. Minuscule brushstrokes
blends the areas into one another with a hazy but realistic rendition of light and color.
Leonardo developed his technique, “sfumato”, to utmost perfection and he used it
brilliantly on “Mona Lisa”, but that is another story…
Author’s note: Once, when the Annunciation was x-rayed, Verrocchio's work was evident while
Leonardo's angel and background were invisible.
Next chapter: “Leda And The Swan.”
Pictures credit. From top to bottom:
First: Florence in the 1460’s with the 13th century Palazzo della Signoria, later known as Palazzo
Vecchio on the far right. “The Hanging and Burning of Girolamo Savonarola, 1498”. Anonymous
painter, ca 1498. Museum of San Marco, Florence.
Second: “Tobias and The Three Archangels” by Francesco Botticini. 135 x 154 cm, ca 1470, Uffizi
Gallery, Florence.
Third: “Young David and Goliath”, bronze sculpture by Andreas del Verrocchio. 125 cm, ca 1475.
Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
Fourth: “The Baptism of Christ” by Andreas del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. 177 x 151 cm, oil
on wood, ca 1470. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
TPD Inc. 103 Avenue Rd. Suite 810, Toronto, ON, M5R 2G9 Canada.
Web site: www.leonardo‐tly.com email: tonpascal@leonardo‐tly.com
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4. LEONARDO THE LAST YEARS
Fifth: “The Annunciation” by Andreas del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. 99 x 217, oil and
tempera on wood panel, ca 1473. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
.
Ton Pascal is a writer, designer of all things and artist. He also loves history and is an
avid reader, so it is very natural that his latest book is a time leap into the 16th
century. LEONARDO THE LAST YEARS starts in 1516 and spans three and a half
years of Leonardo da Vinci’s life.
Book’s Web site: http://www.leonardo-tly.com/
Book on Amazon.com http://amzn.to/HhNUKN
TPD Inc. 103 Avenue Rd. Suite 810, Toronto, ON, M5R 2G9 Canada.
Web site: www.leonardo‐tly.com email: tonpascal@leonardo‐tly.com
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