The Leonardeschi is the large group of artists who worked in the studio of or under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. In 1472 da Vinci joined the Guild of St Luke and at the end of 1477 he left the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio as an independent artist. In 1482 Leonardo came to Milan where he stayed with Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, Evangelista de Predis and their four brothers, who all were artists of different kinds. Both Predis brothers are known for having collaborated with Leonardo da Vinci in the painting of the Virgin of the Rocks for the altarpiece in the chapel of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception at the Church of San Francesco Grande, Milan. In 1490 Leonardo earned recognition and a breakthrough at the court of Ludovico Sforza and because of the scale of works commissioned he was permitted to have assistants and pupils in his own studio. held in Naples, based on Leonardos sketch, held in Royal Library, Windsor
In 1494–95 and again in 1505–07 the German artistAlbrecht Dürer traveled to Venice, Italy. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo's. Several Dürer engravings show a clear interest in the works of Leonardo, for example The Small Horse is based upon the Sforza Horse by da Vinci. During the second stay in Venice Dürer was influenced by Leonardo's cartoon of Christ among the Doctors, which was commissioned by Isabella d'Este, while Dürer made a version of the subject, now in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. This is the only painting of Dürer directly influenced by Leonardo, however, Dürer introduced new subjects developed by Leonardo in his art. Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini and—mainly through Lorenzo di Credi—Leonardo da Vinci. It is also believed that Quentin Matsys had known the work of Leonardo da Vinci in the form of prints made and circulated among northern artists. This is regarded as evidence that Matsys was greatly influenced by Italian Renaissance artists and that he most likely travelled to Italy for at least a brief period. In 1516 or 1517 Leonardo da Vinci joined the court of Francis I of France. Coincidentally, a Flemish portrait painter Joos van Cleve was also summoned to the French court, where he painted the king, queen, and other courtiers. It is thought that Joos van Cleve also spent some time in Italy as well as France on this trip. Like Quentin Massys, a fellow artist of Antwerp, Joos van Cleve appropriated some themes and techniques of Leonardo da Vinci. Joos van Cleve is often called Leonardo of the North, and paintings by the Italian Renaissance artists Giampietrino and Marco d’Oggiono, both assistants in the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, were a major influence on the Antwerp master. Joos van Cleve produced numerous versions of his own paintings after these models, adapting them to his own style and so creating some of the most successful compositions of the time in northern Europe. His son Cornelis van Cleve continued an artistic interest in Leonardo, producing several copies of his father's work and the Madonna of the Yarnwinder himself.
