It is difficult to imagine that the worldwide symbol for the heart (the double-scalloped ideogram with the V-shaped base) hasn't been around since the dawn of time. While this isn't quite true, there have been several significant archaeological finds that prove that it has existed at least for millennia. Leonardo da Vinci dedicated countless pages of his notebooks to anatomical drawings, hearts among them, and Andy Warhol brought his genius to depicting our most important organ.
Origins of the Heart
While the heart shape has been in existence since the time of the Indus Valley Civilisation (2600 BCE to 1900 BCE) and later when the Romans used it to represent a plant used as a contraceptive or aphrodisiac, the attribution with the heart developed over the Middle Ages, eventually becoming popular during the 16th century.
The first depiction of the symbol as a heart metaphor in the 1250s in fact resembles a pine cone in accord with mediaeval anatomical descriptions. But over the next 200 years, the shape changes into more of a scallop, with an indent pushing in on top, thus moving away from the traditionally anatomically correct depictions.
An example can be seen below in Documenti d'amore (translated into "Precepts of Love" or "Lessons About Love") by Francesco de Barberino. In it, Cupid is riding a horse adorned with a necklace of hearts, one upside down. Another similar depiction has been found in a manuscript from the Cistercian monastery in Brussels.
Later, the indent would become more and more pronounced until, in the 16th century, at the same time as they were added as a staple on playing cards, they became what the instantly recognisable symbol that we see everywhere today.
Documenti d'amore by Francesco de Barberino (approx. 1320)
Da Vinci's Morbid Curiosities
Leonardo envisioned inventions centuries ahead of their time, including the helicopter, driven by his insatiable curiosity in engineering, astronomy, and biology. He filled notebooks with anatomical and technical drawings, determined to unravel mysteries.
In 1490, in Pavia, Italy, he met Professor Marcantonio Della Torre, who invited him to collaborate on an anatomy textbook. Though it was never published, Leonardo continued studying human and animal biology until age 60. His surviving notebooks reveal his intent to include detailed illustrations, believing a drawing surpassed hours of explanation.
He conducted over 30 human dissections, studied blood flow in pigs using metallic tracers, and made wax casts of bull hearts. From these, he created glass models to study blood circulation, using seeds to visualise turbulence and flow.
Drawings by Leonardo (1510)
Andy Warhol's Heart-Popping Pop Art
By the late 1970s, Andy Warhol had embraced his "abstract look." On Valentine's Day, he gifted 54 friends handmade paintings, each featuring a heart-shaped silhouette framed by black silkscreen ink. Yet, only 27 have been documented, with just two engraved "H.V.D." for his lover. The rest remain unaccounted for.
Warhol’s fascination with hearts began two decades earlier in The Boy Book, an unrealised project featuring young men adorned with tiny hearts, symbolising touch—both intimate and personal. Later, he revisited the motif in a mural commissioned by the National Institute of Health, depicting the heart 156 times.
Candy Box (Lamston's 85 (Cents) (1983) by Andy Warhol
Dine, born in 1930s Cincinnati, had an early interest in art from his copy of Paul J. Sachs' Modern Prints and Drawings (1954) which included woodcuts from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Node and Max Beckmann, all German expressionists. This prompted him to create woodcuts in the basement of his maternal grandparents, with whom he was then living.
“Millions…I have no idea, but it’s mine, and I use it as a template for all my emotions. It’s a landscape for everything. It’s like Indian classical music—based on something very simple but building to a complicated structure. Within that, you can do anything in the world. And that’s how I feel about my hearts.”
A self-described romantic artist, Dine has embraced the heart as a template through which he can explore relationships of colour, texture, and composition. Dine’s dynamic repetition of a condensed visual vocabulary has redefined the once-common heart as a personal symbol for the artist.
Four Hearts by Jim Dine (1969)
We have saved our best works 'til last, with, Keren Parmley and Tasha Baines, making an appearance with their simple but adorable heart prints, printed here in our studio!
The heart symbol has transformed from an ancient ideogram into a universal emblem of love, emotion, and artistic expression. From its early use in the Indus Valley to its evolution in mediaeval manuscripts and its widespread adoption in the 16th century, it has remained a powerful motif in visual culture.
Artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Andy Warhol, and Jim Dine have each reimagined the heart in their own way—Leonardo through scientific exploration, Warhol with bold pop art, and Dine as a deeply personal motif. Today, the heart continues to inspire artists, evolving across time and mediums.
Whether anatomically precise or abstractly stylised, the heart remains a timeless symbol of human connection, creativity, and passion!