Leonardo da Vinci, 'The Virgin of the Rocks', about 1491 - 1508. London, The National Gallery.

The Real Da Vinci Code at the National Gallery

The UK cinema release of 'The Da Vinci Code' has added to the legions of fans of Dan Brown's best-selling novel.

The film stars Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon, following a series of clues across Paris, London and Scotland in a bid to discover the location of the Holy Grail.

The National Gallery is the only place in the UK where fans of both the book and the film can see close up a painting that helped inspire a blockbuster.

'The Virgin of the Rocks' is the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in a UK public collection, and one of a handful in the world. This picture plays a vital role in 'The Da Vinci Code', with Robert Langdon discovering a key hidden behind the Louvre's version of the work.

But all fiction aside, the National Gallery does in fact have its very own 'Da Vinci Code!'

Read our special features and discover the Leonardo da Vinci secrets Dan Brown didn't write about...

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