Leonardo the Florentine: The Life and Travels of da Vinci, #1

By Catherine McGrew Jaime

Who are the Medici brothers? And who is trying to assassinate them? Why was the Pitti Palace never completed? And what part does Leonardo play in all of this?

Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as an artist and inventor. But who was he before anyone knew his name? This family-friendly novel explores the history and legends of his early years in Florence. It also weaves a mystery of politics and power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catherine Jaime
• Release date: Jul 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393661054

Catherine McGrew Jaime

Catherine has a passion for writing, traveling, and history that spans decades. One topic she goes back to again and again is Leonardo da Vinci. After teaching her first classes about this incredible Renaissance man, she wrote her first non-fiction book about him, Da Vinci: His Life and His Legacy. His Life and His Legacy joined countless other non-fiction books she had already written, including, but certainly not limited to, An American Looks at Wuerzburg, Sharing Shakespeare with Students, and Stars Over Central America (her journal of a trip from the Panama Canal Zone across Central America when she was nine-years-old). It would be many years later before she would try her hand at writing fiction, not surprisingly turning first to historical fiction. She started with one novel on her favorite topic, Leonardo the Florentine, showcasing some of his adventures as an apprentice and during his early years as an artist. That first novel is on its way to becoming the nine book series, The Life and Travels of Da Vinci. Catherine’s first published short stories included The Attack in Cappadocia, The Attack at Shkodra, and The Attack on Wuerzburg – all historical fiction, of course, and all available individually, or together in The Attack Trilogy. She recently published her first short story about Leonardo da Vinci, in the anthology, Touch the Sky, Stories Inspired by the Saturn V. (Yes, she did manage to find a way to connect Leonardo to the Saturn V.)

Book preview

Chapter One

Leonardo swept the floor quickly, trying not to think too hard about the activity going on around him. It just wasn’t fair. Everyone else was doing something useful, something productive, something fun. Why did his father have to punish him this way?  He had been just fine at home with his uncle. His uncle had time for his questions – time to point out the variety of plants and animals to him. And there he could go outside and draw them any time he wanted. No one bossed him around and told him what to do!  In fact, he was in the midst of sketching the pond behind his grandfather’s house when his father had made the shocking announcement that he was to move to Florence to be apprenticed to the great master Verrocchio.

And so, here he was. An apprentice. A slave, really. What was he going to learn in this noisy, smelly place?  He would never be a great master. In fact, he was never going to amount to anything. That’s what he had been told his entire life, and it was time he faced that fact.

No, he thought angrily, gripping the broom. He did not accept that fact. He was going to succeed. He was going to prove them all wrong. He was going to accomplish great things one day. He gave the broom a hard push, almost knocking over the young man next to him who was delivering panels to the master. Oh great, this is not going to be a good day.

It’s not like it had started well, so why should it end well?  Leonardo thought back to that morning when he had first arrived at Verrocchio’s bottega. As he had walked through the busy streets of Florence once more, he had been curious and almost excited about this new adventure that awaited him. When they had turned the corner of the busy street and he had first seen the artist’s workshop, his curiosity had quickly turned to fear, and then back to the anger he had originally felt when his father told him of this decision.

He searched his memories for what his father had ever said to him about art, about his art. Even as a young child, he had always been sketching, scribbling drawings of what he was seeing all around him. His hands could never stay still. When his left hand got tired, he would even use his right hand for a little while. Either one was fine with him. He just wanted to get the pictures in his mind on the paper quickly enough. Had his father ever commented on his drawings?  He struggled to remember. Yes, a couple of times he had seen them and smiled. But mainly it seemed he had ignored his drawing – ignored him for that matter. Even though Leonardo had moved into his father’s house when he was five, it had always appeared to him that his father was too busy to pay him much attention.

Leonardo wanted to be excited. He really did. His father had talked of the greatness of this man, and the wonderful opportunity it was to apprentice with him. However, Leonardo was still not convinced. He felt so unsure of himself, unlearned in many ways. He had had very little schooling in the first fifteen years of his life. The village priest had come by their home now and again, and made sure he could read some, and write some, and even work a few numbers. And his uncle had taught him the ways of farming, the uses of herbs, and how to swim. That was all the schooling he had ever had. Leonardo had also taught himself many additional things along the way; however, it just didn’t seem the same.

And he was going to be different than these other boys in another important way, too. He was old compared to the other new apprentices. Most apprentices came to the master at age twelve. Here Leonardo was showing up at fifteen. He already felt very uncomfortable here.

Leonardo put the broom aside. He had done all the sweeping he could do for the moment. He made his way across the workshop. The walls were covered with an amazing array of tools, tools he assumed they used for the various projects here – the mallets, chisels, and, of course, brushes. A kiln belched out black smoke from one corner of the large room. Chickens were even running around the studio, since the artists always needed eggs to make the tempera paints. It was truly a busy, noisy place.

Leonardo worked his way over to the master and the sculpture that he had almost completed. It had come so far, just in the few hours that Leonardo had been in the workshop. What had once been only a block of marble now actually looked like a real person. Leonardo smiled for the first time that day. He wondered to himself if he could ever learn to sculpt like the master.

As he edged closer, the master looked up from his work and smiled at him. Ah, Leonardo, is the sweeping finished?  Franco could probably use some help finishing the new batch of brushes he’s putting together. With the new oil paints we’ve been experimenting with, we’ve had to change the style of brushes we use, and I think he’s still struggling to assemble the new ones.

Leonardo nodded at the master and went in search of Franco. He found a cheerful lad of twelve or thirteen years, struggling to win the battle of the brushes. Here, Leonardo directed, Let me help you with those. Maybe another set of hands will make the task easier.  Franco willingly handed him several of the brushes that looked more like a tangled mess than something the master would want to use to apply oil paints.

Over the next hour or so, the two boys worked cheerfully on the job. Leonardo’s mood was definitely improving. Maybe this won’t be such a bad place to work, he thought to himself. The master certainly looked like a reasonable-enough person, and if Leonardo could learn some of his skills it would all be worth it.

Before he knew it, the day’s tasks had been completed. The master drew all the apprentices in front of him before he released them for their evening break. Tomorrow we will all begin work on some assignments for the Medici family. They are having a big celebration in September, most likely to show off the young Lorenzo. Of course, we will focus on their commissions above all others. You are all free for the evening. Just remember to be back in before curfew. The street patrols have been getting pretty ugly with violators lately.

Leonardo had heard of the Medici family some during his first months in Florence. He didn’t really understand why, but they appeared to be very important to this city. And apparently, to the master as well. That was an issue for another day. Leonardo was happy to have finished his first day as an apprentice, and he ran off with the other boys to explore the city.

Antonio was the accepted leader of the group. He was actually close to Leonardo in age, having worked for the master for several years already. He shouted excitedly to Leonardo, "Come on, we only have a few hours until curfew. We want to