Leonardo da Vinci, one of history’s greatest polymaths, left behind a treasure trove of wisdom that continues to inspire artists, thinkers, and curious minds across the world.
His words touch on art, life, science, and love, offering timeless insights that still resonate today.
Whether you’re seeking motivation for your creative journey, guidance in learning, or simply a deeper understanding of his genius, these Leonardo da Vinci quotes will enlighten and uplift you.
Let his profound reflections spark your imagination and offer clarity in moments of doubt or inspiration.
Let’s dive in!
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes on Art 🎨
- Art is never finished only abandoned
- Painting is a mental thing where the mind guides the hand
- Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
- The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye without any reason is like a mirror which copies everything placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence
- The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands
- Painting is concerned with all the 10 attributes of sight
- Perspective is nothing else than seeing a place or objects behind a sheet of glass smooth and quite transparent
- The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding
- An artist’s studio should be a place of silence
- The eye receives the images, and the brain interprets them
- A good painter has two chief objects to paint man and the intention of his soul
- A beautiful body perishes but a work of art dies not
- The smallest feline is a masterpiece
- Details make perfection and perfection is not a detail
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Life 🌿
- Life well spent is long
- As a well-spent day brings happy sleep so life well used brings happy death
- While I thought that I was learning how to live I have been learning how to die
- Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it
- One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself
- It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end
- The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions
- Learning never exhausts the mind it only ignites it
- Life without love is no life at all
- He who does not value life does not deserve it
- Our life is made by the death of others
- Every action needs to be prompted by a motive
- Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness
- Wisdom is the daughter of experience
- He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Art 🎭
- The painter who is familiar with the nature of the sinews muscles and tendons will know very well in giving movement to his figures how many and which sinews cause such movements
- He who despises painting has no love for the philosophy of nature
- Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eye
- An artist should strive for perfection but must accept imperfection
- Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom
- The knowledge of past times and of the places on the earth is both an ornament and nutriment to the human mind
- Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt
- The eye commands the hand
- The young man should first learn perspective then the proportions of objects
- Painting is a science and should be pursued as an inquiry into the laws of nature
- The painter strives to make his work appear alive
- The science of painting is the true understanding of all forms of nature
- Art is the queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world
- Art is the heart’s way of speaking
- The eye is the window to the soul
Famous Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes 🌟
- Learning never exhausts the mind
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
- Time abides long enough for those who make use of it
- Obstacles cannot crush me every obstacle yields to stern resolve
- I have been impressed with the urgency of doing knowing is not enough we must apply being willing is not enough we must do
- It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them they went out and happened to things
- The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding
- Art is never finished only abandoned
- Iron rusts from disuse water loses its purity from stagnation even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind
- Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master
- Study without desire spoils the memory and it retains nothing that it takes in
- The deeper the feeling the greater the pain
- The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions
- He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast
- As a well-spent day brings happy sleep so a life well used brings happy death
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Learning 📚
- Learning never exhausts the mind
- Study without desire spoils the memory and it retains nothing that it takes in
- Experience does not err only your judgments err by expecting from her what is not in her power
- The acquisition of knowledge is always of use to the intellect because it may thus drive out useless things and retain the good
- He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast
- The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding
- All knowledge which ends in words will die as quickly as it came to life with the exception of the written word which is its mechanical part
- I have wasted my hours
- Wisdom is the daughter of experience
- Knowledge of the past and of the places of the earth is both an ornament and nourishment to the human mind
- The knowledge of all things is possible
- Study without desire spoils the memory and it retains nothing that it takes in
- Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts never fears and never regrets
- All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions
- Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Art and Science 🔬
- Art is the queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world
- The painter strives to make his work appear alive
- Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt
- Science is the captain and practice the soldiers
- Nature is the source of all true knowledge
- The science of painting is the true understanding of all forms of nature
- He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass
- The body of the earth is of the nature of a fish
- Study the science of art and the art of science
- The painter who is familiar with the nature of the sinews muscles and tendons will know very well how to give movement to his figures
- Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom
- There is no certainty in sciences where mathematics cannot be applied
- Mechanics is the paradise of the mathematical sciences
- The motion of water is the most complicated of natural phenomena to simulate
- Art should be based on science and observation
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Love 💖
- Life without love is no life at all
- Love shows itself more in adversity than in prosperity
- He who truly loves has no reason to be jealous
- Love is something so strong it can break even the hardest stone
- The deeper the feeling the greater the pain
- Love is born of knowledge
- As a well-spent day brings happy sleep so life well used brings happy death
- He who does not punish evil commands it to be done
- Life well spent is long
- The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions
- One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself
- Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness
- Where there is shouting there is no true knowledge
- The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding
- He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes About Mona Lisa 🖼️
- The Mona Lisa is the most magnificent example of human creativity
- In her smile lies all the mystery of the world
- Her gaze follows you wherever you go
- The subtlety of her expression is like a whisper of nature itself
- The Mona Lisa represents the peak of Renaissance art
- Every fold of her garment speaks of meticulous observation
- The softness of her skin reflects da Vinci’s mastery of sfumato
- Her enigmatic expression is a mirror into the soul of people
- The Mona Lisa smiles with the wisdom of centuries
- Her eyes seem to hold endless secrets
- The mystery of her smile is the essence of beauty
- The background landscape reflects a world beyond time
- The Mona Lisa breathes with quiet life
- In her face lies the perfect harmony of nature and art
- She smiles with the grace of eternity
Leonardo Da Vinci Quotes in Italian 🇮🇹
- La semplicità è la massima sofisticazione
- La pittura è poesia che si vede invece di sentire
- L’arte non è mai finita solo abbandonata
- La vita ben spesa è lunga
- La conoscenza è la figlia dell’esperienza
- L’amore mostra se stesso più nelle avversità che nella prosperità
- Dove l’anima non lavora con la mano non c’è arte
- Il più nobile piacere è la gioia della comprensione
- Imparare non esaurisce mai la mente
- La natura è la fonte di ogni vera conoscenza
- La saggezza è la figlia dell’esperienza
- Dove c’è urlo non c’è vera conoscenza
- L’ostacolo non mi schiaccerà ogni ostacolo cede a una ferma risoluzione
- Chi ama la pratica senza la teoria è come il marinaio che sale a bordo senza timone e bussola
- Il tempo rimane abbastanza lungo per chi lo sa usare
Conclusion
Leonardo da Vinci’s timeless wisdom continues to captivate minds across centuries.
His insights on art, life, love, and science reflect his boundless curiosity and genius. Whether you seek creative inspiration or deep life philosophy, his words remain an endless source of enlightenment.

I’m Etalia Robert, a passionate writer at Quotezking.com, where I share meaningful quotes and words that connect deeply with emotions and real life.