Clos Lucé, known to be the final home of Leonardo da Vinci, is a very pretty brick and white stone castle located in Amboise, in the French Loire Valley.
Built in 1468, the medieval building, which is known as the Manoir du Cloux (Clou Manor), is acquired in 1490 by Charles VIII, who transforms it into a royal castle.
In 1492 he has the oratory built there, which is a little Gothic gem, for his wife Anne de Bretagne, who lives at the Manoir du Cloux until her departure for the Blois castle.
For 200 years, the estate will be the summer residence of the kings of France.
Charles d’Alençon and Marguerite de Valois settle there in 1509, until the sale of the estate to Louise de Savoie. Regent of France, she raises there the Duke of Angoulême – the future king Francis I of France and his sister Marguerite de Navarre, future writer.
In 1516, Leonardo da Vinci, who worked for the Sforza and the Medici and whose patron was the governor of Milan Charles II d’Amboise, leaves Rome at the invitation of Francis I of France and travels from Italy to France with three of his treasures : “The Mona Lisa”, “The Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne” and “Saint-Jean-Baptiste”, which can today be admired at the Louvre museum in Paris.
Francis I of France, who becomes the patron-king that we know today and who has filial admiration and affection for the great artist, places the Manoir des Cloux at the disposal of Leonardo da Vinci. In addition to a pension, he also awards him the title of First Painter, Engineer and Architect to the King.
Leonardo da Vinci is very prolific at the Manoir du Cloux and works on numerous projects such as the double revolution staircase at the Chambord castle.
The two men see each other almost daily until the master’s death in 1519 at the age of 67 – and contrary to legend and the scene represented by Ingres in his painting “The Death of Leonardo da Vinci”, Francis I of France does not attend the last moments of Leonardo da Vinci.
On the death of the master, the Manoir du Cloux passes to Louise de Savoie, then to the Amboise family.
The Saint-Bris family, owner since 1855 of the Manoir du Cloux – renamed Clos Lucé castle in the 17th century – has been offering visitors since 1954 a re-imagining of the life of the building in the time of Leonardo da Vinci.
The ground floor and the upper floor present the living rooms, while the basement exhibits the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, accompanied by their modeling by IBM.
I emphasize the word re-imagining.
The 18th century salons of this building, listed as historical monument since 1862, were demolished by the owners in 2017 with no administrative authorization – to the great dismay of the Regional Direction of Cultural Affairs, which reported it to the Public Prosecutor the same year, for destruction of a historic monument.
Several ancient woodwork and a fireplace were torn out, the ceilings were modified, windows were blocked while others were drilled. There is no precise description of the Clos Lucé castle as inhabited by the Leonardo da Vinci, nor any surviving furniture.
The entire residence is indeed a re-imagining, and not a reconstruction, even if the furniture presented is from the period. Leonardo da Vinci’s workshops are notably installed in former 18th century salons, which were classified and which will never return to their original state.
The company that operates the Clos Lucé castle and its architect were ordered in 2019 to pay the maximum fine, namely more than 20,000 euros for illegal work not preserving the architectural heritage of the place.
Let’s be honest: the place is superb, serene, has the advantage of making visitors aware of the work of Leonardo da Vinci – but we are in no way talking about a reconstruction. Clos Lucé is a very beautiful fantasy – which is not necessarily a problem if the visitor is fully aware of it.
As always, knowing and understanding what we see, what we read or what we admire is essential.
April 19, 2024
