What was Cooking in Leonardo da Vinci's Kitchen?
by Tori Avey on Jul 10, 2013
Tags
On her website ToriAvey.com, Tori Avey explores the story behind the food why we eat what we eat, how the recipes of different cultures have evolved, and how yesterday's recipes can inspire us in the kitchen today. Learn more about Tori and The History Kitchen.
Born in the town of Vinci in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci came from humble beginnings. He was born out of wedlock to a notary and a peasant woman, then rose to become one of the most celebrated minds of the Italian Renaissance. Though well-known in Italy during his lifetime, his creative genius, technological inventiveness, and vision would not be fully recognized until hundreds of years after his death. We are most familiar with da Vinci's remarkable artistic abilities, as evidenced by masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In addition to being a gifted artist, da Vinci was a polymath a scientist, engineer, mathematician, musician, sculptor, astronomer, architect, zoologist, anatomist... and, perhaps most surprisingly, a budding nutritionist. Da Vinci was intrigued by food and valued its importance in our daily lives. He was also captivated by kitchen gadgets and inspired a few of the machines we still use today, including an automated device for turning meat on a spit. Shawarma, anyone?
Meticulous notebooks kept by da Vinci, some of which survive today, reveal why he was so suited to this new cultural perspective. They also give great insight into his relationship with food, nutrition, and the kitchen. He started writing the notebooks at age thirty-seven and kept up with them until his death thirty years later. Mainly a random assortment of thoughts, notes, and drawings, much like diaries, they were written in mirror script from right to left, with the letters themselves drawn backward. As you can imagine, his method of keeping his thoughts private made the notebooks even more difficult for scholars to translate. When da Vinci passed, he left between 50 and 120 notebooks to his prized student, Francesco Melzi. There are only 28 or so left today. Here is a passage from one of his notebooks regarding health and cooking:
Da Vinci's kitchen notebooks are filled with comments on the cost and quality of the food and drink he encountered throughout Italy. For example, da Vinci noted that a bottle of wine, a pound of veal and a basket of eggs cost one soldo each. Also included in the notebooks were his shopping lists, which varied between elaborate ingredients for court feasts and rather simple items for his own households fare.
In 1482, da Vinci joined the court of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, who would later become a major patron of his artwork. While living there he spent time overseeing the remodeling of Sforza's castle, including the kitchen. In his book Da Vinci's Kitchen, Dave Dewitt includes da Vinci's personal notes on how an efficient kitchen should be designed:
In discussing da Vinci and food, the topic of vegetarianism inevitably arises. The possibility of da Vinci abstaining from meat has been debated for years. A handful of quotes suggest that he may have been a vegetarian, though none of the quotes come directly from da Vinci himself. One quote commonly referenced comes from a letter written to Giuliano de'Medici by the Italian explorer Andrea Corsali, who writes: "Certain infidels called Guzzarati are so gentle that they do not feed on anything which has blood, nor will they allow anyone to hurt any living thing, like our Leonardo da Vinci." Corsali was describing the eating habits of Hindu followers in India. Though the quote seems to suggest that da Vinci was a vegetarian, it is impossible to know what sort of relationship Corsali had with da Vinci beyond the fact that they both worked for Medici at one time. On the other hand, da Vinci's shopping lists occasionally mentioned meat; however, the items listed were not all for his own private pantry. They also included whatever items he would need to feed his household. In reading his passages about nutrition and health, he advised a simple and light diet, and to abstain from gorging. This would seem to go hand-in-hand with a vegetarian lifestyle. Because da Vinci never spoke or wrote about his personal eating habits with regards to meat, we cannot say for certain what his diet consisted of, though it is quite possible that he was a vegetarian.
In his personal library collection, da Vinci owned a single cookbook, Platinas On Right Pleasure and Good Health, which is considered to be the first printed cookbook (and one of the first printed books anywhere). First published in Rome in 1470, the book focuses heavily on the dietary advantages of various foods and how to prepare them. Platina attributes many of the recipes found in his book to Italian culinary expert Martino da Como (also known as Maestro Martino), who might be considered the first celebrity chef in history. Martino was the chef for Ludovico Trevisan, the Cardinal Patriarch of Aquileia, and eventually the Vatican. The wealth of information shared in Platina's book appears modern and ahead of its time, including Martino's recipes. Nearly every recorded item in da Vinci's larder was included in Platina's writings, including buttermilk, eggs, melon, grapes, mulberries, mushrooms, sorghum, flour, herbs, spices, beans, meat, sugar, vinegar and wine. (DeWitt, 114-122)
Da Vinci's recorded observations and musings prove that he was a remarkably modern thinker, even when it came to cooking. He believed that the kitchen should run as a well-oiled, efficient machine. Today we have refrigeration, blenders, and electric mixers to help us along. I can't help but wonder if the original Renaissance man would have been impressed by how far we've come in the kitchen.
Research Sources
Bramly, Serge (1995). Leonardo The Artist and the Man. Penguin Books, New York, NY.
Da Vinci, Leonardo. Leonardos Notebooks. Suh, H. Anna Editor, Translator (2009). Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, NY.
Davidson, Alan (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, NY.
Dewitt, Dave (2007). Da Vincis Kitchen: A Secret History of Italian Cuisine. BenBella Books, US.
Corsali, Andrea. "Lettera di Andrea Corsali allo illustrissimo Principe Duca Juliano de Medici, venuta Dellindia del mese di Octobre nel XDXVI." National Library of Australia Digital Collections, n.d. Web. 08 July 2013.
King, Ross (2012). Leonardo and the Last Supper. Walker Publishing Company, Inc., NY.
Platina. On Right Pleasure and Good Health. Milham, Mary Ella Editor, Translator (1999). Pegasus Press, US.
You can uncover more fascinating food history on Tori's website: The History Kitchen.
More Leonardo da Vinci on PBS
Mystery of a Masterpiece
Experts investigate whether a portrait sold for about $20,000 in 1998 is actually a lost Leonardo da Vinci work in this NOVA special.
Leonardo da Vinci's Notebooks
Da Vinci scholars believe that there were at least 50 notebooks left in the hands of da Vinci's pupil at the time of his death. NOW on PBS investigates the 28 that survived in museums.
Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
The most famous artist in the world, Leonardo was nurtured by Lorenzo de'Medici.