Was Da Vinci gay?

Question

My friend and I got into an arguement that Da Vinci was gay. I have no idea where he would have gotten this notion. So, was Da Vinci gay?

Answer 1

Most historians agree that Leonardo may well have been a homosexual.

When he was twenty-four years old, Leonardo was arrested, along with several young companions, on the charge of sodomy. No witnesses appeared against them and eventually the charges were dropped. It must be said that often anonymous charges like this were brought against people just for a nuisance. Renaissance Florentines didn't make the distinctions we make about sexuality today and apparently it was common for young men to get into sexual relationships; in fact, the word "Florenzer" was German slang for "homosexual". Leonardo had no relationships with women, never married, had no children, and raised many young protégés, including one nicknamed "Salai" which means "offspring of Satan", a sketch of whom is shown below. Salai stole things, broke things, lied, and was generally a, well, devil; if he were a mere student or servant he would have been fired. It's not hard to see how this imp would be attractive to Leonardo. He stayed with Leonardo for over twenty years, and appears many times in Leonardo's sketchbooks.

Leonardo's friend Machiavelli, the Florentine statesman who is famous for his advocacy of unscrupulous political opportunism, had a son, Ludovico, who apparently had a boyfriend. Machiavelli wrote to a friend to ask what he should do about it. The friend, who was Florence's ambassador to the Papal Court, replied:
"Since we are verging on old age, we might be severe and overly scrupulous, and we do not remember what we did as adolescents. So Ludovico has a boy with him, with whom he amuses himself, jests, takes walks, growls in his ear, goes to bed together. What then? Even in these things perhaps there is nothing bad."

Leonardo's anatomical drawings naturally include the sexual organs of both genders, but those of the male exhibit much more extensive attention. Finally, Leonardo surrounded himself with beautiful young male assistants, such as Salai and Melzi.

Answer 2

If you take an art history course or read books on the Renaissance, you will discover lots of historical evidence to support that DaVinci was most probably gay, including a public trial/accusation at the time accusing him of "homosexual" acts. The case was dismissed, however many professors contend that it was dismissed not because it was untrue, but because DaVinci was very valuable to the leaders of the time (he was of course an artist, but was also commissioned by the Duke of Milan for urban planning, architecture, to design war machines, etc.)

Homosexual relationships between male masters and pupils, in the context of the Renaissance and DaVinci's contemporaries was not as uncommon as might be expected. Even though it was "punishable by law", there is also a sense of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude existing in the upper class.

DaVinci had a well documented relationship with a male pupil who lived with him for several years. He was never married, and never had children.

Historical evidence seems to point overwhelmingly to yes, however since we can't ask him directly, we can only say "it's most likely that he was gay".

The more important question is, does it really matter? He was a very influential figure in western art history (and western history period) and played a part in ushering mainstream culture out of the dark ages into the Renaissance. His sexual orientation might have been an issue in 1476, but is not so relevant today.

Answer 3

Sorry, but you are incorrect. Like Michaelangelo, Da Vinci was probably gay.

Answer 4

It's well known and no credible historian disputes it -- there are homoerotic drawings and personal letters and diaries which prove Da Vinci was gay. How did you get this one so wrong?

Answer 5

That's the rumor.