he died on May 2, 1519. A tradition, begun by Vasari, said that he died with Francis at his bedside—indeed, that he “expired in the arms of the King.” To Vasari, this was a fitting, noble end for so great a man. Leonardo “adorned and honored, in every action, no matter what mean and bare dwelling,” Vasari wrote. “Florence received a very great gift in the birth of Leonardo, and an incalculable loss in his death.”
