The Italian

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

(1452–1519) was the founding figure of the

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

, and exhibited enormous influence on subsequent artists. Only around eight major works—''

The Adoration of the Magi ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', '' Saint Jerome in the Wilderness'', the Louvre ''

Virgin of the Rocks The ''Virgin of the Rocks'' (), sometimes the ''Madonna of the Rocks'', is the name of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, with a composition which is identical except for several significant de ...

'', ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, '' The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ...

'', the ceiling of the

Sala delle Asse The ''Sala delle Asse'' (In English: 'room of the wooden planks'), is a large room in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, the location of a painting in tempera on plaster by Leonardo da Vinci, dating from about 1498. Its walls and vaulted ceiling ...

, '' The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist'', '' The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', and the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

''—are universally attributed to him, and have aroused little or no controversy in the past. Ten additional works are now widely attributed to his ''oeuvre'', though most have previously incited considerable controversy or doubt: the ''

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

'', '' Madonna of the Carnation'', '' The Baptism of Christ'' (with his teacher,

Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio ( , , ; born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni; – 1488) was an Italian sculptor, painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...

), ''

Ginevra de' Benci ''Ginevra de' Benci'' is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de' Benci (born ). It was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. US from Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liech ...

'', the ''

Benois Madonna The ''Benois Madonna'', otherwise known as the ''Madonna and Child with Flowers'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. One of two Madonnas begun by Leonardo in October 1478, ...

'', the ''

Portrait of a Musician The ''Portrait of a Musician'' is an Unfinished creative work, unfinished painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Produced while Leonardo was in Milan, the work is painted in Oil painting, oils, and perhaps temp ...

'' (with possible studio assistance), the ''

Lady with an Ermine The ''Lady with an Ermine'' is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to , the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza ("Il Mo ...

'', ''

La Belle Ferronnière () is a portrait painting of a lady, by Leonardo da Vinci, in the Louvre. It is also known as ''Portrait of an Unknown Woman.'' The painting's title, applied as early as the seventeenth century, identifying the sitter as the wife or daughter of ...

'', the London ''Virgin of the Rocks'' (with studio assistance), the '' Portrait of Isabella d'Este'', and ''

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

''. Other attributions are more complicated. ''

La Scapigliata is an unfinished painting generally attributed to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, and dated . Painted in oil, umber, and white lead pigments on a small poplar wood panel, its attribution remains controversial, with se ...

'' appears to be attributed by most scholars, but some prominent specialists are silent on the issue. ''

Salvator Mundi , Latin for Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb (frequently surmounted by a cross), known as a . The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whol ...

''s attribution remains extremely controversial, and the extensive nature of the restoration may never allow a definitive resolution. The small number of surviving paintings is due in part to Leonardo's habit of disastrous experimentation with new techniques and his chronic

procrastination Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there could be negative consequences for doing so. It is a common human experience involving delays in everyday chores or even putting off tasks such ...

, resulting in many incomplete works. It is thought that he created many more works that are now lost, though records and copies have survived for some. In addition to his paintings, there are eleven surviving manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci's notes and drawings, amounting to thousands of pages in total. There are numerous other works with disputed attributions to Leonardo, which have failed, as of yet, to achieve thorough scholarly approval.

Major extant works

Key: Collaborative work Possibly collaborative work

Manuscripts

Lost works

Disputed works

Key: Supposedly collaborative work

Notes

Sources for dating

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Leonardo's works on Web Gallery of Art
* Th
Codex Arundel
on the British Library's Digitised Manuscripts Website
Works by Leonardo on ''cavallinitoveronese.co.uk''
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