I have to write about Friday. I visited the Clos Du Luce, which is the final living quarters of Leonardo da Vinci. He lived his last 3 years and died there. I say quarters but it was really a palace that had formerly been the home of one of the French kings and was provided to Leon by King Francois I. In addition Leonardo was give a stipend and he was able to do whatever he wished. He was 64 when he got there and by then couldn’t paint because he could no longer use his right arm. However, he spent his days organizing the entertainment for the king’s palace nearby. At that time the king of France lived right here in Amboise in the chateau that I told you about last week. This was in the first couple of decades of the 16th century. Leonardo died in 1515. Coincidently, he died on May 2, Troy’s birthday.

The home is now a museum and besides having the rooms set up similar to how they would have been when Leonardo was alive, the main attraction is the models of inventions that Leonardo drew plans for. It would be 100 to 200 hundred years after Leonardo’s death before many of these machines were actually built and used. What an astoundingly gifted man! He is most famous for his skill at painting but he was also self taught in many other disciplines including mathematics, anatomy, biology, engineering, astronomy, philosophy, music and more. Of course you are all familiar with the Mona Lisa but his rendition Of “The Last Supper” was so good that they attempted to move the entire wall that is was painted on from Italy to France. His innovations in technique and style were world renown even in his day. Most painters don’t become famous until they die. I have always considered myself to be a good problem solver but this guy makes me feel like an amateur. His inventions were answers to problems of his day. Many of them were war machines that could have been used by the kings that he worked for. Oftentimes lack of money prevented them coming to fruition.

I came to Amboise because of him but knew very little about the man before I got here. What I did know was that he was known as a prime example of a “renaissance” man, one who could perform, and be proficient in, many different skills. Other than the breadth of our experiences I am not suggesting that we are in the same league. Everything he did was so much better than anyone else could. One similarity that we do share though is that he was completely self-taught. He was a life-long, independent learner. He did not require anyone to “teach” him. It is true that he gathered information from wherever he could find it including books and materials that were available at the time, but this information to him was just input, he was not being taught. It was used only as a means to feed his curiosity. Sure I have no doubt that if he saw a particular paint color that he liked he may have asked someone how to mix it but he did so in the process of teaching himself, not in being taught. The reason I love that is because that is how I have spent my whole life. I never took a shop class of any kind in my life yet I have done work with skills taught in wood, metal, auto, and body shop. The difference between Leonardo and myself is that he would have ended up putting some new revolutionary paint job on his car. However, I feel as if he and I were kindred spirits because of the attitude of wanting to try everything necessary to do or achieve what we wanted to. When I did the tile work in my bathroom I went out and bought several how-to books and then proceeded. Leonardo would have probably developed some new type of tile material that would last longer but the spirit is the same. He just had more free time. He never had a wife or kids so what would he know about time, or care for that matter.

What struck me most was reading that on his deathbed he confessed that his only regret was not having worked harder at the talents that God had given him. He said he was ready to meet God but he knew he had sinned because of that. To whom much is given, much is expected. I have had that same regret many times. My hope is that I can improve on that prior to my deathbed.

Here is a picture of Clos Du Luce.