![]() Giorgio Vasari’s book The Lives of the Artists, first published in 1550, suggests he was besotted with his male assistant Salaì, “who was most comely in grace and beauty, having fine locks, curling in ringlets, in which Leonardo delighted”. His reputation for loving men has never been hidden and the TV series does depict his replationships with men. ![]() What was it he found so mysterious about her? But no solid evidence exists that he ever had a romantic relationship with a woman – either sexual or platonic. ![]() It’s said he got musicians to play and entertained her with jokes when she posed for the painting we know as the Mona Lisa. Most fascinatingly, there was his encounter with one Lisa, wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. He was also friends with Isabella d’Este, ruler of Mantua and art connoisseur. He clearly got on well with Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of the ruler of Milan, whom he portrayed holding a very phallic pet mink, perhaps to symbolise her power over men. If the makers of Leonardo wanted a strong woman character, they had plenty of historical options. View image in fullscreen Phallic … Lady With an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, 1489-90.
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