Such a tease! This ambiguous portrait plays psychological and optical games with the viewer.
Leonardo
From military machines to playful cats, Leonardo’s extraordinary drawings capture his incessant curiosity.
Leonardo and his drawings
Human cadavers and dead cows—Leonardo dissected both. He kept his notes private, but paintings betrayed this work.
Leonardo: Anatomist
We now think of Leonardo as a great painter, but his résumé included mapmaker, engineer, and military strategist.
Leonardo, Letter to the Duke of Milan
Human cadavers and dead cows—Leonardo dissected both. He kept his notes private, but paintings betrayed this work.
Leonardo, Adoration of the Magi
Though unfinished, this large drawing perfectly blends human intimacy and divine beauty.
Leonardo, The Virgin and Child with St. ...
Seductive—or maternal? Smiling—or just smug? Sure, we all know this woman, but we’ve yet to figure her out.
Leonardo, Mona Lisa
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Leonardo, Last Supper
A flash of yellow, a pool of water, a protected garden—this lovely painting highlights Mary’s purity and her womb.
Leonardo, The Virgin of the Rocks
Hired by bankers, kings, and dukes, this Renaissance man dreamed up machines and put ancient theory into practice.
About Leonardo
Proficient in anatomy and perspective, artists aimed at complex poses, ideal beauty—and spiritual transcendence.