Leonardo was called back to Milan in 1506 by the French occupiers of the city, and he served the court there for much of the next seven years. He began his last known painting, the Madonna and Child with St Anne, possibly for the King of France, but he was now working more as an all-purpose designer than as a painter. He made plans for another equestrian monument and designed courtly emblems, buildings, gardens, sculpture and ingenious machines – few, if any, of which were realised.

Once again military strife disrupted Leonardo’s work. The French were ousted from Milan, and in 1513 Leonardo left for Rome. He was based there for the next three years but achieved little of note, and in 1516 he abandoned Italy for ever and moved to France.