NationStates Jolt Archive

ummm... is it true that leonardo da vinci was gay? well... i heard that he was, and the famous portrait, 'mono lisa,' is actually a self-portrait of him, but i don't know... i also heard different stuff from art class...

"Mono Lisa" sounds like a cruel nickname. Hee hee, Mono Lisa...

Well, duh!

He was arrested and flogged for buggery, or consorting with a male prostitute (which probably means one and the same).

Most young, unmarried men in Italy at that time had dabbled in homosexuality a little.

Most young, unmarried men in Italy at that time had dabbled in homosexuality a little.

Trust me. Catholic country or not, many still do.

ummm... is it true that leonardo da vinci was gay? well... i heard that he was, and the famous portrait, 'mono lisa,' is actually a self-portrait of him, but i don't know... i also heard different stuff from art class...

I remember hearing about that too. I think it was that there was a self portrait of him beneath the oil painting and he had painted over it to look like a woman.

It explains why there's no Mona Lisa model.

Does it matter?

I wish I were gay too if it would mean I would be as brilliant as Da Vinci :D

I wish I were gay too if it would mean I would be as brilliant as Da Vinci :D

Possibly the most brilliant man ever. He was probably bisexual, if anything. I heard accounts that he was quite popular with the ladies. Too bad he wasn't more sure of himself, scientifically. Within his mirror-text notes are designs for various artifacts that were well beyond renaissance technology, including, a glider, a helicopter, and a steam engine (I think.)

What does it matter if he was gay? He's a bloody genius!!

Ya, let's celebrate his homosexuality. That's what we need to emphasize. That's what was important. Please...

Ya, let's celebrate his homosexuality. That's what we need to emphasize. That's what was important. Please...

Well, it does smash a few things into the faces of those gay-haters out there.

I'm sure they were all into a bit of that back door action in those days.

Like what?

My understanding is that the Mona Lisa was a commisioned piece, a portrait of some noblemans daughter if I remember correctly. I wouldn't be at all suprised to learn it was painted over another portrait. If there is something under it, it means nothing, it was common practice to reuse canvases to save expenses. If he was gay or bisexual, so what? If I was to temper my impression of his genius and talent with the confirmed knowledge that he was as 'queer as a three dollar bill', it would not be changed at all.

ummm... is it true that leonardo da vinci was gay? well... i heard that he was, and the famous portrait, 'mono lisa,' is actually a self-portrait of him, but i don't know... i also heard different stuff from art class...
I don't know if Leo was gay, but Michelangelo certainly was.

The Mona Lisa was a portrait of a nobleman's wife that he didn't finish for her, and took it away to France.

ummm... is it true that leonardo da vinci was gay? well... i heard that he was, and the famous portrait, 'mona lisa,' is actually a self-portrait of him, but i don't know... i also heard different stuff from art class...

The reason why he painted the Mona Lisa was to reflect the sacred balance between man and woman (the painting's title is also supposed to reflect this; I forget how tho). DaVinci was also the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, a "cult" of goddess worship.

Leonardo Da Vinci an homosexual?
Probably but nothing sure, Michelangelo the same...

Mona Lisa IS a selfportrait, and by the way there are planty of homosexual examples in history... many many great men AND women...

So, we should start thinking that it is normal indeed to be homosexual or bisexual.... just as normal as being heterosexual.

Leonardo Da Vinci an homosexual?
Probably but nothing sure, Michelangelo the same...

Mona Lisa IS a selfportrait, and by the way there are planty of homosexual examples in history... many many great men AND women...

So, we should start thinking that it is normal indeed to be homosexual or bisexual.... just as normal as being heterosexual.

So wait... we should accept homosexuality because there were good homosexuals throughout history? Pardon my cynicism then, but if there were evil homosexuals throughout history, should we then instead be intolerant of homosexuality?

Not that I'm even arguing against homosexuality. However, I've noticed several references to the idea that Da Vinci being gay somehow validates homosexuality. If it's moral, it shouldn't need validation to begin with; but moreover, basing something's moral correctness on the people who happened to share it in common is tenuous at best.

It's 9:19AM and I haven't slept, so my apologies if that comes across as rude.

ummm... is it true that leonardo da vinci was gay? well... i heard that he was, and the famous portrait, 'mono lisa,' is actually a self-portrait of him, but i don't know... i also heard different stuff from art class...

He was bisexual, not gay.
Mona Lisa did have a model and she was pregnant with an illegitamate child, hence the model and her future husband not buying the painting.

People like Albert Einstein, Demosthenes Charles Darwin, and so on did stutter and were geniuses.

People like Socrates, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Michelangelo were gay (or bisexual) and were geniuses...

I'm a gay man who stutters... so what tells that about me? :D

Just let's say that stuttering and being gay just don't have anything to do with being a genius... However both 'differences' from other people just shouldn't be seen as negative just because they are less common than not stuttering and being heterosexual.

--
If you're going to be gay, you might as well be fabulous. It's a birthright.
Frank deCaro

So wait... we should accept homosexuality because there were good homosexuals throughout history? Pardon my cynicism then, but if there were evil homosexuals throughout history, should we then instead be intolerant of homosexuality?

Not that I'm even arguing against homosexuality. However, I've noticed several references to the idea that Da Vinci being gay somehow validates homosexuality. If it's moral, it shouldn't need validation to begin with; but moreover, basing something's moral correctness on the people who happened to share it in common is tenuous at best.

It's 9:19AM and I haven't slept, so my apologies if that comes across as rude.

Mentioning some gays who were geniuses simply shows those people who believe all gays are bad that they are wrong.

The reason why he painted the Mona Lisa was to reflect the sacred balance between man and woman (the painting's title is also supposed to reflect this; I forget how tho). DaVinci was also the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, a "cult" of goddess worship.


Mona Lisa is an anagram:

Mona = Amon, ancient egyptian god
Lisa = L'Isa = italian for "the Isis", ancient egyptian goddess

Apparently Leonardo was representing both male and female aspects in the Mona Lisa and it's title shows this.

Yeah, I've read "The Da Vinci Code" too, and although a lot of it was pretty improbable, loved every word of it!