Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man stripped of his Genitals by Italy’s State Broadcaster RAI
Italy’s public broadcaster RAI is facing political scrutiny after an altered version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man appeared in the opening sequence of its coverage of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Renaissance drawing, a study of ideal human proportion, appears at the start of the broadcast before morphing into winter athletes. In the televised version, however, the figure’s genitals are absent, first noted by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which questioned why the image appeared otherwise faithfully reproduced.
Opposition lawmakers have raised parliamentary questions, asking whether authorisation was granted not only to reproduce the drawing, but to modify it. Irene Manzi, culture committee group leader in the Italian parliament, described the alteration as “tampered with and censored,” calling it an unacceptable intervention into an iconic work.
RAI rejected accusations of editorial interference, stating that the opening sequence was produced and managed by Olympic Broadcasting Services, the entity responsible for delivering official feeds to rights-holding networks. According to the broadcaster, it transmitted the sequence without the ability to intervene or alter the material.
Main Image: Leonardo da Vinci,Vitruvian Man (c. 1490). Courtesy of Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice