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LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)

The head of St Philip

c.1495

RCIN 912551

A drawing of the head of a youth, with long wavy hair, bending forward and inclined slightly away from the spectator. He is seen almost in profile to the left, with his lips parted and his eyes raised. The Last Supper, in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a monastery church in Milan, is Leonardo’s greatest painting. It shows the reaction of Christ’s disciples to his announcement that he would be betrayed by one of those present. This drawing is Leonardo’s preparatory study for the head of St Philip, who gazes at Christ in dismay. Unlike the spontaneity of the head of St James (RL 12552) which was probably drawn from the life, the head of St Philip is a work of careful elaboration. This would appear to be the stage in Leonardo's creative process after a life drawing, when he fixed the image as the basis for subsequent work. The features have been idealised, taking the figure one step out of the real world and into the divine.

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