mber, 1499, the Sforza family was driven out of Milan by French forces and Leonardo was forced to leave Milan and his unfinished statue of Ludovico Sforza’s father, which was destroyed by French archers that used it for target practice. Leonardo then returned to Florence in 1500 (Bookshelf).When Leonardo returned to Florence the citizens welcomed him with open arms because of the fame he acquired while in Milan. The work he did there strongly influenced other artists such as Sandro Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo. The work he was to produce would influence other masters such as Michelangelo and Raphael. In 1502 Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Romagna and son and Chief General of Pope Alexander VI. For this post he supervised work on the fortress of the papal territories in central Italy. In 1503 he was a member of a commission of artists to decide on the proper location for the David by Michelangelo (Encarta). Towards the end of the year Leonardo began to design a decoration for the Great Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo chose the Battle of Anghiari as the subject of the mural, a victory for Florence in a war against Pisa. He made many drawings and sketches of a cavalry battle, with tense soldiers, leaping horses and clouds of dust. In painting The Battle of Anghiari Leonardo again rejected fresco and tried an experimental technique called encaustic. Once again the experiment was unsuccessful. Leonardo went on a trip and left the painting unfinished. When he returned he found that the paint had run and he never finished the painting. The paintings general appearance is known from Leonardo’s sketches and other artists' copies of it (Creighton 45). During the period of time that Leonardo spent painting the Palazzo Vecchio he also painted several other works, including the most famous portrait ever, the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, (after the presumed name of t...
