. Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science. d other friends of his to a banquet, where,sitting near them, he related a number of the maddest and most laugh-able stories he could think of, making them scream with laughter, Leonard Vinci, qui est trespasse a Amboise et estoit tres excellent philosophe et admirablepainctre et quasi ung autre Archimede. Cedict frere Lucas a faict imprimer ses lettresattiques comme siennes . . De vray, elles peuvent bien estre a luy, car il ne les a pasfaictes en leur deue proportion. A veult avoir sa jambe droite grosse de la dixiesmepartie de sa haut
. Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science. d other friends of his to a banquet, where,sitting near them, he related a number of the maddest and most laugh-able stories he could think of, making them scream with laughter, Leonard Vinci, qui est trespasse a Amboise et estoit tres excellent philosophe et admirablepainctre et quasi ung autre Archimede. Cedict frere Lucas a faict imprimer ses lettresattiques comme siennes . . De vray, elles peuvent bien estre a luy, car il ne les a pasfaictes en leur deue proportion. A veult avoir sa jambe droite grosse de la dixiesmepartie de sa hauteur . . et non pas de la neuvieusme partie, comme diet frere LucasPaciolus . .• . Iay entendu que tout ce qiiil en a faict il a prins secretement de feuMessire Leonard Vinci, qui estoit grant mathematicien, painctre et imageur. (Champ-fleury, edition of 1529, fols. 13, 35, 41 v°.) The Marchese dAdda has skilfully defendedPacioli against the accusation of plagiarism, {Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1868, vol. 134. K K 2 252 LEONARDO DA VINCI. SKETCH FROM THE TRATTATO riTTURA(Valican Library.) although they could scarcely have told what they were laughuigat. Upon him, none of the looks and gestures provoked by his taleswere lost; afterwards, when these guests had departed, he retiredto his own house, and drew them in such a skilful manner that his drawings made those who saw themlaugh as heartily as the stories hadmade the guests laugh at the ban-quet. Unfortunately this composi-tion never proceeded farther than thesketch. This fantastic experiment recallsa picture by one of the primitiveMilanese, Michelino da Besozzo, whopainted a group of two peasant menand two peasant women convulsedwith laughter. About the same period, Bramante ventured on a similarsubject: he represented Democritus laughing and Heraclitus also tells us that Leonardo used to be fond of watchingthe looks and gestures of prisoners going to execution. He madecareful notes of their eye-mo
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