Pages 185- 215 of Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of Mind focuses on Leonardo's initial move to Milan from Florence, his paintings Virgin of the Rocks, and his early notebooks. When Leonardo first moved to Milan, approximately 180 miles by his calculations, the Sfoza were the ruling family. The Sfoza were considered to be militaristic, however they were major patrons of art. This is the family that Leonardo would surround himself with, receive a commission for a ceiling painting, and later sell the original Virgin of the Rocks to.
Many of Leonardo's early sketches were of a military nature, which of course interested Ludovico Sfoza, who was also called "the Moor" due to his dark skin color. Ludovico was a regent and Duke, but held the majority of power in the Sfoza family, and was described as "ruthless, pragmatic, and intelligent". Even though there was interest shown in Leonardo's military inventions, they never were fully developed. While Ludovico never commissioned Leonardo to execute one of his military ideas, he did purchase the first version of Virgin of the Rocks, which was commissioned by a separate party called the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception.
The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception originally commissioned Virgin of the Rocks as a three paneled (triptych) altarpiece. There also were various guidelines to include angles other christian symbols. The first version produced is oddly devoid of these elements, and is of a different size than what is specified. It is theorized that this could be due to Leonardo already having a virgin and child scene underway, and did not want to drastically alter his current composition. This version also shows little evidence of his partnership with the Perdis brothers on the commission. It is this version (left image above) that is later sold to Ludovico Sfoza instead of the commissioners.
The second version of Virgin of the Rocks (right image above), is the actual painting that was given to the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception as a replacement for the commissioned painting. This version shows more evidence of Leonardo's considerations of the commissioned guidelines. This can be seen in the angel's wings and the figure's halos. This version also shows Leonardo's partnership with the Perdis brothers. The figures stand out of the background, are lighter in color, and there is a general lack of the sfumato effect that Leonardo is so famous for. This implies a heavier hand of the Perdis brothers in the execution of the painting.
Both of these versions were painted during Milan's three year outbreak of the plague, which killed up to a third of the population. These paintings, along with Leonardo's notebooks were considered to be a form of escapism. He often designed ideal cities, with proper sanitation, in order to help prevent such conditions that encourage outbreaks of disease. In his early journals, lists of books that he owned could also be found. A few of these were of religious nature, many were of a scientific nature, and many were of poetry. It is apparent through his library list, and through the Latin vocabulary lists that he kept, that Leonardo kept a rigorous and demanding academic schedule for himself.
For a painter who has a modern reputation of leaving many things unfinished, Leonardo appears to have enormous amounts of self-motivation. Designs of military inventions, city plans, paintings, vocabulary lists, and book keeping - there must not have been enough time in the day for Leonardo to finish fully explore all his ventures.
Definitely self-motivated. We will see these stories dramatized in our Leonardo film.
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