Leonardo da Vinci Paintings and Artwork

Here you'll find a chronological survey of Leonardo da Vinci's work as a painter, from his earliest 1470s efforts as an apprentice in Verrocchio's workshop to his final painted piece, St. John the Baptist (1513-16).

Along the way, you will note works that are (1) fully by Leonardo, (2) collaborative efforts between him and other artists, (3) mostly executed by his pupils, (4) paintings whose authorship is disputed and (5) copies of two famous lost masterpieces. It all makes for an interesting journey through a wholly Leonardesque landscape. Enjoy your excursion!

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Tobias and the Angel, 1470-80

Public Domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons — Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (Italian 1435-1488) Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (Italian 1435-1488). Tobias and the Angel, 1470-80. Egg tempera on poplar. 33 1/4 x 26 1/16 in. (84.4 x 66.2 cm). National Gallery, London

This scene from the apocryphal Book of Tobit comes to us courtesy of the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488), the Florentine artist who was Leonardo's master. Here young Tobias is walking with the Archangel Raphael, who is offering instructions on how to use fish organs to drive away demons and cure blindness.

It has long been rumored that the then-teenaged Leonardo may have been the model for Tobias.

Leonardo status: Leonardo is suspected to have painted the fish Tobias is carrying, as well as Tobias' constant traveling companion, the dog (here seen trotting near Raphael's feet). However, the only thing that's 100% certain about this panel is that it was executed by many hands.

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The Baptism of Christ, 1472-1475

Leonardo Status: Leonardo is supposed to have painted the outermost angel on the left and much of the background scenery. As with Tobias and the Angel, though, this panel was a collaborative workshop effort whose documentation mentions only Andrea del Verrocchio.

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The Annunciation, ca. 1472-75

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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Ginevra de'Benci, obverse, ca. 1474-78

Leonardo Status: Nearly every expert agrees that Leonardo painted this portrait. Debate continues over both its dating and the identity of its commissioner.

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The Madonna of the Carnation, ca. 1478–80

Leonardo Status:: Madonna of the Carnation spent most of its existence being attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio. Modern scholarship has revised attribution in favor of Leonardo, based on the handling of the drapery and background scenery, the nearly scientific rendering of the carnations in the vase, and overall similarities between this composition and the (undisputed) Benois Madonna.

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Madonna with a Flower (The Benois Madonna), ca. 1479–81

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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The Adoration of the Magi, 1481

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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St. Jerome in the Wilderness, ca. 1481-82

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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The Virgin (or Madonna) of the Rocks, ca. 1483–86

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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Portrait of a Musician, 1490

Leonardo Status: Dubious. Though Portrait of a Musician remains nominally attributed to Leonardo, its handling is uncharacteristic of him. Leonardo had a positive knack for revealing human beauty, even in the oldest of faces. The proportions of this young-ish face are a tad heavy and the slightest bit angularly skewed; the eyes bulge and the red cap is a bit clumsy. Additionally, the sitter--whose identity is also a matter of debate--is male. Leonardo's handful of authenticated portraits are all of female sitters, so this would be a singular exception.

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Portrait of a Woman (La belle Ferronière), ca. 1490

Leonardo Status: Oh, roughly about 95% certainly of his hand. The face, the eyes, the delicate modeling of her flesh and the turn of her head are distinctly his. All of this very nearly overshadows the fact that the sitter's hair was subsequently overpainted by someone with no apparent aptitude for nuance.

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Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (Lady with an Ermine), ca. 1490–91

Leonardo Status:: In its present state, Lady with an Ermine is *mostly* by Leonardo. The original painting was entirely done by him and, in fact, contains his fingerprints. His background was dark blue, though--the black was overpainted by someone else in the intervening years. Cecilia's fingers have been jarringly retouched, and the inscription in the upper left-hand corner is also a non-Leonardesque intervention.

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Madonna Litta, ca. 1490-91

Leonardo Status: Without any doubt Leonardo did the preparatory drawings for this composition. That which remains a matter of debate is who, exactly, painted the original panel. The distinct outlines of the figures are noteworthy for their un-Leonardesque handling, as is the unremarkable background viewed through the windows.

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The Virgin of the Rocks, 1495–1508

Leonardo Status: As this is nearly identical to the Louvre's Madonna of the Rocks, there is no denying that Leonardo is its artist. Truly fascinating are recent infrared reflectography tests that have uncovered a delicious series of underdrawings wholly attributable to Leonardo. Unlike Madonna, though, this version was originally a triptych that had two angelic side panels painted by the artistic Milanese half-brothers Giovanni Ambrogio (ca. 1455-1508) and Evangelista (1440/50-1490/91) de Predis, as named in the contract.

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Last Supper, 1495-98

Leonardo Status: Surely you jest, amico mio. 100% Leonardo. We even credit the artist with this mural's almost immediate crumbling.

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Madonna with the Yarnwinder, ca. 1501-07

Image courtesy INTERPOL — Workshop of, and partially attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519) Workshop of, and partially attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519). Madonna with the Yarnwinder, ca. 1501-07. Oil on panel. 48.3 x 36.9 cm. Collection Duke of Buccleuch & Queensbury

Leonardo Status: The original Madonna with the Yarnwinder panel is long lost. However, it was copied numerous times in Leonardo's Florentine workshop by his apprentices. The Buccleuch copy shown here is particularly fine, though, and recent scientific examination revealed that its underdrawing and a proportion of the actual painting are of Leonardo's own hand.

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Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), ca. 1503-05

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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The Battle of Anghiari (detail), 1505

Reworked engraving by Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)
Black chalk, traces of white highlights, pen and brown ink, reworked by Rubens with brush and brown and gray-black ink, gray wash, and white and bluish gray gouache, over copy inserted into a larger piece of paper.
45.3 x 63.6 cm (17 7/8 x 25 1/16 in.)
Leonardo Status: As has been stated, this is a copy, a print of an engraving done in 1558 by Lorenzo Zacchia (Italian, 1524-ca. 1587). It depicts the central detail of Leonardo's 1505 Florentine mural The Battle of Anghiari. The original has not been seen since the mid-16th century. Hope remains that it may still exist behind the mural/wall that was erected in front of it at that time.

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Leda and the Swan, 1515-20 (Copy after Leonardo da Vinci)

Leonardo Status: The original Leda was 100% Leonardo. It is thought to have been destroyed after his death, because no one has seen it for nearly 500 years. Before it disappeared the original inspired quite a few faithful copies, though, and that is what we are looking at here.

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Virgin and Child with St. Anne, ca. 1510

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo.

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Bacchus (St. John in the Wilderness), ca. 1510-15

Leonardo Status: While based on a drawing done by Leonardo, no part of this painting was executed by him.

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St. John the Baptist, 1513-16

Leonardo Status: 100% Leonardo

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Esaak, Shelley. "Leonardo da Vinci - The Paintings." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/leonardo-da-vinci-the-paintings-4122950. Esaak, Shelley. (2023, April 5). Leonardo da Vinci - The Paintings. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/leonardo-da-vinci-the-paintings-4122950 Esaak, Shelley. "Leonardo da Vinci - The Paintings." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/leonardo-da-vinci-the-paintings-4122950 (accessed May 29, 2023).