The private sphere of life of Leonardo da Vinci has aroused interest since shortly after his death. Described by Vassari, the biographer of the artists of the Renaissance, as a genius of extraordinary qualities it is not strange that almost 500 years after his death he continues to arouse interest. His life has come to us through documents and records about him, from his own writings, of his paintings and drawings with comments made by contemporaries of the artist and also of his biographies. Join us to meet the lovers of Leonardo da Vinci .
3 Alleged Lovers of Leonardo da Vinci
Go ahead the fact that there is no type of documentation that specifically states homosexuality by Leonardo da Vinci. The genius did not leave any writing on the subject and we only have the matter of the complaint that we talked about in the post: The arrest of da Vinci in 1476 by homosexual . He never married and there is no certainty that he maintained a sexual relationship with any person, be it man or woman. Among the few references on the theme of the teacher is what he left embodied in one of his notebooks: "The act of procreation and anything that has any relationship with him is so disgusting that human beings would soon die if there were no pretty faces and sensual dispositions. "
Some historians affirm that he was celibate, others that he was homosexual, but after the denunciation in Florence he resigned to the active sexual life and some like Freud speak of a latent homosexuality. In any case, if we refer to these three men as their lovers it is because some historians have considered it and we think it is interesting to find out who they were and why they were da Vinci's companions in different stages of his life.
Jacopo Saltarelli
The first of the considered lovers of Leonardo da Vinci of which we will talk personally had no importance in Leonardo's life, but it was the Causing the charge of sodomy that the teacher suffered with other men of Florence .
Jácopo Saltarelli was born in 1459 was the son of a well-known Florentine family and entered as an apprentice in the goldsmith shop of his brother Giovanni. It was also used as a model by several artists of the time, including Leonardo da Vinci himself. The event that leads us to speak of him as one of the lovers of Leonardo da Vinci occurred in 1476. Leonardo, a tailor named Baccino, Bartolomeo di Pasquino, Leonardo Tornabuoni and Jacopo Saltarelli himself were denounced anonymously to the Ufficiali di Notte (Officers of the night) for sodomy. In the complaint, Jácopo is described as a 17 year old, who dresses in black and that has been "accomplice in many vile acts" being always willing to please "those people who ask such iniquity." The case was dismissed because the witnesses did not appear, possibly due to pressure from the important families of the defendants.
Jácopo Saltarelli has been called many times "prostitute", but in no documentation of the case speaks of charging for his services and not in a previous complaint and conviction in which he was involved with another man.
Salai
Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno He was born in Milan in 1480 and died in 1524. He was the son of peasants from a town near Milan and entered Leonardo's service in 1490 when he was 10 years old. For his pranks he was nicknamed Salai which means "imp". Salai accompanied the teacher for 25 years and he was his favorite disciple. Although some works are attributed to him, he never had the sensitivity or the artistic status of his teacher.
When it is said that a homosexual relationship existed between them, historians believe that the young man often served as Leonardo's model and that in some of these works, such as "John the Baptist" some specialists see homoerotic connotations. They put special emphasis on the erotic drawing of 1513 "The Angel incarnate" in which the name of Salai crossed out on the back appears.
Salai was with the master until 1518 and Leonardo, at his death in 1519, bequeathed him a good part of his inheritance.
Francesco Melzi
Francesco Melzi He was born in Milan in 1493 and died in 1573. He was a student of Leonardo from the age of 14 and worked for the secretary and assistant until the death of the teacher . The specialists say that Francesco displaced Salai in the affections of genius of painting. Francesco was responsible for collecting, preserving and organizing Leonardo's notes on painting that ended up forming the " Codex Urbinas "And the death of the master inherited many of his collections and works both artistic and scientific, being a loyal administrator of his heritage. Deceased da Vinci returned to Italy, married and had eight children with his wife Angiola di Landriani.
If some historians believe that Francesco was Leonardo's lover it is because he devoted all his life to the death of the genius and they are also based on the fact that Leonardo was not known to love with women in addition to the 1476 homosexuality complaint. Francesco was one of the few students of da Vinci who had a remarkable artistic talent and several works of his hand are preserved.
These are the three lovers of Leonardo da Vinci according to some historians. We hope you have been interested in knowing your relationship with the teacher. If you want to know more about the Renaissance genius, we invite you to read the post: 6 Curiosities of Leonardo Da Vinci that you did not know.
Image: Sailko