An encounter with Leonardo da Vinci - or perhaps not
The Italian Renaissance polymath is widely commemorated in Amboise, having spent his final years there as the guest of King François I. This sculpture is located on the Île d’Or, facing the Château d’Amboise on the opposite bank of the Loire. It has an interesting backstory. It is the work of the Italian sculptor, Amleto Cataldi, and depicts da Vinci in the style of an ancient god. The sculpture was the gift to France of the Republic of San Marino in 1935. It stood in Paris originally but was relocated in Amboise in 1976 and placed in storage, only being placed on public display in 2011.
That much I ascertained from the adjacent plaque. But digging more deeply into the story has raised a couple of further questions. Cataldi lived between 1883 and 1930. He cast the statue in 1923, but did not specifically identify the work as a likeness of da Vinci. An alternative opinion is that Cataldi’s sculpture features Perseus, who is leaning on the severed head of Medusa.
An encounter with Leonardo da Vinci - or perhaps not
The Italian Renaissance polymath is widely commemorated in Amboise, having spent his final years there as the guest of King François I. This sculpture is located on the Île d’Or, facing the Château d’Amboise on the opposite bank of the Loire. It has an interesting backstory. It is the work of the Italian sculptor, Amleto Cataldi, and depicts da Vinci in the style of an ancient god. The sculpture was the gift to France of the Republic of San Marino in 1935. It stood in Paris originally but was relocated in Amboise in 1976 and placed in storage, only being placed on public display in 2011.
That much I ascertained from the adjacent plaque. But digging more deeply into the story has raised a couple of further questions. Cataldi lived between 1883 and 1930. He cast the statue in 1923, but did not specifically identify the work as a likeness of da Vinci. An alternative opinion is that Cataldi’s sculpture features Perseus, who is leaning on the severed head of Medusa.