Leonardo (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, writer, painter, musician, sculptor, botanist and architect. He was born as the illegitimate son of the notary Piero da Vinci, and the peasant girl Caterina, in the settlement of Anchiano, near Vinci, not far from Florence. Leonardo acquired his education in the workshop of the well-known Florentine painter Verrocchio. A significant part of his working life had previously been spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro, in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and spent his last years in France, in a house given to him by King François I.

Da Vinci is often described as belonging to the "Renaissance Man" archetype, a man who had a seemingly endless curiosity and gift for invention. He is considered one of greatest artists of all times, and also, most diversely talented person who ever lived.

First of all, Leonardo da Vinci was known as an artist. His works such as last supper and Mona Lisa occupy the first positions among the most famous, unique, popular and most copied portraits and works on the subject religious painting of all times. The scale of their fame can only be compared with the works of Michelangelo. Leonardo's drawing - the Vitruvian Man - is also iconic. Only fifteen of his original paintings survive. Perhaps their number is so small because of his constant, and often disastrous experiments with new technologies, and his chronic procrastination. However, these works, together with his diaries, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, had a marked influence on many subsequent generations of artists. In this, too, he can only be compared with his contemporary Michelangelo.

Leonardo da Vinci's ideas as an engineer were significantly ahead of their time. He conceptualized the helicopter, the tank, concentrated solar energy, the calculator, the double hull, and laid out the rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were built or carried out during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as the automated winder and the machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing. As a scientist, he significantly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of civil engineering, anatomy, hydrodynamics, and optics.

"The Last Supper" 1498

"Lady with an Ermine" 1490

"Leda" 1530

"Leda and the Swan" 1505

"Madonna of the Pomegranate" 1470

"Madonna Litta" 1491

"Madonna in the Grotto" 1494

"John the Baptist" 1516

"Annunciation" 1475

"Mona Lisa" (La Gioconda) 1519

"Adoration of the Magi" 1481

Publications in the Museums section

Adventures of da Vinci in Russia: details about our Leonardos

It is read that about 15 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci have survived (in addition to frescoes and drawings). Five of them are kept in the Louvre, one each in the Uffizi (Florence), the Alte Pinakothek (Munich), the Czartoryski Museum (Krakow), the London and Washington National Galleries, as well as in others, less famous museums. However, some scientists argue that there are actually more paintings, but disputes over the attribution of Leonardo’s works are an endless task. In any case, Russia holds a solid second place after France. Let's take a look at the Hermitage and remember the history of our Leonardos together with Sofia Bagdasarova.

"Madonna Litta"

Angelo Bronzino. Competition between Apollo and Marsyas. 1531–1532. State Hermitage Museum

There are so many paintings depicting the Virgin Mary that the most famous ones are usually given nicknames. Often the name of one of the previous owners sticks to them, as happened with the “Madonna Litta”.

The painting, painted in the 1490s, remained in Italy for many centuries. Since 1813, it was owned by the Milanese Litta family, whose representatives knew very well how rich Russia was. It was from this family that the Maltese knight Count Giulio Renato Litta came, who was in great favor with Paul I and, having left the order, married Potemkin’s niece, becoming a millionaire. However, it has nothing to do with Leonardo’s painting. A quarter of a century after his death, in 1864, Duke Antonio Litta approached the Hermitage, which had recently become a public museum, with an offer to buy several paintings from the family collection.

Antonio Litta wanted to please the Russians so much that he sent a list of 44 works offered for sale and asked a museum representative to come to Milan to see the gallery. The director of the Hermitage, Stepan Gedeonov, went to Italy and selected four paintings, paying 100 thousand francs for them. In addition to Leonardo, the museum acquired “The Contest of Apollo and Marsyas” by Bronzino, “Venus Feeding Cupid” by Lavinia Fontana and “The Praying Madonna” by Sassoferrato.

The painting arrived in Russia in very poor condition; it had to not only be cleaned, but also immediately transferred from board to canvas. This is how the first Leonardo appeared in the Hermitage.

By the way, here is an example of disputes over attribution: did Leonardo create the “Madonna Litta” himself or with an assistant? Who was this co-author - his student Boltraffio? Or maybe Boltraffio wrote it entirely, based on Leonardo’s sketch? This issue has not yet been finally resolved, and the Madonna Litta is considered a little dubious.

Leonardo da Vinci had many students and followers - they are called "Leonardeschi". Sometimes they interpreted the master’s legacy in a very strange way. This is how the type of nude “Mona Lisa” appeared. There is one of these paintings in the Hermitage unknown author- “Donna nuda” (“Naked woman”). It appeared in Zimny ​​during the reign of Catherine the Great: in 1779, the Empress acquired it as part of the collection of Richard Walpole. In addition to her, the Hermitage also contains large collection other Leonardesques, including a copy of the dressed Mona Lisa.

Lavinia Fontana. Venus feeding Cupid. 1610s. State Hermitage Museum

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna Litta. 1490–1491. State Hermitage Museum

Leonardo da Vinci, school. Donna is boring. State Hermitage Museum

"Madonna Benoit"

This painting, painted in 1478–1480, also received its nickname in honor of its owner. Moreover, she could well be called “Sapozhnikov’s Madonna,” but “Benoit,” of course, sounds more beautiful. The Hermitage acquired it from the wife of the architect Leonty Nikolaevich Benois (brother of the famous Alexander) - Maria Alexandrovna Benois. She was born Sapozhnikova (and, by the way, was distant relative artist Maria Bashkirtseva, which she was proud of).

Previously, the painting was owned by her father, the Astrakhan merchant-millionaire Alexander Aleksandrovich Sapozhnikov, and before him, by her grandfather Alexander Petrovich (grandson of Semyon Sapozhnikov, who was hanged in the village of Malykovka by one young lieutenant named Gavrila Derzhavin for participating in the Pugachev riot). The family said that “Madonna” was sold to the Sapozhnikovs by wandering Italian musicians who somehow ended up in Astrakhan.

But in fact, Sapozhnikov’s grandfather purchased it in 1824 for 1,400 rubles at an auction after the death of the senator, president of the Berg College and director of the Mining School Alexei Korsakov (who apparently brought it from Italy in the 1790s). Surprisingly, when after Korsakov’s death his collection, which included Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and other authors, was put up for auction, the Hermitage bought several works (in particular, Millet, Mignard), but neglected this modest “Madonna”. The new owner began restoring the painting; at his request, it was immediately transferred from board to canvas.

The Russian public learned about this painting in 1908, when the court architect Leonty Benois exhibited the work from the collection of his father-in-law, and the chief curator of the Hermitage Ernst Lipgart confirmed the hand of the master. This happened at the Western Exhibition European art from the collections of collectors and antiquarians of St. Petersburg,” which opened on December 1, 1908 in the halls of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.

In 1912, the Benois couple decided to sell the painting; the painting was sent abroad, where experts examined it and confirmed its authenticity. London antique dealer Duveen offered 500 thousand francs (about 200 thousand rubles), but in Russia a campaign began for the state to purchase the work. The director of the Hermitage, Count Dmitry Tolstoy, addressed Nicholas II. The Benois couple also wanted “Madonna” to remain in Russia, and eventually lost it to the Hermitage in 1914 for 150 thousand rubles, which were paid in installments.

It’s curious: the great futurist poet Velimir Khlebnikov, an Astrakhan resident and compatriot of the Sapozhnikovs, in December 1918, in his article “Astrakhan Gioconda” (the newspaper “Red Warrior”) exclaimed: “Can’t this picture be considered as a national treasure of the city of Astrakhan? If so, then this priceless painting should be placed in its second home. Petrograd has enough artistic treasures, and to take the “Madonna” from Astrakhan - doesn’t this mean taking away the last sheep from the poor?” But it didn’t work out - the painting did not return to Astrakhan.

Orest Kiprensky. Portrait of Alexey Korsakov. 1808. State Russian Museum

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna Benoit. 1478. State Hermitage Museum

Vasily Tropinin. Portrait of A.P. Sapozhnikova. 1826. State Hermitage Museum

"Savior of the World"

There are no more works by Leonardo in Russian museums, only “demoted” ones, for example, “Saint Sebastian” by the already mentioned Boltraffio (in the Pushkin Museum since 1930). IN mid-19th century century, as a work by da Vinci, it was bought by Count Sergei Stroganov, and only in 1896 the researcher Fritz Hark suggested that in fact it was a painting by his student.

However, the Russian trace is clearly visible in the fate of another painting by Leonardo da Vinci - “Savior of the World”. However, it was only decided in the 21st century that this painting was the work of a genius.

The fact is that many of da Vinci’s works, although not preserved, are known from his sketches, copies of students and descriptions of contemporaries. Thus, we know that he wrote Leda and the Swan, Madonna of the Spindle and The Battle of Anghiari. Even if their originals are lost, the Leonardesques of Boltraffio, Francesco Melzi, Giampetrino and even Rubens left enough copies and variations for us to be sure that such works really existed, and to be able to imagine what they looked like.

The same story with “Savior of the World”: it was believed that the original was lost, but versions of the disciples exist - about twenty. One of these copies was bought by the British collector Frederick Cook in 1900, and in 1958 his heirs sold it to Sotheby's for just 45 pounds as a work by Boltraffio. In 2004, this image of Christ was acquired by a consortium of New York art dealers, cleaned of late entries (for example, a drawn-on mustache), restored and sent for examination. And many experts agreed with the hypothesis of the owners of the painting: it was painted not by a follower, but by the master himself. The press was filled with loud headlines - “The lost painting of Leonardo da Vinci has been found!”

In 2011, “Salvator Mundi” was exhibited at the prestigious London National Gallery exhibition dedicated to Leonardo, where for the first time the maximum number of masterpieces was collected, including those from the Louvre (except for the Mona Lisa) and the Hermitage. The final legitimation of the find has occurred - all that remains is to sell it.

And indeed, two years later the image of Christ was bought by Russian millionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. And in 2017, through the mediation of Christie’s, the collector sold it to the Crown Prince Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud for $400 million. “Savior of the World” became the most expensive work of art in world history.

By 1514 - 1515 refers to the creation of the masterpiece of the great master - “La Gioconda”.
Until recently, they thought that this portrait was painted much earlier, in Florence, around 1503. They believed the story of Vasari, who wrote: “Leonardo undertook to make for Francesco del Gioconda a portrait of Monna Lisa, his wife, and, having worked on it for four years, left it unfinished. This work is now in the possession of the French king in Fontainebleau. By the way, Leonardo resorted to the following technique: since Madonna Lisa was very beautiful, while painting the portrait he held people who played the lyre or sang, and there were always jesters who kept her cheerful and removed the melancholy that she usually conveys. painting for portraits."

This entire story is wrong from beginning to end. According to Venturi, “Monna Lisa, later Gioconda, was the creation of the fantasy of the short story writer, Aretina biographer, Giorgio Vasari.” Venturi in 1925 suggested that “La Gioconda” is a portrait of the Duchess Costanza d’Avalos, the widow of Federigo del Balzo, glorified in a small poem by Eneo Irpino, which also mentions her portrait painted by Leonardo. Costanza was the mistress of Giuliano de’ Medici, who, after her marriage to Philibertia of Savoy gave the portrait back to Leonardo.

At the very lately Pedretti put forward a new hypothesis: the Louvre portrait depicts the widow of Giovanni Antonio Brandano, named Pacifica, who was also the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici and bore him a son, Ippolito, in 1511.
Be that as it may, Vasari's version is questionable simply because it does not explain in any way why the portrait of Francesco del Giocondo's wife remained in Leonardo's hands and was taken by him to France.

2. Lady with an ermine ca. 1488-1490

Oil on the panel.
54.8 x 40.3 cm
Czartor Museum, Krakow, Poland

“The Lady with an Ermine” is the immortal seventeen-year-old Cecilia Gallerani, the favorite of Lodovico Sforza. Daughter of the 15th century. Crafty enchantress. Favorite of the Milan Palace. Tender and wise, bashful and frivolous, she appears before us. Simple and complex. Mysteriously attractive, with an almost static face, she still possesses the magnetism of extraordinary, hidden movement. But what gives the young lady’s appearance this magical liveliness? Smile. She barely touched the corners of her chaste lips. It lurked in the slightly swollen girlish dimples near the mouth and, like lightning, flashed in response in the dark, dilated pupils, covered with rounded, onion-shaped eyelids. Take a closer look at the subtle, spiritual features of the “Lady with an Ermine”, at her dignified posture, at her strict but elegant clothes, and the Renaissance with its magnificent creations of brilliant masters of art will instantly appear before you. Cecilia Gallerani. She, like a small planet, reflected the radiance of the cruel, ugly and beautiful, unique 15th century.

3. Fresco The Last Supper 1494 -1498

Oil and tempera on plaster.
460 x 880 cm
Santa Maria del Grazia, Milan, Italy

From left to right, a table with food stretches across the entire width of the picture. Twelve characters sit at the table facing us in groups of three with Christ in the center. The apostles are chatting animatedly. What are they talking about and what is the picture about? From Ammoreti's testimony it should be concluded that the painting "The Last Supper" was completed in 1497. Unfortunately, Leonardo da Vinci painted it with paints, some of which turned out to be very fragile. Fifty years after its completion, the painting, according to Vasari, was in the most pitiful condition. However, if at that time it was possible to fulfill the desire of King Francis I, expressed sixteen years after the completion of the painting, and, having broken down the wall, transfer the painting to France, then perhaps it would have been preserved. But this could not be done. In 1500, the water that flooded the meal completely ruined the wall. In addition, in 1652, a door was broken in the wall under the face of the Savior, destroying the legs of this figure. The painting was unsuccessfully restored several times. In 1796, after the French crossed the Alps, Napoleon gave strict orders to spare the meal, but the generals who followed him, not paying attention to his order, turned this place into a stable, and subsequently into a storage area for hay .

4. Portrait of Ginevra de Benci c. 1475 - 1478

Tempera and oil on panel
38.1 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

This painting, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, depicts a young lady against the backdrop of a mountainous landscape, with reflexes from the river playing on it. There are different points of view regarding the identification of the person being portrayed; Experts' opinions about the dating of this work are also divided. Some attribute it to the first Florentine period of Leonardo’s work, others, on the contrary, to the Milanese period. Most researchers adhere to the hypothesis that the portrait represents Ginevra Benci (her name is hinted at by the branches of the juniper, ginepro, which are visible in the background of the composition). It was made during the period when Leonardo freed himself from his apprenticeship to the art of Verrocchio, that is, around 1475.

5. Portrait of a musician 1485-1490

Oil on the panel.
43 x 31 cm
Ambrosiano Library, Milan, Italy

Portraits attributed to Leonardo contain common features: their background is darkened, a semi-figured image of the model, usually in a three-quarter turn, helps to present it to the viewer in all its individual character. The names of those portrayed are unknown, despite all the efforts of art historians to reveal them, and documentary evidence of the master’s activities. A number of Leonardo's portraits are associated with the atmosphere of the Sforza court, where the glorification of the individual, reflecting the glory of the court, played a decisive role. The purity of forms, the dignity of poses, combined with a keen insight into the character of the model, bring the artist’s portraits closer to the most advanced achievements in this genre of art for that time - with the works of Antonello da Messina. They go far beyond the memorial formalism of the masters of the 15th century, developing a type of portrait that embodies the character’s state of mind and allows one to significantly deepen the characterization of the image. In the so-called Portrait of a Musician from the Ambrosiana in Milan - his model is sometimes identified with the regent of the Milan Cathedral, Franchino Gaffurio, but in fact it shows simply a young man with a sheet of music paper. We can also discern some geometricism in the rendering of plastic volumes, revealing the Tuscan influence. The cap on the head and the mass of curly hair form two hemispheres on the sides of the face; The sharpness of the contours and chiaroscuro already indicate the master’s familiarity with Lombard traditions and portraits of Antonello da Messina. Heavily restored, rewritten, and perhaps even left unfinished, although at a fairly advanced stage of work, this is Leonardo's only portrait of a man - if indeed it is by the artist himself - depicts a man with an intelligent and strong gaze. Without being carried away by the rhetorical glorification of personality, Leonardo conveys in the inner light of the face and gaze of the person being portrayed his inherent moral strength.

6. Madonna with a Flower (Benois Madonna) 1478 - 1480

Oil transferred from board to canvas
48x31.5 cm
Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

The young artist Leonardo da Vinci, who had just completed his studies, painted this picture in Florence in the late seventies of the fifteenth century. It was received with enthusiasm, many copies were made, and at the beginning of the sixteenth century... it was lost.
Three hundred years later, a troupe of traveling actors toured in Astrakhan. One of the servants of Melpomene suggested that the local muses admirer and the richest merchant of the city, Alexander Sapozhnikov, buy a painting, darkened with age, written on a board. The deal was completed.
Many years later, his granddaughter Maria got married. Attached to the luxurious addition was the creation of an unknown Italian, which at first few people paid attention to. It is unknown what would have happened to him if Maria Alexandrovna’s husband had not become the successful architect and future president of the Academy of Arts Leonty Benois (the son of an even more famous architect) and if his younger brother had not been famous artist, art critic and organizer of the World of Art association Alexander. “Heeding the persistent requests of brother Leonty and his wife,” he recalls, “I had to stay in Berlin. The fact is that they instructed me to show a painting they owned to the famous Bode." (In parentheses, we note that Bode is one of the main authorities on the history of European art, director of the State Berlin Museums). He was absent, but several world-famous specialists were in the museum "Their verdict was harsh: the painting is not a work of Leonardo; rather, it was painted by one of his fellow students in Verrocchio's workshop. Later, Bode himself confirmed this conclusion."
The “Madonna” lay for a whole year from the Sapozhnikovs’ house in Alexander Nikolaevich’s Parisian apartment, and then was taken by him back to St. Petersburg and returned to the owners. However, after eight years (this was already in 1914), when he was in the bustle and troubles associated with preparing the Russian exhibition in Paris, he was given business card with the name of one of the Berlin specialists: “Professor Moller Walde.”
“I didn’t have time to agree to accept him,” said Alexander Benois, - as his own person flew at me with a cry: “Now I am firmly convinced that your Madonna is Leonardo!” Immediately, without sitting down, without letting me come to my senses, red with excitement, he began to pull out from a huge, tightly stuffed briefcase a pile of photographs of those undoubted drawings by Leonardo, which were in his eyes (and in reality) confirmation of his confidence in the authorship of the great master.
Benois refused the proposal to sell the masterpiece to Berlin museums, transferring it to the collection of the Imperial Hermitage. There the painting remains to this day, known throughout the world under the name “Benois Madonna”.

7. Madonna in the Grotto 1483-1486

Oil on panel (transferred to canvas)
199 x 122 cm
Louvre, Paris, France

The painting was intended to decorate the altar (the frame for the painting was a carved wooden altar) in the Immacolata Chapel of the Church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. On April 25, 1483, members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Conception ordered paintings (the central composition is the Madonna and Child, the side compositions are Angels Playing Music) by Leonardo, who was entrusted with the execution of the most important part of the altar, as well as by the brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis. Currently, art historians are of the opinion that both canvases on an identical subject, one of which is kept in the Louvre, and the other in London's National Gallery, are versions of the painting, executed for the same purpose. The signed Madonna of the Rocks from Paris (Louvre) originally decorated the altar of the Church of San Francesco Grande; perhaps it was given by Leonardo himself to the French king Louis XII as a sign of gratitude for mediation in the conflict between customers and artists over payment for paintings. It was replaced in the altar by a composition now located in London. For the first time, Leonardo was able to solve the problem of merging human figures with landscape, which gradually occupied a leading place in his artistic program.

8. John the Baptist 1512

Oil on panel
69 x 57 cm
Louvre, Paris

One might think that the artist's first idea was to depict an angel of the gospel, if only this is consistent with a strange figure that evokes in the viewer a feeling of awkwardness rather than ecstatic amazement. In it we can discern the same spirit of irony that is characteristic of Mona Lisa, but there is no landscape on which this irony could be projected, reflecting the more complex connections between man and nature. Because of this, John the Baptist makes a strange, even ambiguous impression on the viewer. Meanwhile, the painting certainly belongs to the circle of Leonardo’s works, and in its design it is one of the most innovative, since in the figure of St. John the master synthesized his search for means of expressing feelings and the nature of man in general. Loaded with symbolism and illusion, this image seems to exist on the edge of mystery and reality.

9. Leda with a swan 1508 - 1515

Oil on the panel.
130 x 77.5
Ufizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

The Mona Lisa was created at a time when Leonardo Vinci was so absorbed in studying the structure of the female body, anatomy and problems associated with childbirth that it was almost impossible to separate his artistic and scientific interests. During these years, he sketched a human embryo in the uterus and created the last of several versions of the painting "Leda" on the subject ancient myth about the birth of Castor and Pollux from the union of the mortal girl Leda and Zeus, who took the form of a swan. Leonardo was studying comparative anatomy and was interested in the analogies between all organic forms.

10. Self-portrait 1514 - 1516

Red sanguine (chalk).
33.3 x 21.3 cm
National Gallery in Turin, Italy

TO recent years life includes Leonardo's Turin self-portrait.

And Lomazzo’s description apparently also applies to this self-portrait: “His head was covered long hair, his eyebrows were so thick and his beard so long that he seemed to be a true personification of noble learning, which the druid Hermes and the ancient Prometheus had already been.”
Ancient biographers of Leonardo da Vinci paint his most attractive features:
According to Vasari:
“With the brilliance of his appearance, which revealed the highest beauty, he restored clarity to every saddened soul.”
According to Anonymous:
“He was handsome, proportionally built, graceful, with an attractive face. He wore a red cloak that reached to his knees, although long clothes were in fashion then. A beautiful beard, curly and well combed, fell to the middle of the chest.”
BES Brockhaus and Efron:
“Vinci was handsome, beautifully built, possessed enormous physical strength, was versed in the arts of chivalry, horse riding, dancing, fencing, etc.”

Based on materials from abc-people.com

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) - was famous Italian architect Renaissance musician, inventor, engineer, sculptor and a brilliant artist. He has been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man" and universal genius. Leonardo is widely known for his unique paintings such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. He is also famous for his many inventions. In addition, he helped in the development of anatomy, astronomy and urban planning.

During the Renaissance there were many brilliant sculptors, artists, musicians, and inventors. Leonardo da Vinci stands out against their background. He created musical instruments, he owned many engineering inventions, painted paintings, sculptures and much more.
His external characteristics are also amazing: tall height, angelic appearance and extraordinary strength. Let's meet the genius Leonardo da Vinci, short biography will tell you his main achievements.

Biography facts
He was born near Florence in the small town of Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci was the illegitimate son of a famous and wealthy notary. His mother is an ordinary peasant woman. Since the father had no other children, at the age of 4 he took little Leonardo to live with him. The boy demonstrated his extraordinary intelligence and friendly character from the very beginning. early age, and he quickly became a favorite in the family.
To understand how the genius of Leonardo da Vinci developed, a brief biography can be presented as follows:
At the age of 14 he entered Verrocchio's workshop, where he studied drawing and sculpture.
In 1480 he moved to Milan, where he founded the Academy of Arts.
In 1499, he left Milan and began moving from city to city, where he built defensive structures. During this same period, his famous rivalry with Michelangelo began.
Since 1513 he has been working in Rome. Under Francis I, he becomes a court sage.
Leonardo died in 1519. As he believed, nothing he started was ever completed.

Creative path
The work of Leonardo da Vinci, whose brief biography was outlined above, can be divided into three stages.
Early period. Many works of the great painter were unfinished, such as the “Adoration of the Magi” for the monastery of San Donato. During this period, the paintings “Benois Madonna” and “Annunciation” were painted. Despite his young age, the painter already demonstrated high skill in his paintings.
Mature period Leonardo's creativity took place in Milan, where he planned to make a career as an engineer. Most popular work, written at this time, was “The Last Supper”, at the same time he began work on “Mona Lisa”.
IN late period creativity, the painting “John the Baptist” and a series of drawings “The Flood” were created.

Painting always complemented science for Leonardo da Vinci, as he sought to capture reality.

The most famous paintings of Leonardo

Annunciation (1475-1480) - Uffizi, Florence, Italy

Ginevra de Benci (~1475) - National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.

Benois Madonna (1478-1480) - Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Adoration of the Magi (1481) - Uffizi, Florence, Italy

Cecilia Gallerani with Ermine (1488-90) - Czartoryski Museum, Krakow, Poland

Musician (~1490) - Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy

Madonna Litta, (1490-91) - Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

La Belle Ferroniere, (1495-1498) - Louvre, Paris, France

The Last Supper (1498) - Convent of Station Maria Delle Grazie, Milan, Italy

Madonna of the Grotto (1483-86) - Louvre, Paris, France

Madonna in the Grotto or Virgin in the Grotto (1508) - National Gallery, London, England

Leda and the Swan (1508) - Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy

Mona Lisa or Gioconda - Louvre, Paris, France

Madonna and Child with St. Anne (~1510) - Louvre, Paris, France

John the Baptist (~1514) - Louvre, Paris, France

Bacchus, (1515) - Louvre, Paris, France.

Madonna with carnation

Anonymous 17th century (based on a lost original) - Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci