Lucan Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, on show at Leonardo and his Outstanding Circleat the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, is believed to be an authentic artwork by the Renaissance master. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Controversies surrounding epic paintings are not rare in the world. For example, industry insiders are still bickering about who is the real painter of the Song Dynasty landscape scroll, A Thousand Lis of Mountains and Rivers," responded Zhang Zikang, director of the CAFA Art Museum.

Speaking of the most engaging part of the show, the director thought the controversial paintings could engage visitors the most as the controversies around them can inspire visitors to learn more about the painter, his artistic hallmarks, and his influence.

In response to the doubts about the quality of the showpieces, Zhang shared his views with China Daily Website.

"In recent years, studies on Da Vinci in Italy and other places in the world have been revolving around his great artistic genius. However, after I viewed the exhibition, what impressed me was that Da Vinci is a great artist, but not a great teacher, as his paintings are far better than his students'. This discovery affords modern education a salutary lesson," Zhang commented.

Noting the academic significance of the show, Zhang said these paintings, perhaps uninteresting when viewed separately, can enable viewers to learn about the Leonardeschi when they are put together.

Through these artworks, they can learn about the relationship between the master and his pupils, and that between the school and the society of their times. Hence the viewing is a process that can generate new knowledge and perspectives about this Renaissance master, the director added.