Where can you see Leonardo da Vinci in London?

At the National Gallery: The Virgin of the Rocks and The Burlington House Cartoon. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work in London?

The Virgin of the Rocks, of about 1491 to 1508, at the National Gallery. The Virgin, the infant Christ, the young Saint John and an angel in a cave of strange rocks, lit as if from under water. It is cooler and harder than the version in the Louvre, and was the one that stood on the altar.

When and where was Leonardo da Vinci born?

On 15 April 1452, at Anchiano, near Vinci, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci died on 2 May 1519, at Amboise, France, aged about 67.

What is Leonardo da Vinci known for?

Painted The Virgin of the Rocks twice: the first version is in the Louvre. The London picture hung in a church in Milan until 1785. His cartoon was bought for the nation in 1962 by public appeal. Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, of the High Renaissance.

Painter, 1452 to 1519

Leonardo da Vinci

There are fewer than twenty paintings by Leonardo in the world. London has one of them, and the largest drawing of his to survive, in the same building on Trafalgar Square.

Born: 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Italy
Died: 1519, Amboise, France
Movement: High Renaissance
In London: 2 works in 1 museum

Where to see Leonardo da Vinci in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The National Gallery2 works

The Virgin of the Rocks
about 1491 to 1508
The Virgin, the infant Christ, the young Saint John and an angel in a cave of strange rocks, lit as if from under water. It is cooler and harder than the version in the Louvre, and was the one that stood on the altar.
The Burlington House Cartoon
about 1499 to 1500
The Virgin sits on her mother's lap and the two children lean towards each other, drawn in charcoal and white chalk on eight sheets of paper glued together. It is kept in a darkened room of its own.

The life of Leonardo da Vinci

In 1483 a brotherhood in Milan ordered an altarpiece from Leonardo for its chapel. A quarrel over payment followed that lasted twenty-five years. The first picture went elsewhere, and the one that was finally delivered, in 1508, is the one in London.

What to know

Painted The Virgin of the Rocks twice: the first version is in the Louvre
The London picture hung in a church in Milan until 1785
His cartoon was bought for the nation in 1962 by public appeal

Born: 15 April 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Italy
Died: 2 May 1519, Amboise, France

Leonardo da Vinci: common questions

Where can you see Leonardo da Vinci in London?: At the National Gallery: The Virgin of the Rocks and The Burlington House Cartoon. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work in London?: The Virgin of the Rocks, of about 1491 to 1508, at the National Gallery. The Virgin, the infant Christ, the young Saint John and an angel in a cave of strange rocks, lit as if from under water. It is cooler and harder than the version in the Louvre, and was the one that stood on the altar.
When and where was Leonardo da Vinci born?: On 15 April 1452, at Anchiano, near Vinci, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci died on 2 May 1519, at Amboise, France, aged about 67.
What is Leonardo da Vinci known for?: Painted The Virgin of the Rocks twice: the first version is in the Louvre. The London picture hung in a church in Milan until 1785. His cartoon was bought for the nation in 1962 by public appeal. Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, of the High Renaissance.