Editing Leonardo da Vinci (section)

== Legacy ==
{{further|Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci|List of things named after Leonardo da Vinci}}

[[File:Statue of Leonardo DaVinci in Uffizi Alley, Florence, Italy.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue outside the [[Uffizi]], Florence, by [[Luigi Pampaloni]] (1791–1847)|alt=]]
Although he had no formal academic training,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Polidoro |first1=Massimo |author-link1=Massimo Polidoro |title=The Mind of Leonardo da Vinci, Part 2 |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2019 |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=23–24}}</ref> many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the "[[Universal Genius]]" or "Renaissance Man", an individual of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination."<ref name=HG>{{cite book |first=Helen |last=Gardner |title=Art through the Ages |year=1970 |pages=450–56}}</ref> He is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.<ref name="genius">See the quotations from the following authors, in section "Fame and reputation": Vasari, Boltraffio, Castiglione, "Anonimo" Gaddiano, Berensen, Taine, Fuseli, Rio, Bortolon.</ref> According to art historian [[Helen Gardner (art historian)|Helen Gardner]], the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent in recorded history, and "his mind and [[Personal life of Leonardo da Vinci|personality]] seem to us superhuman, while the man himself mysterious and remote."<ref name=HG /> Scholars interpret his view of the world as being based in logic, though the empirical methods he used were unorthodox for his time.{{sfn|Rosci|1977|p=8}}

Leonardo's fame within his own lifetime was such that the King of France carried him away like a trophy, and was claimed to have supported him in his old age and held him in his arms as he died. Interest in Leonardo and his work has never diminished. Crowds still queue to see his best-known artworks, T-shirts still bear his most famous drawing, and writers continue to hail him as a genius while speculating about his private life, as well as about what one so intelligent actually believed in.{{sfn|Arasse|1998}}

The continued admiration that Leonardo commanded from painters, critics and historians is reflected in many other written tributes. [[Baldassare Castiglione]], author of ''[[Il&nbsp;Cortegiano]]'' (''The Courtier''), wrote in 1528: "...Another of the greatest painters in this world looks down on this art in which he is unequalled..."<ref>{{cite web | author-link = Baldassare Castiglione |first=Baldassare |last=Castiglione |title=Il Cortegiano |url=https://archive.org/details/illibrodelcorteg00cast_2 |year=1528 |language=Italian}}</ref> while the biographer known as "Anonimo Gaddiano" wrote, {{circa|1540|lk=no}}: "His genius was so rare and universal that it can be said that nature worked a miracle on his behalf..."<ref>"Anonimo Gaddiani", elaborating on ''Libro di Antonio Billi'', 1537–1542</ref> Vasari, in his ''[[Lives of the Artists]]'' (1568), opens his chapter on Leonardo:<ref group="‡">{{harvnb|Vasari|1965|p=255}}</ref>

<blockquote>In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty, who displayed infinite grace in everything that he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease.</blockquote>

[[File:Francois Ier Leonard de Vinci-Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.jpg|thumb|''[[The Death of Leonardo da Vinci]]'', by [[Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres|Ingres]], 1818{{efn|name=edict}}|alt=]]

The 19th century brought a particular admiration for Leonardo's genius, causing [[Henry Fuseli]] to write in 1801: "Such was the dawn of modern art, when Leonardo da Vinci broke forth with a splendour that distanced former excellence: made up of all the elements that constitute the essence of genius..."<ref>{{citation |mode=cs1 |first=Henry |last=Fuseli |title=Lectures |series=Vol II |year=1801}}</ref> This is echoed by A. E. Rio who wrote in 1861: "He towered above all other artists through the strength and the nobility of his talents."<ref>{{cite web |first=A.E. |last=Rio |title=L'art chrétien |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_10800128_000 |year=1861 |language=French |access-date=19 May 2021}}</ref>

By the 19th century, the scope of Leonardo's notebooks was known, as well as his paintings. [[Hippolyte Taine]] wrote in 1866: "There may not be in the world an example of another genius so universal, so incapable of fulfilment, so full of yearning for the infinite, so naturally refined, so far ahead of his own century and the following centuries."<ref>{{cite web |first=Hippolyte |last=Taine |title=Voyage en Italie |url=https://archive.org/details/voyageenitalie00taingoog |year=1866 |publisher=Paris, Hachette et cie |language=Italian |access-date=19 May 2021}}</ref>

Art historian [[Bernard Berenson]] wrote in 1896: {{blockquote|Leonardo is the one artist of whom it may be said with perfect literalness: Nothing that he touched but turned into a thing of eternal beauty. Whether it be the cross section of a skull, the structure of a weed, or a study of muscles, he, with his feeling for line and for light and shade, forever transmuted it into life-communicating values.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bernard |last=Berenson | author-link = Bernard Berenson |title=The Italian Painters of the Renaissance |year=1896}}</ref>}}

The interest in Leonardo's genius has continued unabated; experts study and translate his writings, analyse his paintings using scientific techniques, argue over attributions and search for works which have been recorded but never found.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.artnewsonline.com/currentarticle.cfm?art_id=1240 |title=ArtNews article about current studies into Leonardo's life and works |first=Melinda |last=Henneberger |publisher=Art News Online | access-date = 10 January 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060505165842/http://www.artnewsonline.com/currentarticle.cfm?art_id=1240 |archive-date = 5 May 2006}}</ref> Liana Bortolon, writing in 1967, said: {{blockquote|Because of the multiplicity of interests that spurred him to pursue every field of knowledge...Leonardo can be considered, quite rightly, to have been the universal genius par excellence, and with all the disquieting overtones inherent in that term. Man is as uncomfortable today, faced with a genius, as he was in the 16th century. Five centuries have passed, yet we still view Leonardo with awe.{{sfn|Bortolon|1967}}}} The [[Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana]] is a special collection at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref>Marmor, Max. "The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana." ''[[The Book Collector]],'' 38, no. 3 (Autumn 1989): 1–23.</ref>

[[File:Museo leonardiano di vinci, 04.JPG|thumb|[[Leonardian Museum of Vinci|Leonardo Museum in Vinci]], which houses a large collection of models constructed on the basis of Leonardo's drawings|alt=]]
Twenty-first-century author [[Walter Isaacson]] based much of his biography of Leonardo{{sfn|Isaacson|2017}} on thousands of notebook entries, studying the personal notes, sketches, budget notations, and musings of the man whom he considers the greatest of innovators. Isaacson was surprised to discover a "fun, joyous" side of Leonardo in addition to his limitless curiosity and creative genius.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Italie |first1=Hillel |title=NonFiction: Biography honors 'fun, joyous' sides of genius da Vinci |agency=Associated Press |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=7 January 2018 |page=G6}}</ref>

On the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death, the Louvre in Paris arranged for the largest ever single exhibit of his work, called ''Leonardo'', between November 2019 and February 2020. The exhibit includes over 100 paintings, drawings and notebooks. Eleven of the paintings that Leonardo completed in his lifetime were included. Five of these are owned by the Louvre, but the ''Mona Lisa'' was not included because it is in such great demand among general visitors to the Louvre; it remains on display in its gallery. ''Vitruvian Man'', however, is on display following a legal battle with its owner, the [[Gallerie dell'Accademia]] in Venice. ''[[Salvator Mundi (Leonardo)|Salvator Mundi]]''{{efn|''[[Salvator Mundi (Leonardo)|Salvator Mundi]]'', a painting by Leonardo depicting Jesus holding an orb, sold for a world record US$450.3&nbsp;million at a [[Christie's]] auction in New York, 15 November 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-salvator-mundi-sells-for-450-3-million-1510794281 |title=Leonardo da Vinci Painting 'Salvator Mundi' Sells for $450.3 Million |last=Crow |first=Kelly |date=16 November 2017 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=16 November 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660|archive-date=29 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629202935/https://www.wsj.com/articles/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-salvator-mundi-sells-for-450-3-million-1510794281|url-status=live}}</ref> The highest known sale price for any artwork was previously US$300&nbsp;million, for [[Willem de Kooning]]'s ''[[Interchange (de Kooning)|Interchange]]'', which was sold privately in September 2015.<ref name=fox>[https://www.foxnews.com/world/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-salvator-mundi-sold-for-record-450-3-million ''Leonardo da Vinci painting 'Salvator Mundi' sold for record $450.3 million''], Fox News, 16 November 2017</ref> The highest price previously paid for a work of art at auction was for [[Pablo Picasso]]'s ''[[Les Femmes d'Alger]]'', which sold for US$179.4&nbsp;million in May 2015 at Christie's New York.<ref name=fox />}} was also not included because its Saudi owner did not agree to lease the work.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://aleteia.org/2019/12/01/louvre-exhibit-has-most-da-vinci-paintings-ever-assembled/ |title=Leonardo da Vinci's Unexamined Life as a Painter |date=1 December 2019 |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029051649/https://aleteia.org/2019/12/01/louvre-exhibit-has-most-da-vinci-paintings-ever-assembled/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://aleteia.org/2019/12/01/louvre-exhibit-has-most-da-vinci-paintings-ever-assembled/ |title=Louvre exhibit has most da Vinci paintings ever assembled |date=1 December 2019 |publisher=Aleteia |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029051649/https://aleteia.org/2019/12/01/louvre-exhibit-has-most-da-vinci-paintings-ever-assembled/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Mona Lisa'', considered Leonardo's [[magnum opus]], is often regarded as the most famous portrait ever made.{{sfn|Kemp|2003}}{{sfn|Turner|1993|p=3}} ''The Last Supper'' is the most reproduced religious painting of all time,<ref name=HG /> and Leonardo's ''Vitruvian Man'' drawing is also considered a [[cultural icon]].<ref>Vitruvian Man is referred to as "iconic" at the following websites and many others: [https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Vitruvian-Man.html Vitruvian Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002194508/https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Vitruvian-Man.html |date=2 October 2020 }}, [http://artpassions.com/art/1109-Fine-Art-Classics/0000067329-Leonardo-Da-Vinci-Vitruvian-Man.html Fine Art Classics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909064630/http://artpassions.com/art/1109-Fine-Art-Classics/0000067329-Leonardo-Da-Vinci-Vitruvian-Man.html |date=9 September 2017 }}, [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=403230&sectioncode=26 Key Images in the History of Science]; {{webarchive|title=Curiosity and difference |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130113435/http://ingenious.org.uk/read/identity/bodyimage/Curiosityanddifference/ |date=30 January 2009 }}; [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/aug/30/art1 "The Guardian: The Real da Vinci Code"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803033719/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/aug/30/art1 |date=3 August 2020 }}</ref>

More than a decade of analysis of Leonardo's [[genetic genealogy]], conducted by [[Alessandro Vezzosi]] and Agnese Sabato, came to a conclusion in mid-2021. It was determined that the artist has 14 living male relatives. The work could also help determine the authenticity of remains thought to belong to Leonardo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=Ben |date=6 July 2021 |title=Scientists may have cracked the mystery of da Vinci's DNA |url=https://www.livescience.com/da-vinci-family-history.html|access-date=9 July 2021 |website=Live Science|archive-date=8 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708162511/https://www.livescience.com/da-vinci-family-history.html|url-status=live}}</ref>