Da Vinci woes

It seems as if Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, has a lot to answer for. Currently, the media, including The Scotsman, in reporting the case of the stolen painting, The Madonna with the Yarnwinder, make constant reference to the artist as if he was called "da Vinci". He was not. He would never have been referred to as such in his own time when surnames in the modern sense were not in use in Italy, nor will you find any present-day art historian referring to him in this way.

The term is territorial, a reference to the village where he was brought up. Calling either artist "da Vinci" makes as much sense as calling someone "from Bathgate". The great Renaissance painter has to be termed either Leonardo or Leonardo da Vinci – even if it makes headlines difficult.

DR DUNCAN THOMSON

Eglinton Crescent

Edinburgh