“Ogni pittore dipinge sè". Leonardo da Vinci and "automimesis"

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This article discusses the negative connotations of the Tuscan proverb, "Every painter paints himself" in the 15th century and the relationship between automimesis and the habit of Italian painters of repeating particular types in painting. Focusing on the example of Leonardo, it argues that although he can be seen to have used types and was accused by Gaspare Visconti of automimesis in the Last Supper (Milan, S. Maria delle Grazie), he in fact rejected it in his writings and made great efforts to avoid it in his art.