Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance painter and polymath. He became very famous during his lifetime. He is best known for his amazing paintings, especially the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. These are two of the most famous artworks ever made.

Raphael's depiction of Plato in his 1509–1511 fresco The School of Athens in the Vatican is believed to be a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo was also skilled in many other areas, like science, inventing, engineering, and studying the human body.

His portrait was used to represent the thinker Plato in Raphael's painting School of Athens. People have written about his life in many ways. His paintings, drawings, and notebooks have been studied and copied for centuries. Because of his amazing talents, many books, TV shows, video games, and movies have featured him.

Artworks after originals by Leonardo

Copies

Many of Leonardo's students and followers made copies of his paintings. Some of his important works exist only because of these copies. Examples include:

His drawing of The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist was copied by Luini as an oil painting
The Battle of Anghiari was copied many times by unknown artists from Florence and also by Peter Paul Rubens
Leda and the Swan exists only in copies kept in the Louvre and Villa Borhgese

Other works that were copied many times include:

Mona Lisa, with Angela della Chiesa noting 14 examples. These include works by Bernardino Luini, Salaì and Joos van Cleve
John the Baptist, which has at least five versions made by other artists, including Salai

Parodies of the Mona Lisa

Main article: Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations

The Mona Lisa has been copied and made funny more than any other painting. Starting perhaps with a portrait of Diane de Poitiers by Clouet, artists have used the pose and look in many ways. Modern artists often change or make funny versions of the painting. In 1883, Le rire, a picture of the Mona Lisa smoking a pipe, by Sapeck (Eugène Bataille), was shown at the "Incoherents" show in Paris. In 1919, Marcel Duchamp created L.H.O.O.Q., a funny version of the Mona Lisa. Salvador Dalí painted Self portrait as Mona Lisa in 1954. In 1963, Andy Warhol made prints of many Mona Lisa images.

Replicas of lost works

"Il Gran Cavallo". This huge bronze horse, 7 metres (24 feet) tall, is an imagined version of a clay horse Leonardo da Vinci made in Milan for Ludovico Sforza. Leonardo could not finish it because of war with France, and the clay model was destroyed. This version was made in 1999 in New York and given to the city of Milan.

Presentation of existing works

The Last Supper will be used in an animation by British film-maker Peter Greenaway. He plans to show images on the painting to bring the scene to life.

Representations of Leonardo in art

The story of Leonardo dying in the arms of the French king Francis I, even though it may not be true, became popular with French kings and artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1781, Ménageot painted The Death of Leonardo da Vinci in the arms of Francis I, showing Leonardo surrounded by classical statues. In 1818, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted The Death of Leonardo da Vinci, showing the king supporting Leonardo's head as he passed away in his home at Clos Lucé in Amboise. The painting also shows the Dauphin and a cardinal.

Statues of Leonardo can be found in many places. A large monument was put up in 1872 in Piazza del Scala, Milan, showing Leonardo and some of his students. There is also a statue of Leonardo outside Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, and another in the pose of a river god in Amboise.

References in other media

Novels and short stories

Several books have Leonardo da Vinci as a character. These include The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E. L. Konigsburg, a children's book about why Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa. Other stories are Leonardo Da Vinci: Detective by Theodore Mathieson, where he solves a mystery, and Pasquale's Angel by Paul J. McAuley, set in a different Florence.

The book The Memory Cathedral by Jack Dann imagines a missing year in Leonardo's life. Pilgrim by Timothy Findley tells of a character named Pilgrim meeting Leonardo. Terry Pratchett’s character Leonard of Quirm is inspired by Leonardo. In Good Omens, a demon owns a drawing of the Mona Lisa.

Books like The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra and Black Madonna by Carl Sargent and Marc Gascoigne look at symbols in Leonardo’s art. The Assassin’s Creed series has Leonardo helping the main character find hidden pages.

Film

Movies about Leonardo or with him as a character include silent films like Leonardo Da Vinci (1919) and newer films such as The Life of Leonardo da Vinci (1971) and Nothing Left to Do But Cry (1984). Animated films like Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa (2018) also feature him.

Movies that refer to his art or inventions include Hudson Hawk (1991), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), and The Da Vinci Code (2006). Documentaries such as Leonardo Da Vinci (2024) look at his life and work.

Theatre

Plays about Leonardo include Et Adam répondit by Marie-Thérèse Bodart, about his rivalry with Girolamo Savonarola, and Leonardo's Last Supper by Peter Barnes.

Music

Music inspired by Leonardo includes an “opera bréve” named Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine by Charles Anthony Silvestri and Eric Whitacre. Albums like Leonardo: The Absolute Man by Dream Theater singer James LaBrie also exist. Songs such as “[The Ballad of Mona Lisa]” by Panic! at the Disco mention his work.

Television

TV shows with Leonardo include episodes of My Favorite Martian, Bewitched, and Star Trek, where he appears in time-travel stories. The series Leonardo (2011–2012) is about his teenage years. Da Vinci's Demons (2013) shows him as a young inventor caught in political plots.

Advertising

In 1988, Benetton’s campaign showed Leonardo with Julius Caesar in its “United Superstars of Benetton” prints and billboards.

Comics and graphic novels

Comics with Leonardo include DC Comics’s Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci and a character named Léonard by Dargaud. Mickey Mouse stories in Journal de Mickey also feature him, with Goofy acting as Leonardo.

Video games

Video games featuring Leonardo include Mario's Time Machine, where he is a character who does not play the game, and the Assassin’s Creed series, where he helps the main character. Games like Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends and Civilization also include him as a famous person from history.

Other

In 2014, Epic Rap Battles of History had Leonardo in a battle rap against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In 2025, Lego made a set based on Leonardo’s flying machine, and he appears as a small figure. The European Central Bank plans to put Leonardo on future 100 euro banknotes.