Scientists Recover Traces of Potential da Vinci DNA from Artwork

(MENAFN) An international research team reports successfully isolating genetic material potentially linked to Leonardo da Vinci from a centuries-old sketch and family correspondence, a breakthrough that may revolutionize how experts authenticate Renaissance masterpieces.

The discoveries, released Tuesday as a preprint on bioRxiv and covered by Science Magazine, emerge from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP)—a worldwide scientific collaboration initiated in 2014.

Researchers employed non-invasive swabbing methods to extract biological specimens from a contested red chalk illustration titled Holy Child, alongside 15th-century correspondence penned by a male kinsman from Leonardo's lineage, Science Magazine documented.

Scientific examination concentrated on Y-chromosome markers transmitted exclusively through paternal ancestry. Investigators determined that genetic material retrieved from both the artwork and historical letters belonged to haplogroup E1b1b—a hereditary classification prevalent in Tuscany, Leonardo's birthplace in 1452.

The research team emphasized that these results cannot definitively confirm the DNA originated from Leonardo personally.

"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 noted the piece could have been touched by countless people across five centuries, some potentially sharing identical genetic ancestry.

Leonardo produced no direct offspring, and his final resting place in Amboise, France, was disrupted during the early 1800s, eliminating any verified skeletal remains for direct genetic matching.

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