Why go
This small residence gives the familiar story of Leonardo in France a real setting. Pair its rooms and machine displays with the royal Château d'Amboise nearby to understand why a painter and inventor from Italy was living and working beside the French court.
The full story
Clos Lucé was built in the 15th century and later acquired by Charles VIII for Anne of Brittany. Francis I also used the residence, as did his sister Marguerite de Navarre, who began writing L'Heptaméron while there. In 1516, Francis invited Leonardo da Vinci to Amboise and gave him Clos Lucé as a place to live and work. Leonardo brought paintings with him, including the Mona Lisa, and remained until his death in 1519. The house stands about 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, so the physical closeness of the two buildings helps explain Leonardo's connection to the king. Displays of models based on his designs give another way into his work, but they are interpretations of ideas, not surviving machines made by Leonardo. The important contrast is between the scale of the royal château and the more personal setting where Leonardo spent his final years.