LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Allegory on the Fidelity of the Lizard Pen and brown ink About 1496 A man has fallen asleep under a tree; on the rock he is using as a pillow, a lizard confronts a snake. An inscrip- tion at the top of the composition explains the scene: the lizard is loyal to the sleeping man, but cannot defeat the snake; it therefore jumps onto the man’s face to wake him before the snake can attack.The purpose of Leonardo’s allegorical drawings is unknown. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork, inv. 17.142.2 Attributed to Marco d’OGGIONO Oggiono?, about 1470–Milan, 1524 Portrait of a Young Man Oil on walnut panel Dated 1494 The composition of this portrait, the sitter’s slightly twisted pose and his melancholy expression were undoubtedly inspired by Leonardo’s modifications to the conventions of Milanese portraiture.The work is attributed to Marco d’Oggiono, who started training at Leonardo’s workshop in 1490.The monogram on the scroll can be read as MAR F – MARCUS FECIT (‘Marcus made this’). The National Gallery, London, NG 1665 0 73 0 74 (?), about 1470–Milan, 1524 Dated 1494