Why do we not have very many examples of Leonardo's paintings left?

Answer 1

Well there are several reasons really.

Leonardo didn't complete a vast amount of painted work as he liked to persue his many other interests. If you look at his letter to Ludovico Sforza you will notice that it is only at the end of a long list of services he could perform that he mentioned that he could paint. The massive amount of his drawings are also testament to his scientific, architectural and other interests.

Leonardo sometimes became bored with a painting after he had done the perparatory sketches. He also became frustrated with his own ability. Having studied him in depth for several years I believe that had he been a modern man he would have been a photographer, so realistic were his figurative works. He wanted to portray the motions of the mind and the soul in his works. If you look at his Last Supper fresco you will see the dynamic poses of the disciples which display the motions of the mind at the moment Christ tells them that one of them will betray him.

It is correct to say that Leonardo experimented with painting techniques but how far this experimentation led to the lack of completed works is unclear. I believe that it was probably his personal interests, personality and circumstances which led to so few highly finished works.

Many of his works have been lost to antiquity. We know of their existance as other artists have copied Leonardo's missing paintings and contemporary historians such as Vasari have written about them. Famous examples of Leonardo's lost works are The Battle of Anghiari fresco and Leda and the Swan etc.

Answer 2

there is plenty of Leonardo's stuff around. Not always a painting, but drawings or sketches of new inventions. Almost every museum in a major metropolitan area has some examples of his work. Not so many paintings, because he did not paint all that often.... he thought of himself as an inventor, and a thinker, not an artist.

Answer 3

Leonardo was not only a painter but architect as well. If you visit Italy you will find all his best works. For expample: Sistine Chapple in Vatican museum, San Piter Cathidral and more - more works......

Answer 4

As has been pointed out, he did not do that many paintings, as he did not primarily consider himself a painter. Queen Elizabeth II owns a lot of his drawings.

Answer 5

another reason is because he often experimented with his own new and unique paints and techniques that often did not stand the test of time (ie. The Last Supper)

Answer 6

I recall from Art History that he didn't paint that many.