Inside a Genius Mind - Google Arts & Culture (2025)

Uncover the myths, masterpieces, and mind of Leonardo da Vinci

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Meet the polymath

What Do You Really Know About Leonardo da Vinci?

Inventor, musician, scientist, artist, mathematician, engineer, writer... there's more to Leonardo da Vinci than just the Mona Lisa.

While he's most known for his art today,da Vinci actually only has relatively few paintings attributed to him.

Although they include some of the most famous, most studied paintings in all of art history. Including The Last Supper...

... and Lady with an Ermine.

What's less well-known is that he created thousands ofpages of sketches...

...inventions...

...musings...

...and notes during his lifetime.

Despite living over 500 years ago, da Vinci made drawings and plans for lots of modern technology including diving equipment, calculators, helicopters, and hang-gliders.

For da Vinci, there was no divide between art and science – he would even dissect corpses to get a better understanding of anatomy for his paintings.

Keep exploring the 1,800+ images and 80+ stories to get to know the Renaissance genius and his visionary creations.

Enter the notebooksMake your own da VinciAn immersive galleryInventions in 3DExplore his murals

Reunited for the first time

Curated by Martin Kemp, Professor of Art History at Oxford University

Dive into Leonardo Da Vinci’s personal notebooks - his codices - exploring themes across time and subject matter with the help of machine learning.

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Codex ArundelCodex AtlanticusCodex LeicesterCodex TrivulzianusCodex WindsorCodex MadridCodex on the Flight of Birds

Inside his mind

Play Da Vinci StickiesImagine Like Leonardo
Masterpieces reunitedEnter a Virtual Gallery
In 3DInventions Come to Life

How do you want to explore?

1The Real LeonardoGet to know his storyExplore
2Behind the MindUncover the codicesExplore
3Masterpieces Up CloseMore than just the Mona LisaExplore

Journey through 80+ storiesBrowse 1k+ codicesInteract with 17 3D inventionsFlip the page

Meet the Renaissance genius

7 Things You Might Not Know About Da Vinci

...if that is even his name!

His name isn't Da Vinci!

Leonardo didn't have a surname in the modern sense. He was an illegitimate son of Piero Fruosino and a peasant named Caterina. His full name was 'Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci' meaning 'son of Piero from Vinci' - the Tuscan village in which he was born.

He hated Michelangelo

Leonardo was a rival of Michelangelo, whose muscled figures he said looked like "bags of walnuts or bunches of radishes". When Leonardo took a place on the committee to decide where to place Michelangelo's masterpiece David, he criticised the poor quality of the marble.

There's a figure hidden in this painting…

It's not who you think it is though. Leonardo liked to base his figures on real people, and spent a long time wandering the streets looking for a criminal to model for Judas. When his patron complained that he was wasting time, Leonardo said he would base Judas on his patron.

He worked as an engineer

While he's Florence's most famous son, he spent a fair amount of time in the nearby city of Milan, putting his accurate drawing and measuring skills to work as a military engineer and geographer for Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan.

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Leonardo wrote many of his most famous texts backwards. This so-called 'mirror writing' has intrigued art historians for years. Was he left handed and trying to avoid smudging his ink? Or was it to stop prying eyes stealing his ideas?

He lived in the Vatican

In his later years, he lived here, in the Cortile del Belvedere of the Vatican City, alongside Raphael and his old rival Michelangelo. Leonardo was given an allowance and free reign over his studies, but he became frustrated as he failed to make a great impression on the Pope.

He was buried at Château d’Amboise

In 1516 he started working under Francis I of France. He found great favour and worked closely with the king on designing a new fortified city. Leonardo died here, at Clos Lucé, in 1519 at the age of 67. According to legend, King Francis held the old man in his arms and wept.

Explore the artworks

The Last SupperFrom the Royal Academy of Arts
Lady with an ErmineFrom the National Museum in Krakow
Portrait of a MusicianFrom Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Madonna of the CarnationFrom Alte Pinakothek
Ginevra de BenciFrom the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
The Virgin on the RocksFrom the National Gallery, London

Microscopic views

Lady with an ErminePortrait of a MusicianMadonna of the CarnationMonochrome Wall PaintingsGinevra de' Benci

Wind in your hair

The Italian title of the painting, “La Scapiliata”, meaning The Disheveled due to the messy locks of hair which surround the young girl's face, who remains unknown.

Mix your ingredients

White lead, umber, a touch of malachite and cinnabar can be found among the pigments used.

Leonardo's mark

Traces of his "poucing" technique were found after a microscope analysis along the chin. This technique was used by Leonardo in other portraits like Ginevra de' Benci and the Lady with an Ermine.

The no-make up look

The effect lighting emphasises the young woman's wide forehead, straight nose, and small, round chin. And a slightly ambiguous smiles plays on her lips.

A walnut wood panel

As it was costumary at the time, this paining is made on wood panel that's thinner on the rear and along the edges.

A lovely gift?

Some theories suggest this painting was gifted by a nobleman to the duchess of Mantua, Isabella d'Este, which she then hung in the private apartment of her son's wife

Strike a pose

The girl’s pose with her head facing down bears a striking similarity to the figures in the second version of “The Virgin of the Rocks” at the National Gallery in London, dating from between 1493 and 1506–8.

An instant classic

The painting was already very successful in Leonardo’s time, as the subject has been portrayed by his students and other contemporary painters. It has also inspired numerous copies down the centuries.

La Scapiliata up close

Learn more

Jack of all trades, master of every one

EngineerExplore his vision of perpetual motion
GastronomerRecipes from Da Vinci's kitchen
MathematicianExploring the elegance of geometry
BiologistStudying the human face
ArtistPaintings, from notebook to canvas
ArchitectSee his studies, from cathedrals to curtains
AeronautUncover his fascination with flight
PhysicistWhere doodles meet physics
The real Leonardo

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See the Flying Machine Up Close

Built using the measurements of birds and bats in flight

More 3D inventions

Machines: from sketch to 3D

The Glider
Double Ballista
Gold-Beating Mallet
Mechanical Loom
Mechanism for Flight
Winch for Lifting Heavy Weight

Did you know that all of Leonardo's drawings and writings are collected in notebooks called codices?

Take a peek into the largest one

Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.42v-43r

Leonardo da Vinci

Explore the Codex Arundel

See inside one of Leonardo's notebooks

Learn more

What was unusual about Leonardo's note taking?

He wrote backwards

Many people believe that Leonardo wrote back to front as a form of code. Actually, he was left-handed, so writing this way meant he didn't smudge his ink.

Learn more
Behind the mind

Test your Leonardo knowledge

How much do you know about Leonardo?

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Da Vinci in the museum

National Gallery of Art, Washington DCUnited States
The British LibraryUnited Kingdom
Veneranda Biblioteca AmbrosianaItaly
The J. Paul Getty MuseumUnited States
Musei RealiItaly
Sforzesco CastleItaly
National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da VinciItaly
Royal Academy of ArtsUnited Kingdom
Castle of Clos LucéFrance

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Mona Lisa: 3 ways

Art FilterTurn Yourself Into the Mona Lisa
Art ProjectorHang the Painting in Your Home
Art TransferPut a Leonardo-Inspired Filter on Your Images

The legacy of Leonardo

Two contemporary artists respond to the master's work

7 Artworks by Natalie PanengHow the artist brought Leonardo into the digital age
Masterpieces up close

Are you a teacher or parent?

Check out the Leonardo da Vinci lesson plan!

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