Leonardo da Vinci’s origins remain as enigmatic as the masterpieces he gave the world — from the Mona Lisa to The Last Supper. A polymath of unmatched creativity and output, he left behind a vast collection of works, many of which are attributed to him without absolute certainty. One fact, however, is indisputable: Leonardo was a genius.
But to what extent did his genius come from his genes? This question doesn’t just concern the Renaissance's ultimate homo universalis, but taps into a broader fascination with the roots of human brilliance. Now, five centuries after he sketched flying machines and immortalized the world’s most famous smile, scientists may be inching closer to an answer, according to The Times of London.
Searching for the Genetic Code of a Genius
We know that Leonardo was the illegitimate son of a Florentine notary and died without direct descendants in France in 1519. Still, over the past decade, researchers have been working to create a complete map of his DNA.
Their efforts relied on the only sources available from the era: parish and family records. Through these, they believe they’ve identified 15 male-line descendants of Leonardo’s father. Six agreed to genetic testing, which revealed they all shared the same Y chromosome — a piece of DNA passed almost unchanged from father to son.
This Y-chromosome data could help resolve one of the long-standing mysteries surrounding the bones believed to be Leonardo’s, currently buried at Château d’Amboise in France’s Loire Valley.
But more importantly, researchers hope that reconstructing Leonardo’s full genome might reveal how his biology contributed to his extraordinary talents, as The Times reports.
Seeing What Others Couldn’t
A painter, engineer, anatomist, and inventor, da Vinci was as fascinated by bird flight as he was by war machines. His notebooks brim with sketches of helicopters, hydraulic systems, and visions of ideal cities.
One theory suggests he possessed an unusually “fast eye” — an ability to freeze fleeting moments in time that others would overlook. It's how, some believe, he captured the forming of Mona Lisa’s smile or the out-of-sync wing beats of a dragonfly.
“He may have seen things that you and I simply can’t,” said Jesse Ausubel, co-founder of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project.
A Global Scientific Collaboration
Launched in 2016, the Da Vinci DNA Project involves scientists from Rockefeller University in New York, the J. Craig Venter Institute in California, and the University of Florence. Its central aim is to discover whether Leonardo’s visual acuity — among other gifts — may have had a genetic basis.
Early findings are now being published in Genia da Vinci (The Genius of Da Vinci), a new book by Italian researchers Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato.
Clues from Bones and Brushstrokes
The researchers acknowledge the road ahead is long. Excavations are ongoing at Santa Croce Church in Vinci, Leonardo’s birthplace, where bones believed to belong to his grandfather and half-brothers have been unearthed. A male skeleton dated to Leonardo’s era is now under analysis at the University of Florence.
If scientists can match this DNA to the living male descendants of Leonardo’s paternal line, it could unlock the possibility of testing even more uncertain samples — such as skin cells found on Leonardo’s manuscripts and sketchbooks.
Unraveling Da Vinci’s Maternal Lineage
The book also explores Leonardo’s ancestry. Drawing on property records and legal documents, it proposes that his mother, Caterina, may have been of Middle Eastern origin — possibly a slave in the home of a Florentine banker — a theory that has gained traction in academic circles in recent years.
Another fascinating focus is a large charcoal drawing found on the hearth of an old house in Vinci, believed to be Leonardo’s work. It depicts a mythical beast called the “Dragon Unicorn,” featuring a spiral horn, membranous wings, claws, and a twisting tail. Art historians are currently examining the piece, with some noting stylistic similarities to other fantastical creatures drawn by Leonardo.
Final Thoughts
While the mystery of da Vinci’s genius may never be fully unraveled, this remarkable project stands to bring us closer than ever to understanding how biology, creativity, and cultural context intersected in one of history’s most extraordinary minds. Whether encoded in his DNA or shaped by his time, Leonardo da Vinci remains a symbol of limitless human potential.
