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Leonardo da Vinci : Poison at the Court of Milan

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Leonardo da Vinci: Poison at the Court of Milan

Introduction: A Genius in a Dangerous Court

When we picture Leonardo da Vinci, we imagine him hunched over notebooks filled with flying machines, sketching anatomy with scientific precision, or painting enigmatic masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Yet Leonardo was not just an artist or scientist—he was also a man of the Renaissance courts, navigating power, ambition, and intrigue.

Among the most turbulent of these courts was that of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, where Leonardo spent nearly two decades. Here, in a world of luxury and violence, art and espionage, Leonardo created some of his most enduring works. But alongside artistic triumphs lurked darker shadows: poisonings, political murders, and betrayals that haunted the court.

Could Leonardo himself—known for his curiosity about alchemy and toxicology—have played some role in this dangerous game? Or was he merely an observer in a theater of treachery?

This is the story of Leonardo da Vinci at the Court of Milan: an artist in the eye of a storm, surrounded by whispers of poison.

Milan in the Renaissance: Power and Paranoia

In the late 15th century, Milan was one of Italy’s wealthiest and most strategic city-states. Controlled by the Sforza dynasty, it was both a center of commerce and a target for foreign powers like France and the Holy Roman Empire.

Ludovico Sforza, known as “Il Moro” (the Moor), ruled not by birthright but by cunning. He seized power through manipulation, outmaneuvering rivals and even displacing his young nephew. His reign was marked by paranoia: alliances shifted like sand, assassins lurked in banquet halls, and poison was a preferred tool of politics.

Into this volatile environment stepped Leonardo da Vinci in 1482, offering his services not just as an artist, but as an engineer, architect, and even a military inventor. He arrived with a famous letter boasting that he could design bridges, cannons, war machines, and fortifications—and, almost as an afterthought, that he could paint.

Ludovico hired him.

Leonardo the Observer: Art and Anatomy of Poison

Leonardo’s notebooks reveal a fascination with the mechanics of life and death. He dissected corpses, studied the flow of blood, and noted the effects of toxins. In one passage, he described how certain plants, when distilled, could kill quickly or cause slow, wasting illness.

At Milan, Leonardo had access to court physicians, alchemists, and apothecaries. These men were not only healers but also potential poisoners, concocting substances that could slip undetected into food or wine. Renaissance courts knew poison as the “silent weapon of princes.”

Though there is no evidence Leonardo ever prepared poisons himself, his detailed studies of the human body and plants suggest he understood the science well enough to recognize their symptoms. Perhaps more importantly, he lived among people who saw poison as a political necessity.

The Poisoned Banquets of the Sforza

The Sforza court was infamous for its lavish banquets, where music, pageantry, and art dazzled foreign ambassadors. But behind the splendor lurked whispers of poisoned goblets.

  • Bernardo Bellincioni, a court poet, once hinted in his writings that Ludovico’s enemies had died “suddenly” after feasts.
  • Rival claimants to power often met suspicious ends, their deaths blamed on fever but rumored to be the work of tainted food.

Leonardo, who designed elaborate stage machinery and decorations for these very banquets, must have been aware of the dangers. Imagine him, standing in the candlelit hall, watching as nobles raised golden cups of wine—cups that could conceal death.

It was in this world that Leonardo painted The Last Supper (1495–1498), a work dominated by the drama of food, betrayal, and poisoned bread. Some historians have even speculated that the atmosphere of the Milanese court—where every meal might bring treachery—inspired the emotional intensity of that masterpiece.

Suspected Victims: Poison in the Air

The list of suspicious deaths around Ludovico’s rule is long:

  1. Galeazzo Maria Sforza – Ludovico’s own brother, assassinated in 1476. While he died by dagger, his enemies had long considered poison.
  2. Giovanni Galeazzo Sforza – the young rightful Duke, displaced by Ludovico, who died suddenly in 1494 at just 25. Many whispered he was poisoned to secure Ludovico’s throne.
  3. Beatrice d’Este – Ludovico’s beloved wife, who died in 1497 during childbirth. Some accounts suggest illness, others suspect poison by enemies at court.
  4. Caterina Sforza, famed noblewoman and adversary, survived multiple poison attempts—proof of how common the method was.

Leonardo served in the very household where these deaths occurred. His art and inventions were tools of survival for a duke whose enemies multiplied by the year.

Leonardo’s Silence: Neutral Genius or Complicit Observer?

Did Leonardo, the court’s intellectual jewel, ever cross into the shadows of poison and intrigue? We cannot know for certain. His writings are meticulous about anatomy and engineering, but silent on politics.

Some scholars argue this silence was deliberate: Leonardo carefully avoided taking sides, knowing that too much knowledge—or too loose a tongue—could mean death. Others suggest he used allegory in his art to comment on corruption, betrayal, and mortality.

Take The Last Supper: Judas clutches his silver, but the spilled salt and overturned cup may hint at poisoned wine. Or consider Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo’s portrait of Ludovico’s mistress Cecilia Gallerani, where the animal symbolizes purity but also hints at possession and control within a court of secrets.

Whether silent observer or subtle critic, Leonardo walked a dangerous line.

Fall of the Sforza and Leonardo’s Escape

In 1499, the French invaded Milan, overthrowing Ludovico Sforza. Betrayed by allies and abandoned by fortune, Ludovico was captured and imprisoned, where he died in 1508—possibly poisoned in captivity.

Leonardo, sensing danger, fled Milan. He left behind unfinished works, including plans for the colossal bronze horse that would have immortalized Ludovico’s reign. Instead, the horse was melted down for cannon metal by the invaders.

The court of Milan—once glittering with pageantry and poisoned whispers—crumbled. Leonardo carried with him the memory of its splendor and its shadows, moving on to new patrons in Florence, Rome, and eventually France.

Poison as a Renaissance Weapon

To understand Leonardo’s Milan, we must understand Renaissance attitudes toward poison.

  • Poison was a political tool: rulers could eliminate rivals without open war.
  • It was also feared as witchcraft: associated with alchemy, potions, and forbidden knowledge.
  • Detection was primitive: sudden deaths were easily attributed to plague or fever, leaving assassins unpunished.

The Sforza were not unique—across Italy, from the Borgias in Rome to the Medici in Florence, poison was the shadow companion of power.

Leonardo, with his insatiable curiosity, recorded observations of deadly plants like belladonna and hemlock. To him, poison was both a natural phenomenon and a symbol of human corruption.

Legacy: The Artist and the Shadows

In the centuries since, legends have grown around Leonardo da Vinci. Some portray him as a scientist dabbling in forbidden arts, others as a courtier who walked unharmed through corridors lined with assassins.

What we know is this:

  • Leonardo lived in a court where poison was always possible.
  • He studied life and death in ways that overlapped with the science of toxins.
  • His greatest works from Milan—The Last Supper, Lady with an Ermine, and his engineering notebooks—are haunted by themes of betrayal, mortality, and power.

The story of poison at the Court of Milan is not just about death. It is about the fragile balance between genius and danger, art and survival. Leonardo was not a poisoner; he was something more extraordinary: a man who thrived in a world where others perished, leaving behind art that outlived the very dukes and dynasties who employed him.

Conclusion: Leonardo’s Milan, A Lesson in Survival

Leonardo da Vinci’s years in Milan reveal not just the brilliance of a Renaissance genius, but also the fragility of life at court. Behind every masterpiece stood a banquet where death might be poured into a goblet, and every patron’s smile hid suspicion.

Whether sketching the anatomy of man, designing machines of war, or painting spiritual visions, Leonardo’s genius was shaped by his environment. The poison at the Court of Milan was real—political, literal, and metaphorical. Yet Leonardo endured, moving silently through it, never accused, never tainted, always observing.

Perhaps that was his greatest survival skill: not invention, not art, but discretion.

Related Posts

#LeonardoDaVinci #RenaissanceHistory #MilanCourt #ArtHistory #HistoricalMysteries #TheLastSupper #PoisonAndPower

Leonardo da Vinci : Poison at the Court of Milan Leonardo da Vinci : Poison at the Court of Milan Reviewed by Sagar B on June 20, 2025 Rating: 5

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