Is Leonardo da Vinci overrated?

Leonardo da Vinci’s reputation has come under scrutiny, says Chris Carter. Is the criticism fair?

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Last month marked 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci's death. Yet few of the comments about his life that were inspired by the event have been celebratory. First, there was the attention drawn to the relative paucity of his works. Just 20 are known to exist. The artist "was notorious for beginning and never completing artworks", says Jason Daley in Smithsonian magazine. Two neuroscientists, Marco Catani and Paolo Mazzarello, posited a theory in science journal Brain that da Vinci had attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD). "ADHD could explain aspects of Leonardo's temperament and his strange mercurial genius," said Professor Catani of King's College London.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.