Lucan portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

The Lucan portrait, discovered in 2008 in southern Italy, has been proposed as a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci dating to around 1505. The painting was found in the Lucanian town of Acerenza and shows a man with features resembling the famous red chalk self-portrait drawing in Turin. However, the attribution remains highly controversial, with many scholars questioning both the dating and the identification of the sitter. The work is housed in the Museum of the Ancient Peoples of Lucania in Vaglio Basilicata.

The portrait employs a three-quarter view with soft modeling of facial features that is reminiscent of Leonardo's technique, though the overall execution lacks the refined sfumato characteristic of authenticated works. Scientific analysis has revealed underdrawing and pigment compositions consistent with early sixteenth-century Italian practice, but these findings alone cannot confirm Leonardo's authorship.