Leonardo da Vinci: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Leonardo emerged from the workshop culture of Medici Florence, where goldsmithing, engineering and painting shared one bench, and matured in Sforza Milan among mathematicians and military engineers. This mix traces the masters he trained under, the printmakers and treatise-writers who fed his notebooks, his Florentine rivals, and the modern artists who could not leave the Mona Lisa alone.

The Kynda mix for Leonardo da Vinci

• Key Influence · The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1475). Leonardo entered Verrocchio's Florentine workshop around 1466 as a teenage apprentice, and this panel is the documented point of contact: the angel at left and the misty landscape are widely attributed to the young Leonardo, painted in oil while his master worked in tempera. Verrocchio's practice — sculpture, metalwork, drapery studies from clay models, painting side by side — set the pattern for Leonardo's whole career."}
• Influencia Obscura · Battle of the Nude Men by Antonio del Pollaiuolo (c. 1470). Pollaiuolo's engraving — ten naked men straining in combat — circulated as a print through Florentine workshops and is the ancestor of Leonardo's lost Battle of Anghiari cartoon. Pollaiuolo, a goldsmith who reportedly dissected bodies to study muscle, modelled the fusion of anatomy and violent motion that Leonardo pushed further. Both worked in the same Florentine milieu of metalworkers turned figure draughtsmen.
• Local Roots · Primavera by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1480). Botticelli trained under Fra Filippo Lippi and, like Leonardo, worked for Medici patrons in the same compact Florence of the 1470s and 80s; both were enrolled in the Compagnia di San Luca, the painters' confraternity. Leonardo mentions Botticelli by name in his notes, dismissively, on the question of landscape backgrounds — proof of direct professional rivalry within one city's small painting trade.
• Beyond the Medium · De pictura by Leon Battista Alberti (1435). Alberti's treatise codified one-point perspective, the picture as a window, and the idea that painting is a liberal art grounded in geometry. Leonardo's notebooks toward his own Trattato della pittura argue with and extend Alberti's framework, adding aerial perspective and the study of motion and emotion. Alberti's model of the learned artist-writer is the template for Leonardo's whole intellectual project.
• Peer · David by Michelangelo (1501–1504). In January 1504 Leonardo sat on the Florentine committee that debated where to place Michelangelo's colossus, recommending a site under the Loggia. Months later the two were assigned rival battle murals for the Palazzo Vecchio's Great Council Hall — Anghiari against Cascina — neither finished. Their documented mutual hostility is the sharpest artistic rivalry of the Florentine High Renaissance.
• From the Canon · The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (1495–1498). Painted in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie for Ludovico Sforza, it abandons fresco for an experimental oil-and-tempera technique on dry plaster — the reason it began deteriorating within decades. The perspective converges on Christ's head while the apostles break into four groups of gesture and reaction, the fullest realisation of Leonardo's belief that a painting must show the motions of the mind.
• Key Collaborator · De divina proportione by Luca Pacioli (1509). Pacioli, the Franciscan mathematician, lived at the Sforza court in Milan in the late 1490s alongside Leonardo, who drew the sixty polyhedra illustrating this treatise on proportion — including the skeletal rhombicuboctahedron. Pacioli taught Leonardo Euclidean geometry, and Leonardo's notebooks from those years fill with geometric play, a genuine two-way exchange of image and theorem.
• Legacy · L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp (1919). Duchamp bought a cheap postcard reproduction of the Mona Lisa, drew on a moustache and goatee and added an obscene pun as its title — the readymade gesture that made Leonardo's panel the emblem of art-historical authority to be defaced. It cemented the Mona Lisa's twentieth-century career as the most quoted image in Western art and opened the door to Warhol, Dalí and endless appropriation.

What influenced Leonardo da Vinci

• Luca Pacioli. Leonardo studied mathematics under Pacioli in the 1490s. (also via De divina proportione, Divina proportione) “In the 1490s he studied mathematics under Luca Pacioli” (Wikipedia)
• Andrea del Verrocchio. States Leonardo was trained by Verrocchio in Florence. (also via The Baptism of Christ) “he was educated in Florence by the Italian painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio” (Wikipedia)
• De pictura by Leon Battista Alberti (1435). De pictura (Leon Battista Alberti) — culture for Leonardo da Vinci “These studies and Leon Battista Alberti 's treatise De pictura were to have a profound effect on younger artists and in particular on Leonardo's own observations and artworks.” (Wikipedia)
• Piero della Francesca. Piero della Francesca's studies of perspective and light are cited as an influence on Leonardo. “These studies and Leon Battista Alberti 's treatise De pictura were to have a profound effect on younger artists and in particular on Leonardo's own observations and artworks.” (Wikipedia)
• Trattato di architettura, ingegneria e arte militare by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Trattato di architettura, ingegneria e arte militare (Francesco di Giorgio Martini) — ghost for Leonardo da Vinci “In 1490 he was called as a consultant, together with Francesco di Giorgio Martini, for the building site of the cathedral of Pavia and was struck by the equestrian statue of Regisole, of which he left a sketch.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, dome by Filippo Brunelleschi (1420). Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, dome (Filippo Brunelleschi) — ghost for Leonardo da Vinci “This hoisting machine would be admired by Leonardo da Vinci years later.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• De architectura by Vitruvius. De architectura (Vitruvius) — culture for Leonardo da Vinci “His discussion of perfect proportion in architecture and the human body led to the famous Renaissance drawing of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Holy Trinity by Masaccio. The Holy Trinity (Masaccio) — titan for Leonardo da Vinci “Florence was ornamented by the works of artists such as Donatello's contemporaries Masaccio, whose figurative frescoes were imbued with realism and emotion, and Ghiberti, whose Gates of Paradise, gleaming with gold leaf, displayed the ar…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Battle of the Nude Men by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. Battle of the Nude Men (Antonio del Pollaiuolo) — ghost for Leonardo da Vinci “First his widow, then his son and nephew, successors to his dukedom talked to various sculptors before finally commissioning Leonardo da Vinci in the 1480s.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• Michelangelo (1475). The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) — peer for Michelangelo (via The Last Supper, Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, David) “This painting, which was copied many times, influenced Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto , [ 124 ] and through them Pontormo and Correggio .” (Wikipedia)
• The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio. Vasari's account that Leonardo painted part of Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ. “Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on his The Baptism of Christ ( c. 1472–1475 ), painting the young angel holding Jesus's robe with skill so far superior to his master's” (Wikipedia)
• Marcantonio della Torre. Leonardo collaborated with anatomist Marcantonio della Torre on anatomical studies. “From 1510 to 1511 he collaborated in his studies with the doctor Marcantonio della Torre , professor of Anatomy at the University of Pavia .” (Wikipedia)
• De divina proportione by Luca Pacioli (1509). De divina proportione (Luca Pacioli) — collaborator for Leonardo da Vinci “=== Second Florentine period (1500–1508) === When Ludovico Sforza was overthrown by France in 1500, Leonardo fled Milan for Venice, accompanied by his assistant Salaì and friend, the mathematician Luca Pacioli.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza (Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis) — collaborator for Leonardo da Vinci “It is during this time that he offered hospitality to Leonardo da Vinci when he arrived in Milan.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Divina proportione by Luca Pacioli. Leonardo collaborated with Pacioli on his book Divina proportione, providing drawings. “with whom he collaborated on the book Divina proportione in the 1490s” (Wikipedia)
• Guild of Saint Luke. Leonardo became a qualified master member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Florence. “Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke , the guild of artists and doctors of medicine” (Wikipedia)
• Primavera by Sandro Botticelli. Primavera (Sandro Botticelli) — geography for Leonardo da Vinci “His last works show him moving in a direction opposite to that of Leonardo da Vinci (seven years his junior) and the new generation of painters creating the High Renaissance style, and instead returning to a style that many have describe…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The School of Athens by Raphael (1509). The School of Athens (Raphael) — peer for Leonardo da Vinci “Additionally, Leonardo may have been a model for two works by Verrocchio: the bronze statue of David in the Bargello and the archangel Raphael in Tobias and the Angel.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti (1425). Gates of Paradise (Lorenzo Ghiberti) — geography for Leonardo da Vinci “Rustici may have been aided in his design by Leonardo da Vinci, who assisted him in the choice of his tools.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• David by Michelangelo (1501). David (Michelangelo) — peer for Leonardo da Vinci “Leonardo is widely regarded as a genius who epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works contributed to the development of European art to an extent rivalled only by that of his younger contemporary Michelangelo.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Leonardo da Vinci influenced

• Raphael (1483). Leonardo cited as major influence during Raphael's Florentine period. (also via Mona Lisa, Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, The School of Athens) “But the most striking influence in the work of these years is Leonardo da Vinci, who returned to the city from 1500 to 1506.” (Wikipedia)
• Salaì (1480). Salaì joined Leonardo's household as an assistant/pupil in 1490. “although Vasari claims that Leonardo "taught him many things about painting,"” (Wikipedia)
• L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp (1919). L.H.O.O.Q. (Marcel Duchamp) — legacy for Leonardo da Vinci (also via Mona Lisa) “In 1919, Duchamp made a parody of the Mona Lisa by adorning a cheap reproduction of the painting with a mustache and goatee. To this he added the inscription L.H.O.O.Q.” (Wikipedia)
• Rembrandt (1606). Rembrandt's first-name signature practice inspired by Leonardo's example. “Leonardo Leonardo looking at his art is is like looking at the sleeping face and wondering of green lies behind that Rembrandt is a fix it ends with the thing” (Invitation To Art (public broadcasting))
• Mary Beth Edelson. Edelson's piece appropriated Leonardo's The Last Supper. (via The Last Supper) “Mary Beth Edelson 's feminist piece Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper (1972) appropriated Leonardo da Vinci 's The Last Supper” (Wikipedia)
• Bernardino Luini (1480). Luini is listed among Leonardo's prominent Milanese pupils. “Many of Leonardo's most prominent pupils either knew or worked with him in Milan, [ 37 ] including Bernardino Luini , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio , and Marco d'Oggiono .” (Wikipedia)
• Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (1467). Boltraffio is listed among Leonardo's prominent Milanese pupils. “Many of Leonardo's most prominent pupils either knew or worked with him in Milan, [ 37 ] including Bernardino Luini , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio , and Marco d'Oggiono .” (Wikipedia)
• Francesco Melzi (1492). Melzi became Leonardo's pupil and favorite student. “There, Leonardo took on another pupil, Count Francesco Melzi , the son of a Lombard aristocrat, who is considered to have been his favourite student.” (Wikipedia)
• Marco d'Oggiono (1470). Marco d'Oggiono is listed among Leonardo's prominent Milanese pupils. “Many of Leonardo's most prominent pupils either knew or worked with him in Milan, [ 37 ] including Bernardino Luini , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio , and Marco d'Oggiono .” (Wikipedia)
• Johannes Vermeer (1632). Vermeer's underpainting technique linked to Leonardo's color theory. “This working method most probably was inspired by Vermeer's understanding of Leonardo's observations that the surface of every object partakes of the colour of the adjacent object.” (Wikipedia)
• Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Raphael adapted a pose from Leonardo's lost Leda and the Swan for his own painting. (via Leda and the Swan) “There is a drawing by Raphael in the Royal Collection of Leonardo's lost Leda and the Swan, from which he adapted the contrapposto pose of his own Saint Catherine of Alexandria.” (Wikipedia)
• Andrea del Sarto (1487). Leonardo's Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is stated to have influenced Andrea del Sarto. (via Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) “This painting, which was copied many times, influenced Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto , [ 124 ] and through them Pontormo and Correggio .” (Wikipedia)
• Pontormo (1494). Through Michelangelo, Raphael and Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo's painting influenced Pontormo. (via Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) “This painting, which was copied many times, influenced Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto , [ 124 ] and through them Pontormo and Correggio .” (Wikipedia)
• Correggio. Through Michelangelo, Raphael and Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo's painting influenced Correggio. (via Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) “This painting, which was copied many times, influenced Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto , [ 124 ] and through them Pontormo and Correggio .” (Wikipedia)
• Tintoretto. Tintoretto adopted compositional trends from Leonardo's painting. (via Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) “The trends in composition were adopted in particular by the Venetian painters Tintoretto and Veronese .” (Wikipedia)
• Veronese. Veronese adopted compositional trends from Leonardo's painting. (via Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) “The trends in composition were adopted in particular by the Venetian painters Tintoretto and Veronese .” (Wikipedia)
• Nicolas Poussin (1594). Poussin's engravings were made based on Leonardo's drawings for the Treatise on Painting. (via A Treatise on Painting) “eventually published as A Treatise on Painting in France and Italy in 1651 and Germany in 1724, [ 142 ] with engravings based upon drawings by the Classical painter Nicolas Poussin .” (Wikipedia)
• Walter McCrone. McCrone recounts a prior authentication project involving pigment analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. (via The Last Supper) “get good pigment samples from the last supper and then compare them with another painting which was hopefully a Leonardo” (Greater Boston (public broadcasting))
• New Man. Birnholz identifies Vitruvian Man as the model for New Man. (via Vitruvian Man) “Birnholz states that Lissitzky modeled the New Man figurine after the Leonardo 's Vitruvian Man .” (Wikipedia)
• Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper. Edelson’s collage appropriated Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. (via The Last Supper) “Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper (1972) appropriated Leonardo da Vinci 's The Last Supper , with the heads of notable women artists collaged over the heads of Christ and his apostles .” (Wikipedia)
• Thirty Are Better Than One by Andy Warhol (1963). Thirty Are Better Than One (Andy Warhol) — legacy for Leonardo da Vinci “The paradox of using a pattern designed to conceal its subject appears to have appealed to him as he incorporated it into several series in 1986, including Statues of Liberty, Self-Portraits, and Last Supper, based on Leonardo da Vinci's…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960). Anatomical Studies (notebooks) (Leonardo da Vinci) — culture for Jean-Michel Basquiat (via Anatomical Studies (notebooks)) “A few of the books he used were Gray's Anatomy, Henry Dreyfuss' Symbol Sourcebook, Leonardo da Vinci published by Reynal & Company, and Burchard Brentjes' African Rock Art, Flash of the Spirit by Robert Farris Thompson.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Andrei Tarkovsky. Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo da Vinci) — culture for Andrei Tarkovsky (via Adoration of the Magi)