Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno, better known as Salaì (1480 – January 19, 1524) was an
Italian artist and pupil of
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...
from 1490 to 1518. Salaì entered Leonardo's household at the age of ten. He created paintings under the name of Andrea Salaì. He was described as one of Leonardo's students and lifelong companion and servant and was the model for Leonardo's ''
St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
,'' ''
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
and
Angelo incarnato
Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger".
People People with the given name
*Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church
*Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...
.''
Early life

Salaì was born in 1480 as son of Pietro di Giovanni, a tenant of Leonardo's vineyard near the Porta Vercellina,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
.
He joined Leonardo's household at the age of ten as an assistant.
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
describes Salaì as "a graceful and beautiful youth with curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly delighted".
[ Although Leonardo described him as "a liar, a thief, stubborn, and a glutton" and he stole from Leonardo on at least five occasions, he kept Salaì in his household for more than 25 years, in which Salaì trained as an artist.] Salaì became a capable, although not very impressive, painter, who created several works, including the ''Monna Vanna'', a nude version of the ''Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...
'' which may be based on a charcoal sketch by Leonardo. He is also considered one potential creator of the Prado's copy of the ''Mona Lisa''.
Leonardo is thought to have used Salaì as the model for several of his works, specifically '' St. John the Baptist,'' ''Bacchus'' and ''Angelo Incarnato''. Some researchers also believe that Salaì – and not Lisa del Giocondo – was the real model for the ''Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...
'', but this claim is disputed by the Louvre.
During Leonardo's second stay in Milan, he took another young pupil, Francesco Melzi
Francesco Melzi, or Francesco de Melzi (1491–1570), was an Italian painter born into a family of the Milanese nobility in Lombardy. He became a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci and remained as his closest professional assistant throughout his career ...
. Unlike Salaì, Francesco was a son of a nobleman. When Leonardo traveled to Rome
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, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
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, map_caption ...
in 1513 and to France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
in 1516, Salaì and Melzi both accompanied him. As an adult, Melzi became secretary and main assistant of Leonardo, and undertook to prepare Leonardo's writings for publication. Vasari wrote that Melzi "at the time of Leonardo was a very beautiful and very much loved young man". In France, Francesco Melzi was greeted as "Italian gentleman living with master Leonardo" and granted donation of 400 ecus, while Salaì, 36 years old, was described as "servant" and granted a one time donation of 100 ecus.
Salaì left France, and Leonardo, in 1518. He later returned to Milan to work on Leonardo's vineyard, previously worked by Salaì's father, half of which was granted to him in Leonardo's will. It is commonly believed that upon Leonardo's death in 1519, Salaì inherited several paintings including the ''Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...
''. Through his estate, many of those works, notably the ''Mona Lisa'', passed into the possession of Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin onc ...
. While Leonardo left all personal belongings, paintings, drawings and notes to Francesco Melzi in his will, it is unclear whether this included the ''Mona Lisa''.
On 14 June 1523, at age 43, Salaì married Bianca Coldirodi d'Annono. Salaì died in 1524 as a result of a wound received from a crossbow in a duel and was buried in Milan on 10 March 1524.
Salaì's sexuality
A number of drawings among the works of Leonardo and his pupils make reference to Salaì's sexuality. There is a drawing modelled on Leonardo's painting ''John the Baptist'' and called ''The Angel Incarnate (Angelo incarnato)'', of a young man nude with an erect phallus, and representing Salaì. It is accepted as by Leonardo's hand. The face of the figure is closer to Salaì's copy of Leonardo's painting ''John the Baptist,'' than to the original in the Louvre.
Leonardo‘s folio Codex Atlanticus
The Codex Atlanticus (Atlantic Codex) is a 12-volume, bound set of drawings and writings (in Italian) by Leonardo da Vinci, the largest single set. Its name indicates the large paper used to preserve original Leonardo notebook pages, which was us ...
includes two pages (132 and 133, verso) of drawings by a hand other than Leonardo's, one of which is a crudely drawn sketch depicting an anus, identified as "Salaì's bum", pursued by penises on legs.
Relationship to the ''Mona Lisa''
A group of Italian researchers has claimed that Salaì was the model for the ''Mona Lisa'', noting the similarity in some of the facial features, particularly the nose and mouth, to those in which Salaì is thought to have been the model. These claims have been disputed by the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
.
In popular culture
Films
Films or TV Series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
which are about the life of Leonardo or in which he appears as a character:
* '' The Life of Leonardo da Vinci'' (1972) interpreted by Bruno Piergentili
* '' Leonardo'' (2021) interpreted by Carlos Cuevas
Carlos Cuevas Sisó (born 27 December 1995) is a Spanish television, film, and theater actor, known for his performances in the Catalan television series '' Ventdelplà'' and '' Merlí''.
Early life
Carlos Cuevas was born on 27 December 1995 in ...
Others
* Salaì is a principal character in the novel ''Cenacolo'' by Joseph Orbi.
* In Paul McAuley's 1994 novel ''Pasquale's Angel'' set in an alternate Italian Renaissance, Salaì is the main antagonist.
* DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
' 1995 Vertigo series '' Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci'' (later published as a graphic novel) tells a speculative story of a love affair between Leonardo and Salaì.
* In a DLC of the 2010 video game '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', Ezio (protagonist) interacts with Salaì when searching for Leonardo da Vinci. The game portrays Salaì as Leonardo's lover, and that Ezio is aware of the relationship. He is supportive of it, telling Leonardo that he approves of his relationship.
* Giacomo is the main character in the novel ''Leonardo's Shadow'' by Christopher Grey
* Salaì is the main character in the 1975 children's historical fiction novel ''The Second Mrs. Giaconda
''The Second Mrs. Giaconda'', later ''The Second Mrs. Gioconda'', ''The Second Mrs. Gioconda''. is a historical novel for children by E. L. Konigsburg. Set primarily in Milan, Italy, it features Leonardo da Vinci, his servant Salai, and duchess ...
'' by E. L. Konigsburg.
* Salaì is a principal character with Leonardo in Mário Cláudio's 2014 Portuguese novel ''Retrato de Rapaz'' (''Portrait of a Boy'').
Notes
References
External links
''Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Salaì (see index)
The L(eonardo) and the S(alai)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salai
1480 births
1524 deaths
People from Vimercate
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
16th-century Italian painters
Leonardo da Vinci
LGBT history in Italy
Duelling fatalities
Muses
Italian artists' models