Scientists say traces of Leonardo da Vinci DNA may be found on artwork

ANKARA

An international team of scientists says it may have recovered traces of DNA linked to Leonardo da Vinci from a Renaissance-era drawing and historical family documents, a finding that could open new possibilities for art authentication.

The findings, published Tuesday as a preprint on bioRxiv and reported by Science Magazine, are part of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP), a global research initiative launched in 2014.

Using noninvasive swabbing techniques, researchers collected biological material from a disputed red chalk drawing known as Holy Child and from 15th-century letters written by a male relative of Leonardo’s family, according to Science Magazine.

Genetic analysis focused on the Y chromosome, which is passed down the paternal line. Scientists found that DNA recovered from the drawing and the letters belonged to the same haplogroup, E1b1b, a lineage commonly associated with Tuscany, where Leonardo was born in 1452.

Researchers stressed that the findings do not prove the DNA belonged to Leonardo himself.

“Establishing unequivocal identity is extremely complex,” said David Caramelli, an anthropologist and ancient DNA specialist at the University of Florence and a member of the project, quoted by Science Magazine.

He said the artwork may have been handled by numerous individuals over the past 500 years, some of whom could share the same genetic lineage.

Leonardo left no direct descendants, and his burial site in Amboise, France, was disturbed in the early 19th century, leaving no confirmed remains for direct genetic comparison.

To address this, scientists are sequencing DNA from living male descendants of Leonardo’s father and analyzing bones recovered from family vaults in Tuscany, the magazine reported.

The study highlights the growing field of “arteomics,” which examines biological traces such as DNA and microbial signatures to complement traditional art analysis based on style, materials, and technique.

“Connoisseurship is still what counts,” said Jesse Ausubel, an environmental scientist at Rockefeller University who previously led a major project to catalogue marine biodiversity, adding that biological data could eventually supplement expert judgment.

“It’s well known that Leonardo used his fingers along with his brushes while painting,” Ausubel said. “So it could be possible to find cells of epidermis mixed with the colors.”

The project also reflects a broader shift in heritage science, according to the report. Biological traces were long considered contamination to be removed, Ausubel said, but the Leonardo DNA effort suggests such material may serve as evidence, adding a new dimension to attribution research and potentially offering “a glimpse, for the first time, of the living imprint of Leonardo himself.”