Leonardo da Vinci: Guild Member Quiz

Answer: Master

Leonardo's father, Ser Piero arranged an apprenticeship for his son in the prestigious studio of Andrea del Verrocchio when Leonardo was approximately fourteen years old. Usually the apprenticeship would last for six years before the artist was accepted into the painters' guild; when first beginning the apprentice would probably have responsibilities like grinding colors - under the supervision of more advanced pupils. As his skills increased and he learned simple techniques, it is likely that he would be allowed to work on easier projects as they came into the workshop.


In the picture, "Tobias and the Angel" by Verrocchio's studio, look closely to find the dog and the fish. Some art historians believe that Leonardo painted those parts of the picture sometime between 1470-1480. It is also said that Leonardo was used as the model for the Archangel Raphael.

Answer: Guild of St. Luke

The Guild of St. Luke was the typical name for a guild of artists and doctors in a city and most sources about Leonardo cite this as the name of his guild; it is written, however, that in Renaissance Florence painters actually belonged to the guild of the "Doctors and Apothecaries", as they purchased their pigments from the apothecary. Sculptors belonged to "Masters of Stone and Wood". Most artists were also members of the "Compagnia di San Luca", which was a confraternity founded in 1349, and was separate from the guild.

The picture, "St. Luke Drawing the Virgin", was painted by Rogier van der Weyden c.1435.

Answer: Landscape

Leonardo's earliest dated drawing is a landscape drawing of the Arno River, mountains, Montelupo Castle, which was a walled village, and the surrounding farmlands in great detail. Called "the first true landscape in art" by Ludwig Heydenreich, a German scholar of Leonardo, it was drawn with a pen while looking down into the valley. Leonardo rarely dated any of his works, yet this one has the notation "Day of St. Mary of the Snows, August 4, 1473". Today the drawing can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Answer: His father, Piero

Ser Piero, a notary, moved from the town of Vinci when he was in his thirties and established his business in Florence, where he was apparently in demand. Leonardo would at that time have been about ten years old. When it was time, his father saw that Leonardo was apprenticed in one of the finest workshops in Florence, and when Leonardo became a master, his father set him up in his own workshop. It appears, however, that Leonardo maintained a very close relationship with Verrocchio, and continued to live in his house and collaborate with him even after he was admitted into the guild.

There is no record of where Leonardo's early workshop was located, although in 2005 a group of researchers from Italy's Military Geographical Institute claimed to find a shop used by Leonardo and his pupils in the Santissima Annunziata monastery when Leonardo returned to Florence in 1500.

Answer: Anonymously

The Medici rulers of Florence kept a box called a "tamburo" outside the city hall; anyone could drop anonymous accusations into this box, which would then be investigated. On April 8, 1476, a charge that Leonardo had been involved in homosexual acts, illegal in Renaissance Florence, with an artist's model and three other young men was dropped into the box. The accuser was never identified, the accusation was never proven, and no witnesses ever appeared. While some say that one of the accused was related to the Medici, who had the charges dismissed, others say the charges could have been made from spite. It appears that Leonardo was able to keep his personal life secret. However, the charges have aroused interest into Leonardo sexuality that still exists today.

There is no record of Leonardo's actions or works from the time of the accusation until 1478. At that time Leonardo received a commission to paint "The Adoration of the Magi" for the monks of San Donato a Scopeto.

Answer: True

Some say the composition of the picture is too "awkward" to have been painted by Leonardo; one cannot expect, however, that even Leonardo could produce a perfect masterpiece the first time he worked alone. So did Leonardo paint it? The clothing is arranged in very much the same way that the angel's clothing in Verrocchio's "Baptism of Christ" was arranged. In fact, looking through Leonardo's notes, one can find a preparatory study and sketch for the angel's sleeve. Some believe the background of plants and trees is so "Leonardo" that he is the only one who could have possibly painted it.

Today the painting, which unfortunately suffers from the touch of later restorers, can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Answer: They were both left unfinished.

Unfortunately, leaving works unfinished seems to be a common theme throughout Leonardo's life. It is thought that this trait might have been the reason that the powerful Medici did not patronize Leonardo's workshop. Many believe that Leonardo was a slow painter, always working to seek his ideal of perfection, and that projects simply were abandoned in favor of another of his many interests.

Leonardo received the commission for "Adoration of the Magi" from the Augustinian monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence who were clients of his father. There is so much symbolism in this picture; for example, it is believed that the ruined building in the background is the Basilica of Maxentius. According to legend, it was said that the basilica would stand until a virgin gave birth. Leonardo worked on this picture for about seven months before leaving Florence, and a commission to paint a completed picture was eventually given to Filippino Lippi. Interestingly, in the original sketch a camel was one of the creatures Leonardo drew. Where would Leonardo have seen a camel? Perhaps there was one in the Medici zoo. The painting can be seen today in the Uffizi Gallery.

It is not known who commissioned "St. Jerome in the Wilderness", but the picture is believed to mirror some of Leonardo's own suffering at the time (perhaps he felt a bit like St. Jerome) it was painted as there was a note found in his journal, "I thought I was learning to live; I was only learning to die." Historians argue whether it was painted in Florence before he left the city, but even so it was painted shortly after Leonardo joined the guild. Interestingly, it was begun on a wooden panel that was eventually split in two. Its exact history is uncertain, but it became part of the Vatican collection in 1856.

Answer: Italian

As a young boy living in the home of his father, Leonardo received the type of education that one would expect that a boy from a good family would have received at the time. Included in his course of study was reading, writing, mathematics and Latin.

Unfortunately, he never really had much of a grasp of Latin, although it is said that later in life he was self-taught to some degree. For this reason, many of his contemporaries did not take him serious as a scientist or scholar. Luckily, however, Renaissance humanists had already largely turned from using Latin to using the vernacular.

His notes are written in cursive Italian, mostly in mirror-image. Although his reason for this is much debated, in all probability it was simply easier for him to write this way because he wrote with his left hand.

Answer: False

Leonardo painted "Ginevra de' Benci", possibly a wedding portrait, in 1474. Considered to be a very beautiful women, Ginevra was, nonetheless, very dour and unemotional in portrait. She is said to have been the topic of ten poems written by members of the Medici inner circle - two of the sonnets were written by the famous Lorenzo.

The background of the painting, which was done on wood, leaves no doubt that it was painted by Leonardo. Today the picture can be viewed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Answer: Ambassador

It does appear that Leonardo visited the home of the Medici family with his friend Leon Battista Alberti, who, among other things, was a well-known architect. Leonardo probably also made the acquaintance of many of the people who were associated with the Medici Academy.

The truth of the matter is, however, that as much as he may have felt snubbed by the Medici, Leonardo wouldn't have been very comfortable in their presence. They were interested in classical antiquity, even to the point of wearing togas and addressing each other in formal Latin. How the appointment came about is unknown, but Lorenzo de' Medici sent Leonardo to the Ludovico Sforza bearing a gift, a silver lyre in the shape of a horse's head, that was meant to be a peace offering from one powerful family to another.