imageIt is a ridiculous charge, leveled by conspiracy theorists, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, that Leonard faked the shroud. The  current issues of Tuscan magazine doubts it.

As recently as last year, claims were made that Leonardo forged the Turin Shroud using pioneering photographic techniques and a sculpture of his own head. Leonardo’s forgery was apparently commissioned to replace an earlier 14th century version of the shroud that was exposed as a poor fake. The theory says that this earlier shroud disappeared at around the time of Leonardo’s birth and when it reappeared some fifty years later, it was hailed as a genuine relic, because it was really his convincing replica. If anyone could have done it at that time, Leonardo would be a likely candidate, but it’s a fairly implausible theory.

The article also addresses the conspiracy theory that Leonardo da Vinci painted Mary Magdalene into The Last Supper. I recommend the article. It is short and to the point.