Clos Lucé

The mansion Clos Lucé and garden

Clos Lucé is a mansion in Amboise, France, located 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, to which it is connected by an underground passageway. Built by Étienne le Loup in the middle of the fifteenth century, it was acquired in 1490 by Charles VIII of France for his wife, Anne de Bretagne. Later, it was used by Francis I, as well as his sister Marguerite de Navarre, who began writing her book entitled L'Heptaméron while living there.

In 1516, Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to Amboise and provided him with the Clos Lucé, then called Château de Cloux, as a place to stay and work.^[1] Leonardo, a famous painter and inventor, arrived with three of his paintings, namely the Mona Lisa, Sainte Anne, and Saint Jean Baptiste. Leonardo lived at the Clos Lucé for the last three years of his life, and died there on 2 May 1519.

Today, the Clos Lucé is a museum that reflects the prestigious history of the region and includes forty models of the various machines designed by Leonardo.

Gallery

• 

  Exterior shot of the Clos Lucé Manor

• 

  Clos Lucé garden and boutique

• 

  Park behind Clos Lucé

• 

  Park bridge

• 

  Brook and water wheel in the park

• 

  Leonardo Da Vinci silk screens at Clos Lucé

References

Notes

1. ^ Tanaka 1992, p. 90

Bibliography

• Tanaka, Hidemichi (1992), "Leonardo da Vinci, Architect of Chambord?", Artibus et Historiae 13 (25): 85–102, JSTOR 1483458 

External links

• Official web site of the Clos Lucé

Coordinates: 47°24′36″N 0°59′29″E / 47.41°N 0.99139°E / 47.41; 0.99139