Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci

(April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance painter and polymath who became very famous during his own lifetime. He is best known for his amazing paintings, especially the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, which are two of the most famous artworks ever made. But Leonardo was also skilled in many other areas, like science, inventing, engineering, and studying the human body.

His portrait was used to represent the ancient thinker Plato in Raphael's famous painting School of Athens. People have written about his life in many ways, both true stories and fictional ones. His paintings, drawings, and notebooks have been studied and copied for over five centuries. Because of his amazing talents, many books, TV shows, video games, and movies have featured him, with the first fictional story about him appearing in the 16th century.

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, six of which show the figure without clothing. 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 with a mustache and beard added. Salvador Dalí painted Self portrait as Mona Lisa in 1954. In 1963, Andy Warhol made prints of many Mona Lisa images called Thirty are Better than One.

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, where the apostles talk about Jesus' statement that one of them will betray him.

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 feature Leonardo da Vinci, including The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E. L. Konigsburg, a children's novel about why Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa. Other stories include Leonardo Da Vinci: Detective by Theodore Mathieson, where he solves a murder, and Pasquale's Angel by Paul J. McAuley, set in an alternate universe Florence.

The novel The Memory Cathedral by Jack Dann imagines a "lost year" in Leonardo's life, and Pilgrim by Timothy Findley describes encounters of an immortal named Pilgrim with Leonardo. Terry Pratchett’s character Leonard of Quirm is inspired by Leonardo, and in Good Omens, a demon owns the original sketch of the Mona Lisa.

Novels like The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra and Black Madonna by Carl Sargent and Marc Gascoigne explore symbols in Leonardo’s works. The Assassin’s Creed series features Leonardo helping the protagonist decode secret pages.

Film

Films about Leonardo or featuring him as a character include silent films like Leonardo Da Vinci (1919) and many others such as The Life of Leonardo da Vinci (1971), Nothing Left to Do But Cry (1984), and animated movies like Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa (2018).

Films referencing his works or inventions include Hudson Hawk (1991), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), and The Da Vinci Code (2006). Documentaries like Leonardo Da Vinci (2024) explore his life and legacy.

Theatre

Plays about Leonardo include Et Adam répondit by Marie-Thérèse Bodart, focusing on his rivalry with Girolamo Savonarola, and Leonardo's Last Supper by Peter Barnes, where he is “resurrected” after being declared dead.

Music

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

Television

Television shows featuring Leonardo include episodes of My Favorite Martian, Bewitched, and Star Trek, where he appears in various time-travel stories. The series Leonardo (2011–2012) focuses on his teenage years, and Da Vinci's Demons (2013) portrays him as a young inventor involved in political intrigue.

Advertising

Benetton’s 1988 campaign paired Leonardo with Julius Caesar in its “United Superstars of Benetton” print and billboard series.

Comics and graphic novels

Comics featuring Leonardo include DC Comics’s Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci and the character Léonard by Dargaud. Mickey Mouse adventures in Journal de Mickey also feature him, with Goofy portraying Leonardo.

Video games

Video games with Leonardo include Mario's Time Machine, where he is a non-player character, and the Assassin’s Creed series, where he aids the protagonist. Other games like Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends and Civilization also feature him as a historical figure.

Other

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

Exhibitions

Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion is a traveling exhibition of full-scale machines built from his designs, shown at science museums worldwide.