LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
The drapery of the Madonna's thigh
c.1515-17RCIN 912530
The subject of the Madonna and Child with St Anne occupied Leonardo for the last two decades of his life. The initial commission may have come from King Louis XII of France around 1500, and in time Leonardo produced three different full-size compositions, of which a cartoon (National Gallery, London) and a painting (Louvre, Paris) survive. Leonardo began the painting around 1508, and executed detailed studies such as this as work progressed.