Uncover the myths, masterpieces, and mind of Leonardo da Vinci
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Meet the polymath
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.
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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Inside his mind
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Meet the Renaissance genius
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
Microscopic views
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 moreJack of all trades, master of every one
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See the Flying Machine Up Close
Built using the measurements of birds and bats in flight
More 3D inventionsMachines: from sketch to 3D
Did you know that all of Leonardo's drawings and writings are collected in notebooks called codices?
Take a peek into the largest oneCodex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.42v-43r
Leonardo da Vinci
Explore the Codex Arundel
See inside one of Leonardo's notebooks
Learn moreWhat 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.
Test your Leonardo knowledge
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Da Vinci in the museum
Mona Lisa: 3 ways
The legacy of Leonardo
Two contemporary artists respond to the master's work
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