About 1482 Leonardo entered the service of Ludovico Sforza, having
first written to his future patron a full statement of his various
abilities in the following terms:--
"Having, most illustrious lord, seen and pondered over the experiments
made by those who pass as masters in the art of inventing instruments
of war, and having satisfied myself that they in no way differ from
those in general use, I make so bold as to solicit, without prejudice
to any one, an opportunity of informing your excellency of some of my
own secrets."
[Illustration: PLATE IV.-THE LAST SUPPER
Refectory of St. Maria delle Grazie, Milan. About 13 feet
8 ins. h. by 26 ft. 7 ins. w. (4.16 x 8.09)]
He goes on to say that he can construct light bridges which can be
transported, that he can make pontoons and scaling ladders, that he
can construct cannon and mortars unlike those commonly used, as well
as catapults and other engines of war; or if the fight should take
place at sea that he can build engines which shall be suitable alike
for defence as for attack, while in time of peace he can erect public
and private buildings. Moreover, he urges that he can also execute
sculpture in marble, bronze, or clay, and, with regard to painting,
"can do as well as any one else, no matter who he may be." In
conclusion, he offers to execute the proposed bronze equestrian statue
of Francesco Sforza "which shall bring glory and never-ending honour
to that illustrious house."
It was about 1482, the probable date of Leonardo's migration from
Florence to Milan, that he painted the "Vierge aux Rochers," now in
the Louvre (No. 1599). It is an essentially Florentine picture, and
although it has no pedigree earlier than 1625, when it was in the
Royal Collection at Fontainebleau, it is undoubtedly much earlier and
considerably more authentic than the "Virgin of the Rocks," now in the
National Gallery (Plate III.).
He certainly set to work about this time on the projected statue of
Francesco Sforza, but probably then made very little progress with it.
He may also in that year or the next have painted the lost portrait of
Cecilia Gallerani, one of the mistresses of Ludovico Sforza. It has,
however, been surmised that that lady's features are preserved to us
in the "Lady with a Weasel," by Leonardo's pupil Boltraffio, which is
now in the Czartoryski Collection at Cracow.