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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1498

Sala delle Asse

Leonardo da Vinci · c. 1498

A decorated room in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, painted by Leonardo with an illusion of interwoven tree branches covering the ceiling and walls.

A surviving decorative work by Leonardo made for his patron Ludovico Sforza in Milan.

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Interior of a square room with a vaulted ceiling painted with a dense green tree-like pattern of branches and knots, with blue shield-shaped medallions. Lower walls are lined with vertical wooden panels, and a stone doorway is in the center. Red rope barriers and a stone-tiled floor are visible.
Leonardo da Vinci, Sala delle Asse, c. 1498. Castello Sforzesco, Milan.

About this source

What it is

The Sala delle Asse is a large room in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. Around 1498, Leonardo da Vinci painted its walls and vaulted ceiling with a trompe-l'œil design of intertwining tree trunks, branches, leaves, and knotted ropes, making the room look like an open-air grove. The room has been restored more than once, most recently starting in 2012.

Why it matters

This room shows Leonardo working as a decorative artist for Duke Ludovico Sforza, his patron in Milan. The design reflects his careful observation of plants and natural patterns, skills he also used in his scientific studies. A letter from the duke's chancellor confirms Leonardo was working on it in 1498.

Look closer

  • Why might Leonardo have chosen trees and branches to decorate a duke's castle room?
  • What does the restoration history tell us about how hard it is to know what a very old artwork really looked like?
  • What parts of the room's decoration seem based on real plants, and what parts seem invented?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leonardo da Vinci on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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