Despite all of these misfortunes, Leonardo continued struggling with the problems of flight. He kept working out the proportions of wing span to the weight of the load. Indeed, he had already started designs for a flying machine. He had chosen a room which was the highest in one of the towers of the castle and which had access to a roof. Leonardo’s plans for a flying machine were a secret, and, with the exception of an assistant, no one knew about them. He made sure that he could not be seen by the workmen on the dome of the cathedral and proceeded to block off his room with beams which he planned to use as supports for his model.
He had thought at first that any attempted flight should take place over water in order to cushion a possible crash—but as his plans progressed he designed a parachute. It was a pyramid-shaped “tent of linen” twenty-four feet broad and twenty-four feet high, and it is believed to have been successfully tried out from a tower especially constructed for that purpose.
Since Leonardo was no longer working for Ludovico, he lived more simply than ever. He made regular lists of his expenses down to the last penny. His habits were frugal although he always kept himself neat. His meals were spare; he drank a little wine at meals and never ate meat. To his pupils and apprentices, he recommended regular habits such as not sleeping during midday, eating only when hungry and chewing well, exercising moderately, and sleeping well covered.
Yet, even though Leonardo lived cheaply, he was now greatly in need of money. Swallowing his pride, he wrote to Ludovico, placing himself at the duke’s service once again. His absence from court, he said, had been necessary so that he could earn a living. In this and other ways, Leonardo attempted to heal the break between them.
It turned out that Ludovico was glad to have Leonardo back. Perhaps mindful of the fame that the model of the equestrian monument had brought the house of Sforza, he now commissioned Leonardo to paint a picture. The Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie was the nearest church to the Sforza castle and a favorite retreat of Ludovico. Here he used to walk in the quiet garden while the white-robed monks silently went about their chores. In gratitude for the peace he found there, Ludovico had had the refectory rebuilt and on the back wall, a crucifixion scene had been painted by Montorfano, a Lombard. But the front wall was given to Leonardo. On this Leonardo decided to paint a picture of the Last Supper—the painting that has since become one of the best known in the world.
8
The French
The noonday sun was baking the deserted streets of Milan as Leonardo hurried across the drawbridge of the castle. The guard dozing in the entrance arch started to his feet, but when he saw who it was he sat down again, muttering about a madman. Taking the shortest way, Leonardo arrived at the monastery gate and pulled on the bellcord. When the gate opened Leonardo brushed past the startled monk and made directly for the scaffolding in the refectory. He looked at his almost completed painting for a moment, took a brush and mixed a color swiftly on the large palette. Then he climbed the scaffolding and very quickly applied three or four strokes. With this he sighed and smiled. Then, just as abruptly, he put away his brushes and, without a backward glance, he left, making his way back to the castle in the hot sun.
For three years, Leonardo had been working this way on the “Last Supper.”
Sometimes he would work from dawn to dusk forgetting to eat; other times, he would stay away for days and then run back just to add a touch. Once he arrived and, with his arms folded across his chest, he stood in front of it for two hours just studying what he had done.