The Bust of Leonardo in Chateau Amboise Gardens
Bust of Leonardo
By the time Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave Château Amboise to Roger Ducos, one of his henchman, the ancient church of Saint Florentin was falling into decay.
Religion being very much out of favour with French Revolutionaries, Ducos ordered its demolition.
Ducos was on the committee which voted for the death of Louis XVI.
Although Napoleon honoured Ducos many times, when the Emperor’s star began to fade, Ducos turned coat and voted to get rid of him.
At the restoration of the monarchy he tried to weasel his way back into power but was exiled to Germany as a hated regicide.
In 1863, an archaeological dig of the site of Saint Florentin unearthed a skeleton and fragments of a tomb with the remains of carved letters –EO -AR –DUS –VINC- and French medals dating from the reign of François I.
Leonardo’s remains were re-interred in Saint-Hubert’s chapel.
A bust of Leonardo was put up on the spot where he was found.
Post by Pamela Shields (BA History of Art)
Pamela, a Graduate and Tutor in the History of Art, trained as a magazine journalist at the London College of Printing and has been a freelance writer for over twenty years.
Leonardo da Vinci: The Amboise Connection
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