Leonardo Da Vinci’s atelier in the Château du Clos Lucé with a copy of Leonardo’s painting "Saint John the Baptist" in the background, Amboise, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château du Clos Lucé, formerly called Manoir du Cloux, is a large château located in the center of Amboise, in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. The mansion in situated in the Val de Loire in the former Touraine region, about 23 km (14 miles) to the east of the city of Tours. Built by Étienne le Loup in the middle of the 15th century, the palace has known several famous owners such as the French king Charles VIII and Leonardo da Vinci. Clos Lucé is just 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, to which it is connected by an underground passageway.
The house was erected on a Gallo-Roman foundation. It was organized around an octagonal tower. Around the spiral staircase inside the tower two buildings were annexed that had two floors each. The elegant facade made with pink bricks and whites stones was typical for the 15th century. Formally called Manoir de Cloux, the building was property of the Chateau D’Amboise, and the lands of Lucé were affiliated to the castle as of the 14th century. At the beginning, the manor was surrounded by fortifications of which only one – the watchtower – has remained.
In 1490, the château was acquired by the French King Charles VIII, who paid 3500 gold ecus and immediately transformed the medieval stronghold into a more comfortable and habitable home. He also built a chapel for his wife, Anne of Brittany, who lived at Clos-Lucé until she moved to the Château Royal de Blois. From then on, the palace was the summer residence of the French kings for about 200 years.
In 1516, the 64-year-old Leonardo da Vinci left Rome and travelled through Italy, armed with his sketchbooks and three of his most famous paintings: "Mona Lisa", "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" and "Saint John the Baptist". At that time, the French King Francis I offered da Vinci a pension of 700 gold ecus, the guarantee of buying all his artworks and the allowance to live and work at Château du Clos Lucé for the rest of his life.
Leonardo da Vinci accepted, became the first painter, engineer and architect of the king and was quite was enthusiastic and productive during his years at Clos Lucé. He worked on numerous projects, organized feasts for the court of Amboise, and even conceived the famous "Double Spiral Staircase" of the Château de Chambord. In 1519, Leonardo da Vinci passed away in his bed-champer at Clos Lucé. According to rumours he died in the king’s arms but those rumours are unverified. Leonardo da Vinci bequested all his books, drawings, sketches and manuscripts to his beloved apprentice, Francesco Melzi.
Da Vinci was buried in the nearby Chapel of St. Florentin. This chapel was originally located approximately 100 metres northeast of the Chapel of St. Hubert that lays within the stone fortifications of the royal Château d'Amboise, where his remains were brought to in 1874.
After Leonardo's death, Louise of Savoy took over the château again. However, this did not last too long as Philibert Babou of the Bourdaisière and his wife succeed her in 1523. The Chateau was then inhabited by Michel de Gast, who was the guards captain under King Henri III. In 1632, the marriage of Antoine d’Amboise and Michel de Gast’s granddaughter brought the Chateau back in the hands of House Amboise.
During the French Revolution the castle was miraculously spared and remained in the Amboise family. In 1855, the Château du Clos Lucé became the property of the Saint-Bris family. Since 1862, it has been a classified monument historique and hence, a French national heritage site. In 1954, both house and gardens were opened to the public by Hubert and Agnès Saint Bris. And in the 1960s a major restoration was completed.
In today’s gardens, many of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions are displayed and hence brought to life. While walking through the extensive gardens, visitors can meet Leonardo the engineer, Leonardo the visionary and also Leonardo the painter and architect.
By the way, since 2000, the Château du Clos Lucé belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.
The town of Amboise is located on the banks of the Loire River in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire and has more than 12,500 residents. In pre-Roman times there used to be a Gallic oppidum on the site, which was taken over by the Romans later. Today, Amboise is mainly renowned for its beautiful old town, but also for its altogether three châteaus: the Château royal d'Amboise, the Château Château du Clos Lucé (the former residence of Leonardo da Vinci) and the Château Gaillard.
A forth château, the Château de Chanteloup was destroyed by an act of incendiarism in 1823 and never rebuild. Only a part of the garden and some of its features have survived, of which the most important is the Pagoda of Chanteloup. But both region and town are also renowned for their cuisine. How about a poultry ballotine, a slice of Sainte Maure goat cheese or rillettes de canard together with a glass of sweet white wine from the Tourraine wine-growing region? That’s French art de vivre, to enjoy without any moderation.