Were Leonardo da Vinci's Last Words Really An Apology For Being a Failure?

Leonardo da Vinci was indisputably one of the most influential artists of all time. The man who painted the Mona Lisa was also the archetypal Renaissance man, and his rigorous studies helped shape the fields of architecture, human anatomy, cartography, and more. He also studied hydraulic engineering, and even sketched a flying machine that has been called a prototype for the contemporary helicopter. 

Yet according to popular legend, Leonardo's last words were an expression of extreme regret regarding how little he believed he had achieved in his life. “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have,” he reportedly said. 

There’s a poetic sense of tragedy to these words, which are often cited as proof that even the greatest artists and thinkers in the world can be crippled by perfectionism, shame, and self-doubt. Yet did Leonardo actually say them?

How the Legend of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Words Came to Be

Unfortunately, the answer is…no one is sure whether Leonardo uttered these words, but he most likely did not say anything of the sort. That’s because their source is a biography that featured an account of Leonardo's death written by someone who was not even there.

The quote comes from a depiction of Leonardo's death that appeared in Giorgio Vasari's influential 1568 series of biographies, The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects. In his account of Leonardo's death, Vasari reported that Leonardo took refuge in Catholicism and received the Catholic sacraments at the end of his life.

“The King [Francis I], who often and lovingly was used to visit him, came to see him: whereupon he, out of reverence, having raised himself to sit upon the bed, giving an account of his illness, and the circumstances of it, showed withal how he had offended God and mankind in not having laboured at his art, as he ought to have done,” one translation of Vasari’s report reads. This passage wound up forming the basis for the tragic version of Leonardo's last words that often makes the rounds on social media today.

Some details of Vasari’s report are less than certain, however. Herbert Horne—who translated the above text from Italian in 1903—noted that Leonardo died in a location in central France 140 miles north of King Francis I’s court. Additionally, Francesco Melzi, who was the executor of Leonardo's will, wrote a letter informing Leonardo's family of his death, but did not mention that the king had been present. A diary kept by Francis I from the era also did not mention being present for Leonardo's death. Additionally, Vasari listed Leonardo's age at his death at 75, but he was actually 67 at the time of his passing, which doesn't exactly lend credibility to his account.

Some scholars have blamed Vasari’s bias towards Catholicism for the claims. “We should not take this account too seriously. Vasari, who was himself a deeply religious man, was fond of placing too much emphasis upon the religiosity of those about whom he wrote,” historian Michael White wrote in Leonardo: The First Scientist. “Leonardo may have found some form of solace in conventional religion as he lay dying, but we have no proof of this.”

Why Leonardo da Vinci May Have Been Filled With Regret On His Deathbed

Ultimately, Leonardo's last words remain a mystery. Still, it is known that Leonardo was plagued by self-doubt and self-esteem issues. He was famously hard on himself, battled procrastination, and left many projects unfinished. According to a New Yorker article, he once wrote in his diary, “Tell me if I ever did a thing.” 

So, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that his last words may have been regretful ones. Regardless, the doubt he did experience during his life is still a reminder that even the greatest creatives can feel insecure—whether or not that insecurity was at the heart of the last words he ever spoke.

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