Revised Family Tree Identifies 14 Living Relatives of Leonardo Da Vinci
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Filed to:agnese sabato
alessandro vezzosiansaartistsda vinci familydomenicoitalian artistsitalian peoplej craig venter instituteleonardoleonardo daleonardo da vincimichelemona lisamuseo ideale leonardo da vincirenaissanceser piero
A woman studying Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper. (Image: Antonio Calanni, AP)
An extensive reworking of the family tree of Leonardo da Vinci connects an unbroken male line that extends from the artist’s grandfather to 14 living descendants — a 690-year span that encompasses 21 generations.
The new study, published in Human Evolution, adds significant clarity to the Da Vinci family tree, in a project that began in the early 1970s. The authors of the new paper, art historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato, say their findings will now be cross-referenced with genetic data belonging to living and deceased members of Leonardo da Vinci’s family. Excitingly, the upcoming DNA study could shed new light on the man himself, the authors argue.