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Leonardo da Vinci’s genius was down to an eye condition, research claims

Visitors look at a copy of The Last Supper: PA Wire/PA Images
Visitors look at a copy of The Last Supper: PA Wire/PA Images

The reason for Leonardo da Vinci’s genius has finally been pinpointed, researchers say.

New research suggests the reason for one of the world’s most celebrated painter’s genius was his eyesight.

According to a study published in the journal of JAMA Opthalmology, a rare eye condition helped the artist paint distance and depth of objects on flat surfaces with incredible accuracy.

Da Vinci had intermittent exotropia, a type of eye misalignment in which one eye turns outward, the study said.

CNN reported Christopher Tyler, the author of the study, said: “Looking at his work, I noticed the pronounced divergence of the eyes in all of his paintings.”

Analyzing the direction of the gaze in six likely self-portraits of da Vinci -- two sculptures, two oil paintings and two drawings – Mr Tyler found that some of the work showed signs of exotropia, with the eyes looking at an outward angle.

The new research suggests he had a rare eye condition (PA Archive/PA Images)
The new research suggests he had a rare eye condition (PA Archive/PA Images)

Mr Tyler assessed the eye condition by drawing circles to the pupils, irises and eyelids on each painting and measuring their positions.

When he converted the measurements into an angle, the results showed da Vinci had an exotropia tendency, with one eye turning -10.3 degrees outward when relaxed. But the master artist could revert his eye to a straight alignment when focused.

Mr Tyler believes that Da Vinci’s left eye was affected by the condition, although about one per cent of the world’s population are thought to have the condition also.

He said: “what he was looking at would look more like a flat canvas than like for us, a three-dimensional screen.”

This, Mr Tyler added, would make it “easier to translate things onto the canvas”.

Other great artists, such as Rembrant, Edgar Degas and Pablo Picasso, also had various types of eye misalignment.