LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Head of a Woman, known as La Scapigliata (‘the woman with uncombed hair’) Umber heightened with white on panel About 1500–1510 This female head is often said to be a preparatory study for Leda or a Virgin Mary. However, the fact that it was painted on wood might suggest that it was a work in its own right – possibly inspired by ancient paintings – in which the artist experimented with a limited palette and a certain incompletion. La Scapigliata recalls the work of the great ancient Greek artist Apelles, who painted a Venus whose head and bust were of extraordinary per- fection, while the rest of the body was merely sketched. Galleria Nazionale, Parma, inv. 362 Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Compositional Study for Saint Anne Black chalk reworked in pen and brown ink About 1500–1501 After returning to Florence in 1500, Leonardo began to work on the composition of a large panel painting of Saint Anne (the Virgin Mary’s mother and a patron saint of the Florentine Republic).The first phase of his research resulted in a cartoon (full-scale preliminary sketch) that is now in London, but he then changed that composi- tion by removing John the Baptist and seating the Virgin Mary on her mother’s lap. Leonardo was at the height of his powers and, here again, his creativity was deeply influenced by the freedom he found in componimento inculto (‘intuitive’ composition). Department of Prints and Drawings, Musée du Louvre, Paris, RF 460 159 160