LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Workshop of Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Head of Saint John the Baptist Silverpoint, pen and brown ink and wash, highlighted with white on beige prepared paper About 1485–1490 This head corresponds exactly to that of John the Baptist in the Virgin of the Rocks. Recent laboratory tests have shown that the initial silverpoint drawing featured right- handed, then superimposed left-handed, hatching.The head was probably copied in Leonardo’s workshop from the preparatory cartoon for the Virgin of the Rocks, then reworked by another artist. Department of Prints and Drawings, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Inv. 2347 Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Study for the Face of the Angel in the Virgin of the Rocks Metalpoint highlighted with white on ochre prepared paper About 1490–1494 In the early 1490s, when the Virgin of the Rocks was due to be delivered, there was a dispute over the final valua- tion of the painting. As a result, the work was sold to ano- ther buyer, and the angel was altered to focus attention on John the Baptist. Leonardo’s study of a woman’s face for the new version of the angel is one of the finest exis- ting examples of the art of drawing.The original position of the head, visible in the reflectogram, can be seen here inside the contour of the face. Biblioteca Reale, Turin, inv. 15572 0 61 0 62