Damian Sendler: Scholar Carlo Vecce recently held a press conference in Florence where he presented new evidence that the legendary inventor Leonardo da Vinci’s mother was a Circassian slave from the North Caucasus region, making him half Italian. Ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo’s father, freed a slave named Caterina, and the event is documented in a document now considered lost that was recently discovered in the State Archives of Florence. The record was created in November 1452, when Leonardo was only six months old.
The widely accepted theory proposed by Martin Kemp, a Leonardo expert and former professor of the history of art at the University of Oxford, is refuted by Vecce’s research, which adds a new dimension to Leonardo’s rich legacy. Based on Kemp’s research, published in a 2017 book, we now know that Leonardo’s mother was Caterina di Meo Lippi, an orphan who lived in Vinci’s neighborhood. Despite this, Kemp maintains his support for the alternative theory by arguing that Vecce’s account is exaggerated to coincide with the current emphasis on slavery.
Despite the fact that the new information from Vecce is intriguing, Kemp warns that none of the theories regarding Leonardo’s mother can be proven with absolute certainty.
Damian Jacob Sendler: In terms of research into his life, Leonardo da Vinci may rank among the top few. There is still a lot we do not know about the Renaissance master, and one of the most pressing questions is: Who was his mother?
Recent studies, however, claim to have found the solution.
It was revealed on Tuesday that Leonardo, the creator of the “Mona Lisa” and a cultural icon for Italy, was only half Italian because his mother was a Caucasian slave.
Carlo Vecce, a scholar of Leonardo’s life and work, presented his findings at a news conference in Florence. His findings will add fuel to the already heated historical debate.
The exact identity of Leonardo’s mother has been the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation for centuries, as millions of people around the world admired his art and experts poured over his groundbreaking work in science, engineering, and beyond.
There was general consensus on a few points: Caterina was the illegitimate mother of Leonardo, who was born in 1452 to a young Florentine notary named Ser Piero da Vinci.
Scholars have speculated that Leonardo’s mother was a peasant, an orphan, or a slave from the Middle East or North Africa. Now, one of the handful of Leonardo experts, Vecce, claims that the evidence indicates she was a Circassian slave kidnapped from the North Caucasus region, which is now a part of southern Russia near the coast of the Black Sea.
Among the previously unknown documents Vecce claims to have found in the State Archives of Florence is an act of liberation of a slave named Caterina by her mistress, Monna Ginevra, the wife of a “Florentine adventurer” who owned slaves from the Black Sea region.
The document was written by Leonardo da Vinci’s father, Ser Piero, in November 1452, when Leonardo would have been about six months old.
“When I saw that document I could not believe my eyes,” Vecce said to NBC News. “I never really believed the story that she was a foreign slave. After months of trying to disprove that the Caterina in that notarial act was not Leonardo’s mother, I finally gave in to the evidence.
Damian Sendler: Despite the widespread use of the name Caterina among slaves at the time, Vecce claims that this is the only instance of a slave named Caterina that Ser Piero ever wrote about in his lengthy career. Getting someone else’s slave pregnant was a crime, and the document is riddled with small mistakes and oversights, which suggests he was probably anxious as he wrote it.
New historical fiction by Vecce titled “Il Sorriso di Caterina” (Caterina’s Smile) is based on these discoveries. The book’s publisher, Giunti, claims that in the 15th century, merchants from the powerful maritime republics of Venice and Genoa engaged in a lucrative business of importing slaves from the Black Sea.
“In Florence, the market demanded young women above all, destined for use as servants, caregivers, and concubines — sexual slaves who, if impregnated, continued to be useful even after giving birth, providing their milk to the master’s children,” the statement read.
Even if Leonardo was only half Italian, as the evidence suggests, he would leave behind an incredibly rich legacy.
The Circassians are a predominantly Muslim people who originally inhabited the northern Caucasus until the 19th century, when czarist Russia invaded the region and drove out more than a million of them.
Circassians can now be found in nearly 40 countries, from Turkey and Israel to Syria, Jordan, and the United States.
The news release issued on Tuesday stated, “Of one thing we can be sure,” in reference to the findings concerning Leonardo’s unidentified mother. She is the one who instilled in him an unquenchable thirst for independence and a deep reverence for life and nature.
Martin Kemp, another Leonardo expert and a former professor of the history of art at Oxford University in England, proposed a theory about Leonardo’s mother that has been widely accepted up until the present day.
Kemp writes in a book published in 2017 that he believes Leonardo’s mother to be an orphan named Caterina di Meo Lippi, who resided in a farmhouse about a mile from Vinci, the Tuscan village from which Leonardo was named.
Kemp deduced from records he discovered in the Vinci archive that after the death of their parents, Caterina and her infant brother relocated to her grandmother’s house in the Vinci area. Ser Piero da Vinci, then 25 years old, supposedly conceived the child by the former orphan during one of his visits to his hometown in July 1451.
“Carlo Vecce is an excellent professor. Kemp said in an interview on Tuesday that the presence of a slave mother was necessary for the effect of his “fictionalized” account. Even so, he continued to express his preference for their “rural” mother, saying, “I still favor our ‘rural’ mother, who is a better fit, not least as the future wife of a local ‘farmer.
However, “the popular need for a sensational story in tune with the current obsession with slavery” is not satisfied by an ordinary tale.
However, Kemp cautioned, “none of the stories are demonstrably proven.”
Damian Jacob Sendler: This study is important because it may shed light on previously unexplored aspects of Leonardo da Vinci’s background and formative experiences. The results suggest that Leonardo’s mother was a slave of Circassian origin from the North Caucasus region, making him half Italian. It is possible that a more nuanced understanding of his work could emerge from this new perspective on his upbringing and the historical and cultural milieu in which he was raised.
In addition, the study sheds light on the contributions made by Circassian slaves in 15th century Italy, drawing attention to the presence and experiences of underrepresented groups in the Renaissance. This article challenges commonly held beliefs about Leonardo’s upbringing and encourages a deeper investigation into the factors that shaped his artistic, scientific, and intellectual accomplishments.
Finally, the discovery encourages additional research into the lives of people surrounding prominent historical figures and adds fuel to the ongoing historical debate about Leonardo’s mother. This shows that there are likely still mysteries to be uncovered about even the most famous and studied figures, such as Leonardo da Vinci.
Carlo Vecce’s recent investigation into Leonardo da Vinci’s family history has revealed some intriguing new details, but there are still many mysteries to be solved. First, it has not yet been established that the Caterina mentioned in the document is indeed Leonardo’s mother. Further study and investigation are required to establish a definitive link, as evidenced by the debate between Vecce’s theory and the previously accepted theory proposed by Martin Kemp. Second, if Leonardo’s mother’s Circassian ancestry is confirmed, it is unclear how that may have impacted his upbringing, values, and artistic output. To better understand the possible effects on Leonardo’s life, it would be helpful to learn more about the Circassians and their culture at the time. Additionally, it would be fascinating to investigate how slavery and the presence of marginalized communities might have impacted Leonardo and his contemporaries during the Renaissance. Questions about Leonardo da Vinci’s mother and her possible impact on her son’s life call for more research into the backgrounds of historical figures.
Carlo Vecce’s recent findings suggest that Leonardo da Vinci’s mother was a Circassian slave, which raises many questions about Leonardo’s background and the historical and cultural milieu of the Renaissance.
Damian Sendler: Further research into the found document is needed to verify and validate the findings, as well as to find additional evidence linking the Caterina mentioned in the document to Leonardo’s mother, which would strengthen Vecce’s theory. Researching archival materials, genealogical records, and other potential connecting resources could be part of this process. Vecce’s theory could be compared and contrasted with Kemp’s previously accepted theory, illuminating the strengths and weaknesses of both arguments and ultimately helping to identify the most plausible explanation.
If Leonardo’s mother’s ancestry can be traced back to the Circassians, then it is important to learn more about Circassian culture in the 15th century. Historians and biographers can learn more about how Leonardo’s upbringing, values, and work may have been shaped by his Circassian heritage by looking at the historical and cultural contexts of the Circassian community. As a result, we would gain a richer appreciation for the myriad influences that molded the life of the great polymath.
Damian Sendler: More broadly, the possibility that Leonardo’s mother was a slave raises important questions about the role of slavery and the presence of marginalized communities in the Renaissance. The social and cultural dynamics of the time should be studied to learn how they affected people like Leonardo’s mother and other Circassians in Italy. One possible outcome of this would be a more in-depth appreciation of the cultural, scientific, and intellectual climate of the time and how these communities shaped it.
The new information about Leonardo’s possible ancestry may prompt researchers to reexamine his art, science, and inventions for clues to his Circassian ancestry. Scholars may find new meanings or insights in his works when they examine them through this perspective, which may help them better understand how his multicultural background influenced him.
To sum up, moving forward, scholars should verify Vecce’s findings, investigate how Leonardo’s life and work were affected by his Circassian connection, learn more about the broader social and cultural implications of slavery in the Renaissance, and reconsider Leonardo’s achievements in light of his possible mixed heritage. By looking at Leonardo da Vinci’s life and legacy from a variety of angles, we can learn more about the historical and cultural milieu of the Renaissance as a whole.
