Leonardo da Vinci’s Mental Illness Affected His Work, but Not His Legacy
Da Vinci likely struggled with ADHD throughout his life, and it affected many of his pieces. But da Vinci’s genius is accepted unconditionally despite his unfinished works.
Leonardo da Vinci is most known for his world-famous painting of Mona Lisa, although tales of his other interesting inventions, such as his attempts at a flying device, have also made their way around. Needless to say, da Vinci was a brilliant inventor, and much ahead of his time, but he also struggled with mental illness (amongst other things) in his day-to-day life.
Long after his death, da Vinci was diagnosed with ADHD. Obviously, without actually meeting da Vinci, we’ll never be able to properly diagnose him. However, because of his inability to finish many of his paintings, new research points to the fact that the great artist may have struggled with ADHD. That’s not to say that anyone that can’t finish a painting has the disorder, as it’s much more complicated than that, but researcher Professor Catani from King’s College London suggests that ADHD is the best explanation for why da Vinci has so many unfinished works.
Working from journals and accounts about da Vinci, Catani’s research paints a clear path: from childhood, da Vinci struggled with completing tasks, had an unpredictable sleep…
