5 Chapter 4 Moving On

Chapter 4 Moving On Milan had a famous university. But it was not a center for famous artists like Florence was. But Ludovico Sforza was very interested in the arts. The duke liked to give big parties. He like to put on pageants. He also wanted someone to design new weapons for him. (The city-states were often at war with one another.)

All of this interested Leonardo. He wrote a letter to the duke. In it, he listed everything he was good at. Some of it was bragging. He said he could design buildings and bridges, warships and huge cannons. Nobody knows if Leonardo ever sent the letter. There also is a story about a present that Leonardo gave the duke. The duke loved music. Leonardo did, too. So he made a lute. (This was like a violin, with strings and a bow.) It was made of silver—and was in the shape of a horse's skull! It had to be played upside down. Whether this is true or not, one thing is certain: The duke did eventually hire Leonardo. So off Leonardo went to Milan. Whatever the duke wanted, Leonardo would create. He worked for the duke for many years, until the duke was forced from power.

When the duke's nephew was married, there was a huge feast. Leonardo was in charge of the party after the feast. He built incredible stage sets. They were for a play known as The Feast of Paradise. What a spectacle it must have been: A mountain was split in two; inside it was a beautiful model of the heavens. Actors in fancy costumes represented the different planets. The twelve signs of the zodiac were lit by torches. Everything turned around and around.

THE UNIVERSE IN THE SECOND CENTURY A.D., THERE WAS A FAMOUS GREEK ASTRONOMER NAMED PTOLEMY. HE BELIEVED THAT THE EARTH WAS THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE OTHER

PLANETS AND THE SUN MOVED AROUND THE EARTH. PEOPLE ACCEPTED THIS BELIEF UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE 1500S. A POLISH ASTRONOMER NAMED NICOLAUS COPERNICUS SAID THE EARTH WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE SUN DID NOT REVOLVE AROUND IT. INSTEAD, THE EARTH—AND ALL THE OTHER PLANETS—REVOLVED AROUND THE SUN. HE WAS RIGHT. BUT IT TOOK MANY YEARS BEFORE THIS FACT WAS ACCEPTED.

Some of Leonardo's work was much more practical. He found a better way to heat the water for the duchess's bath. He also built a series of canals. Another project was something Leonardo worked on for years and was never able to finish; even at the end of his life, he was still dreaming about his "horse." The duke wanted a giant statue of a horse. The statue was to honor the memory of his father. He didn't want it to just be big—he wanted it to be huge. The biggest ever. For years, Leonardo made sketches of how the horse statue might look. He studied the horses in the duke's stables. He made wax models. He even cut into the muscles and bones of dead horses. He wanted to know horses inside and out.