Sublime

Cesare Borgia was the son of the Spanish-Italian cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, soon to become Pope Alexander VI, who vies for the hotly contested title of most libertine Renaissance pope. “He had in the fullest measure all the vices of the flesh and of the spirit,” the pope’s contemporary Francesco Guicciardini wrote. He was the first pope to recognize

King Francis I was six feet tall, had broad shoulders, and displayed the charisma and courage that appealed to Leonardo. He loved leading his troops into battle. With his standard flying high, he would ride directly to the front lines. He was also, unlike Borgia and some of Leonardo’s previous patrons, a civilized and decent man. When Francis

Cosimo died in 1464, just as Leonardo arrived in Florence from Vinci. He was succeeded by his son and then, five years later, his famous grandson, Lorenzo de’ Medici, aptly dubbed Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Leonardo’s most serious longtime companion, who joined Leonardo’s household in 1490, was angelic looking but devilish in personality, and thus acquired the nickname Salai, the Little Devil. Vasari described him as “a graceful and beautiful youth with fine curly hair in which Leonardo greatly delighted,” and he was the subject of many sexual

exemplaires de la Madone au fuseau. Dès son retour à Florence en 1500, Léonard établit un atelier collaboratif où la fabrication de certains tableaux, plus particulièrement de petits tableaux pieux, est un travail d’équipe suivant le modèle qui existait dans l’atelier d’Andrea del Verrocchio20.