Leonardo da Vinci’s Mother Was an Enslaved Russian Who Was Freed by His Father
Leonardo da Vinci’s mother was stolen from present-day Russia and enslaved, according to new research that will upend Italy’s understanding of its most famous artist.
In another extraordinary twist, Italian historian Carlo Vecce has claimed that she was freed from slavery by da Vinci’s father, who was himself a well-known trader of enslaved people.
The humble origins of the mother of the great renaissance artist have long been contested by scholars and art historians.