#leo reference

this is paraphrased a good deal from the book i grabbed today but you wanted information on melzi and this was as much as i could gather

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after leonardo's death he put together the codex urbinas, a compilation of leonardo's writings on the subject of painting

before his return to florence in summer 1507, leonardo met the young milanese aristocrat francesco melzi. perhaps taken on a pupil (he became an excellent draughtsman and painter) but he served as leonardo's secretary or amanuensis, 'one might even say his intellectual confidant'

after leonardo's death, he was his literary executor. his script is found through out leonardo's papers, in texts copied for or dictated by leonardo, in annotations, captions, collation marks

giovanni francesco melzi was well bred and educated but not rich - his father was a captain in the milanese militia under louis xii

he did this super pretty portrait of leonardo although two versions exist - one is retouched by leonardo himself

vasari describes the aged melzi after meeting him in 1566 as "in the time of leonardo was a very beautiful boy, and much loved by him, just as today he is a handsome and courteous old man"

many of leonardo's manuscripts on human anatomy etc came to be in melzi's possession after leo's death and vasari describes that melzi "cherishes and preserves these writings as if they were relics, as well as the portrait which is a happy memory of leonardo"

vasari's writings echo the same way he talked about salai; the implication is that he thought they were romantically linked, although after leonardo's death melzi moved on to marry 'one of the most beautiful women in milan' and he fathered eight children.

no one is sure what melzi looked like; it's likely that melzi was drawn by leonardo but there are many sketches of young men in leonardo's books, with only salai appearing frequently

the earliest mention of melzi in leonardo's papers is a draft of a letter to him, in leonardo's hand, written in florence in early 1508

there are two drafts and the first is written thusly:

'good day, master francesco, why in god's name have you not answered a single one of all the letters i've sent you. you just wait till i get there and by god i'll make write so much you'll be sorry.' 

melzi is doubtless to be the cecho and cechino in name-lists 1509-10, where he appears alongside salai and lorenzo and others

he travels with leonardo to rome in 1513 and then to france where he becomes more essential as leonardo ages

he is distinguished in the french accounts as 'francisque de melce, the italian gentleman who is with the said maistre lyenard', earning 400 ecus a year vs salai who is listed as 'servant to maistre lyenard' with 100 ecus a year

"he is a happy presence in leonardo's household: discreet, efficient, talented, devoted - the perfect [personal assistant]. he is an intellectual companion for the solitary leonardo: more learned and less complex than the troublesome salai."

during december 1511 and january 1513 leonardo spent much of his time in villa melzi, the country house of melzi's father above a curve of the adda river, near vaprio d'adda, with francesco

when he left for france he took only melzi and a servant

melzi was present with six other witnesses when leonardo drew up his will in april 1519 (something to note is that salai was not there)

in leonardo's will:

"to messer francesco da melzo, gentleman of milan, each and all of the books the testator is at presented possessed of; and the instruments and portraits appertaining to his art and calling as a painter. ... and the remainder of his pension, and all sums of money which are owing to him from the past until the day of his death; and each and all of his clothes which he now possesses at said place of cloux"

vasari writes of leonardo's death that 'all those who knew him grieved without measure the loss of leonardo' [the book here makes a reference to melzi at leonardo's bedside in tears, but this seems to be the author's imagination]

he wrote to leonardo's brothers on june 1, long after leonardo's death on may 2