After more than a decade of painstaking research, scientists from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project have made a stunning breakthrough by recovering DNA from a disputed red chalk drawing called “Holy Child” that may have been created by the Renaissance master himself over 500 years ago. Using gentle swabs similar to COVID testing equipment, researchers carefully rubbed the surface of the artwork without causing any damage and successfully extracted tiny DNA fragments that tell an extraordinary story about the legendary artist’s genetic heritage. The team discovered Y chromosome sequences from the drawing that match genetic material recovered from a letter written in the 1400s by Frosino di ser Giovanni da Vinci, a cousin of Leonardo’s grandfather, and both samples belong to the E1b1b haplogroup with a common ancestor in Tuscany where Leonardo was born. The DNA evidence extends beyond just human genetic material, as researchers also found traces of sweet orange trees that were cultivated in Medici gardens during da Vinci’s era and Plasmodium parasites that were endemic to the same region of Italy, effectively rooting the artwork in the correct time and place.
The Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project began in 2014 when project leader Jesse Ausubel at Rockefeller University wondered if it might be possible to access the tomb of the person considered the smartest on Earth, but officials told him he would need to make progress tracking down potential DNA before they would grant access to the burial site. The quest has been complicated by the fact that Leonardo’s original tomb at the Chapel of Saint Florentin was destroyed during the French Revolution with his remains lost or mixed with others, he never married or had children so there are no direct descendants to test, and access to his father’s tomb in Florence where Y chromosome DNA could be found has been repeatedly denied. Scientists are now analyzing three bones recovered from a family vault in Italy where Leonardo’s grandfather Antonio da Vinci is buried, sequencing DNA from known living descendants, and examining a lock of hair excavated in 1863 that may have come from Leonardo’s beard. The breakthrough opens up an entirely new field called arteomics that uses biological evidence to authenticate artwork, and researchers hope to eventually test Leonardo’s notebooks and letters sealed with wax that may contain his DNA, potentially revealing genetic secrets behind his extraordinary visual acuity and unmatched creative genius.
