and render his depravity more visible, he alone is deprived of physical light. And what a countenance is his! Of all crimes treason shows the greatest depravity. The traitor, destitute of honor or virtue, is a coward; always on his guard, you cannot surprise him; an adept in treason, he never betrays himself. A master of his own passions, he at the same time strives to feign those he does not possess, so as to remove suspicion from himself. But the sudden denunciation confounds him. He discovers himself in spite of his mask of hypocrisy and grasps more closely the purse in his right hand, while he feigns a surprise by a slight motion of the left hand. In his convulsive movement the artist, resorting to a prejudice well known in all civilized countries, has made him "overturn the salt."

In the midst of all this agitation the face of the Saviour appears divinely serene. He shows no hatred, anger, or even impatience. He simply makes the prophetic announcement with all the calmness of an innocent being. No reproach soils his lips. The most submissive resignation to meet all the requirements of his divine mission are marked in the delicate inclination of his head, the pathetic action of the hands, and the tranquil position of the body. A slight elevation of the eyebrows indicates the compassionate tenderness of his soul, mingled with an inexpressibly interesting melancholy.

The figures in this immortal composition were larger than life; the whole piece was twenty-eight feet in length. During the invasion of Milan by Francis the First, in 1516, he attempted to cut it from the wall and, at any expense, to carry it to France, but found it to be impossible. The determination of Leonardo to paint it in oil colors on the wall instead of in fresco has proved unfortunate for the preservation of the work, though it gave him an opportunity to finish the minutest details with the utmost care. The masonry of the convent, already bad by misconstruction, was nearly ruined by an inundation in 1500, during which the refectory was partly under water, the walls becoming saturated with moisture. From this and other circumstances, by 1550 the colors had become very badly faded. In 1652 a door was cut through the middle of the painting to enlarge the refectory, thereby destroying the feet of the Saviour and two of the other figures. From the attempts of two bungling painters to restore the piece, only the

heads of Christ and three of the apostles remained. In 1796, when Napoleon led the French army over the Alps into Italy, he gave express orders that the room in which this interesting relic was should be respected. After he had left, succeeding generals disobeyed his orders, the refectory was turned into a stable, and afterward into a magazine for hay and other materials, and the soldiers made the remaining heads the marks for their bullets! By a singular fatuity the French have been the instruments of destruction of two of Leonardo's chief productions, the statue of Sforza and the "Lord's Supper." Now, when all traces of this painting, except of the outrages and vicissitudes to which it has been exposed, are obliterated, a guard is appointed to protect it, and a scaffold is erected that visitors may inspect its ruins!

To compensate in a slight degree for its loss, it was copied many times soon after its completion. Some fifteen of the copies are now preserved in different galleries. As they were mostly done by Leonardo's pupils, or by those who were very familiar with his style of painting, much of the character of the original is doubtless preserved. One of the best of these copies, by Marco d'Oggione, and Leonardo's original drawing, are now in the British Gallery. Copies of it in painting and engraving have since been multiplied without number. The best engraving of it is from the inimitable hand of Chevalier Raphael Morghen. In this country Mr. Burt has engraved a very passable representation of it, while there is no end to the number of cheap copies, some with gilded buttons and the most gaudy drapery! A first-class engraving of this piece is a great desideratum in lists of American art.

The temporary peace and prosperity with which Milan had been blessed soon was succeeded by another season of contest and turmoil. Finally the duke, Ludovico, was overthrown in battle by the French, taken prisoner, and carried into France, where, after being confined for ten years, he died in the castle of Loches. During this period of strife Leonardo retired to the castle of his companion and friend, Melzi, near Milan, hoping to be enabled to return to that city and resume his labors. The condition of the city proved every way unfavorable. The Academy of Art was destroyed, the professors and students dispersed, and the arts of peace were banished from

that nursery of genius. Leonardo lost everything but his tal ents, application, and personal attraction. Yet these misfortunes of Milan and her artist proved of immense advantage to Italy. The scholars of Leonardo's academy, painters, sculptors, architects, founders, carvers, and engravers on precious stones, settled in every town in Italy and laid the foundation of its many schools of art.

Leonardo finally resolved to return to Florence. The Florentines, disgusted with the arrogance and imbecility of Pietro di Medici, had taken the power into their own hands and banished him from the state, electing Pietro Soderini in his stead with the title of "Gonfalionere Perpetuo." The Gonfalionere received Leonardo with every mark of distinction, and immediately gave employment to his pencil. The first work of importance he executed was a cartoon of the "Annunciation," so exquisitely finished, says Vasari, that "not only the artists but the whole city, men and women, old and young, flocked to see it in such crowds that for two days it had almost the appearance of a public festival." Among other portraits he painted those of Americus Vespucius, Lady Gènevra, and Madonna Lisa. These last two were among the most celebrated beauties of Florence. That of Madonna Lisa was considered by all artists and critics of that time to be the perfection of portrait painting. Vasari, writing from the spot soon after it was finished, observes: "In this the beholder may see how nearly it is possible for art to approach nature. The eye has the luster and expression of life. The nose, and more especially the mouth, have more the appearance of real flesh and blood than of painting. Leonardo studied by all possible means to make this surpass everything that had been seen of the sort. He was in the habit of having music, singing, and all kinds of amusement to make her laugh, and thus remove the air of melancholy so frequently observed in portraits. This produced so pleasing an effect in the picture as to give it a most superhuman expression, and the only wonder seemed to be that it was not alive." There was also a most charming bit of landscape for a background. Francis the First purchased this piece for 45,000 francs and removed it to Paris, where it now is in the Louvre.

...

In 1502 Leonardo was appointed architect and chief engineer by Cesar Borgia, captain-general in the army of Pope Alex

ander. He traveled much through Italy, made the plans for a castle near Rome, and was otherwise employed till 1503, when the death of the pope ended his commission, and he returned to Florence. Here Leonardo and Michael Angelo were commissioned by the city to paint opposite sides of the Hall of Palazzo Vecchio. As these were national works it was necessary to select as the subjects some event in the history of the republic. Michael Angelo took for his theme the preparation for battle in one of the Pisan campaigns. Leonardo selected the last yet doubtful moment of victory, when at Anghiari in Tuscany, in 1440, Nicolo Picinnino, the general of Filipo, Duke of Milan, was conquered by the Florentines. The chief scene in his cartoon was the "struggle of the horsemen for the standard." Both riders and horses enter with the utmost excitement into the contest. Leonardo used his utmost skill in giving the most desperate character to the struggling soldiers. Large crowds, especially of young artists, poured in from all parts of the country to witness the cartoons, though Leonardo's was finished three years before Michael Angelo's. Raphael came among the rest, and was so charmed with the ease and grace of Leonardo's figures that he adopted his style immediately instead of his former imitation of the comparatively hard and dry style of Perugino. Leonardo has left many sketches of different parts of his cartoons, and also a description written out at length of the circumstances of the battle; but neither of the cartoons were ever painted on the walls of the Palace Hall, and both were destroyed soon after their completion. Endless conflicts arising again among the contestant powers in upper Italy, with alternate victory and defeat, Leonardo saw no prospect of doing any more works of art there, and went to Rome, with the hope of obtaining employment for his pencil by Pope Leo the Tenth. The Pope treated him very cavalierly, and he remained there but a short time. Besides a few portraits, it is not known that he undertook anything of importance at Rome, except some improvements that he introduced into the mint, in purifying and embellishing the Roman coin. Soon after Leonardo's return to Florence the politics of Italy became again deeply embroiled. Finally Francis the First, lately crowned Emperor of France, in the full possession of youth, health, beauty, and accomplishments, a great favorite

with his people, and a skillful general, made a most successful invasion into Lombardy to regain its possession, as he considered himself entitled to it by the right of his crown. Following an entirely unexpected route over the Alps, he surprised and took prisoner the Milanese general, Prospero Colonna, while at dinner, then recovered the city of Milan, and proceeded with rapid strides to reconquer the whole of Lombardy. Leonardo da Vinci hastened to the court of Francis at Pavia, where were gathered, by the invitation of the emperor, the most talented and accomplished men of Italy, and was received with every mark of friendship and esteem. Leonardo's spirits began to revive again on finding his talents duly appreciated, and he must have felt an honest pride on being taken to Rome by the emperor as one of his chief counselors in his negotiations with the Pope, at whose court he had so lately had so unkind a reception.

Notwithstanding his dissolute life and his more than questionable morals, the emperor adopted a most liberal policy, in endeavoring to make France what Italy had been, the center of wealth, refinement, and literary excellence. He purchased for his capitol many valuable works of art, and sought by every means in his power to attach men of talents and accomplishments to his court. Leonardo accompanied the emperor on his return to France in 1516, and was there treated with the most distinguished favor. The court vied with the monarch in their attentions, so that Leonardo must have been most highly gratified in being able to pass his declining years in peace and plenty, and free from the perpetual intrigues and contests that infested the petty sovereignties of Italy. It is a matter of much doubt whether he painted any pieces during his residence in France. The change of climate had so injurious an effect upon his health that it began to decline soon after his arrival in that country. Toward the latter end of his life his health was so much broken that his infirmities no longer permitted him to take part in the affairs or pleasures of this life, and he began to prepare himself, by a more strict observance of the precepts of the Catholic religion, for his final change, which he was confident was rapidly approaching. In his life he had never been irreligious. His writings are more serious than would have been expected from the vivacity of his disposition