What happened to Leonardo da Vinci's Notebooks?
Codex K. The leg of a man and horse.
It is not too fanciful to say that the world owes a huge debt of gratitude to Francis I, King of France for Leonardo's Notebooks, or at least some of them.
True, it was his student Francesco Melzi who kept Leonardo's Notebooks* safe but credit for their existence (after the author of course) must go to Francis for giving Leonardo the time, space and peace to collate his scraps of paper.
When the King invited him to live in the lovely old manor house of Cloux** in Amboise, Leonardo brought with him boxes and boxes of jottings scribbled down between 1470 and his death in 1519 (according to local legend, his last known words were '...the souis getting cold.').
Contrary to conspiracy theories, the reason Leonardo wrote from right is that mirror writing is natural for left handers. Also, it prevented smudging. He probably protected the paper below the line he was writing. Leonardo was fastidious. The reason he didn't like sculpting was that it's too dusty. This was also the reason he didn't like chalks. They too are dusty, which is why he invented pastels.
Among those who should pay homage to the French King are:
The British Royal Family owns a huge collection, part of The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, England.
The Institut de France, Paris owns twelve Notebooks, Codices A to M (J is missing) looted from Milan by Napoleon.
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan owns Codex Atlanticus, a massive compilation of over 1,119 pages.
Biblioteca Reale Turin, Italy owns Codex on the Flight of Birds.
Victoria and Albert Museum England owns The John Forster*** Codices (I, II, and III), three Notebooks. Count Libri, an Italian collector found guilty of stealing from French public libraries, owned them. He sold them to Lord Bulwer-Lytton of Knebworth House in Hertfordshire England. Lytton sold them on to his friend John Forster who left them to the V&A.
The British Library England owns The Codex Arundel. Many of Leonardo's papers were bought by the Spanish sculptor Pompeo Leoni. The Earl of Arundel bought some from Leoni's heirs for his private collection. John Evelyn**** a life long admirer of Leonardo persuaded Arundel's grandson to donate them to The Royal Society which sold them on to The British Museum Library.
Biblioteca Nacional de España Spain owns The Madrid Codices I and II.
Bill Gates owns the Codex Leicester.
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford owns a small collection.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York owns a small collection.
* known as Codices (ancient manuscript in book form). Plural Codex.
** now known as Château Clos Lucé.
*** John Forster, close friend and first biographer of Charles Dickens.
**** 1644. John Evelyn visited Leonardo's burial place in Our Lady of Amboise and Saint Florentin church (it was razed during The French Revolution) in The Royal Château of Amboise.
Post by Pamela (BA History of Art). Photography by Mark Playle.
Leonardo da Vinci
The Amboise Connection
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