Leonardo da Vinci, the secret perfumer of the Renaissance courts

“Historians – recalls Silvano Vinceti, busy writing a new volume – have highlighted above all Leonardo as painter, architect, civil and military engineer, creator of futuristic machines and devices: from the submarine to the bicycle, from the glider to the helicopter prototype. However, there is another Leonardo, the one who also dedicated himself to the creation of perfumes and cosmetics intended for the Italian Renaissance courts and the court of Francis I of France”. During the Renaissance the use of essences and fragrances became an authentic symbol of social status. A vivid testimony comes from the famous volume “The court of Lodovico il Moro: private life and art in Milan in the second half of the fifteenth century” by the historian Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri. The book, published for the first time in 1913, describes a society in which the cult of elegance and personal care reached extraordinary levels. In Milan at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century, perfumes, clothes, accessories and beauty treatments represented distinctive elements of the elite. Precious ingredients such as musk, amber, aloe and myrrh were used in the private and thermal baths.

It was precisely at the court of Ludovico il Moro that Leonardo dedicated himself to alchemy and the experimentation of fragrances, creams and cosmetic preparations. In his codes he left numerous notes that testify to a constant interest in perfumery and personal care. “Leonardo – says Vinceti – used stills for distillation, some designed and built by himself, studying innovative methods to capture the essence of plants. His recipes included orange blossom, jasmine, juniper, cypress and citrus fruits. For him, perfumery was a science aimed at preserving the essence of things, deeply linked to botany and the observation of nature”. In the Atlantic Codex, now preserved in the Ambrosiana Library in Milan, Leonardo does not address beauty in a systematic way, but precisely notes recipes for the extraction and distillation of plant essences, chemical formulas, technical drawings and cosmetic remedies. His studies also extended to dyes and chemistry applied to personal care. He developed methods for lightening hair, a practice particularly appreciated by ladies of the time who wanted to show off golden locks. His formulas were based on natural ingredients and substances commonly used at the time, including sulfur, alum and apples.

Among Leonardo’s annotations there also appear recipes for hair removal, a sort of “primordial waxing”, and procedures for the preparation of pigments and cosmetics. Leonardo also studied fragrance extraction techniques, including the process known as enfleurage, which allowed the scent of flowers to be captured through absorption into fats, and formulated what he called “sweet odors” intended for court ladies. His research developed mainly along two lines: perfumery and personal care.

Among the most fascinating recipes, Vinceti highlights, is that of the so-called “Leonardo’s Lavender”, documented in folio 807r of the Atlantic Codex. The original text reads: “Smell it: take some good pink water and let go of it, then take some cornflower and rub it between one hand and the other, and it’s good.” A simple formula that testifies to his attention to the aromatic properties of plants.

His studies on distillation instruments also arouse great interest. In folio 912r Leonardo designed and perfected various models of stills and tower ovens, with the aim of improving the extraction of perfumed essences. Among the drawings also appears the sketch of the “Oiselet de Chypre”, the famous “bird of Cyprus” (sheet 190v), a refined incense burner and aroma diffuser much appreciated in Renaissance courts. Finally, there was no shortage of experiments related to aromatic waters. In particular, on folio 482 recto, dating back to Leonardo’s French stay, a recipe based on rose extracts, sugar, lemon and a modest quantity of alcohol is documented. Born as a refreshing drink, it represents a further example of his interest in scented infusions and the beneficial properties of natural essences, also used for the care and freshness of the face.

“Over five centuries later, these pages restore the image of a less well-known but equally fascinating Leonardo: not only an artist, inventor and scientist, but also a refined experimenter of perfumes, cosmetics and beauty remedies, capable of transforming nature into art through science”, comments Silvano Vinceti. (by Paolo Martini)