Leonardo Quotes

Today I'd like to share some quotes from my favorite old master Leonardo da Vinci. Study closely as there will be a pop quiz at the end.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452-May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculpture, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of unquenchable curiosity and feverishly inventive imagination. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person to have ever lived.

Besides his obvious genius, he has great advice on how to live and make art.


Sounds like me, right? I paint, design homes, garden, help kids with math/science homework, plan birthday parties, take photos, serve in church, write a blog, cook from scratch, sing, and am politically active. I think I'm a little MORE diversely talent than Leo. Ha, just kidding. Maybe.


"I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have."
-Leonardo da Vinci

What? I wish I were so offensive! Artists are typically so very hard on themselves.


War chariot with scythes. Eww... gross. He even drew the chopped up bodies.

"There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."
-Leonardo da Vinci

"You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself." - Leonardo
I am always telling my children that. Good advice for sure.

He was a master of drapery. I really wish I could do fabric like that. I saw this drawing in person and there are hardly any pencil lines. He can really blend.

I love to draw houses but I never drew anything so fancy. He had very wealthy clients.


"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." -Leonardo

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."- Leonardo

When I saw this in person I was saddened by the age and deterioration but in awe of it's beauty. This is my all time favorite work by Leonardo.

He said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." I wholeheartedly agree.


Besides the 'Mona Lisa', 'The Last Supper' has got to be his most famous work. Unfortunately, he experimented with unproven techniques and failed. If he had done this work on panel or canvas like his other works this would be the most incredible painting of all time.

"Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else." - Leonardo


"Learning never exhausts the mind."-Leonardo


"Talent is like the grease on the wheels of the cart, you don't need it to get to town, you'll just squeak on the way." -Leonardo

"Art is never finished, only abandoned".-Leonardo

"Nature never breaks her own laws."- Leonardo

And my favorite quote of Leonardo da Vinci is this one, "Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel." -Leonardo

Maybe that's why he never married.