Prompt: Explain the Subject about the The work of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

The cartoon of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child Jesus is part of the Christian iconographic theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne", in which the Child Jesus, his mother Mary and his grandmother Anne are depicted together. The painting of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne was Leonardo da Vinci's first work to depict the subject.This theme enters into the context of the Marian cult, in particular to justify the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, according to which Mary, receiving in anticipation the fruits of the resurrection of her son Jesus Christ, was conceived free from original sin. This miracle meant that her own mother, Anne, gained in theological importance. From then on, the cult of Saint Anne grew, so that the "Trinitarian Saint Anne" became an earthly trinity in reference to the heavenly Trinity. Shortly before Leonardo da Vinci's period of activity, Pope Sixtus IV encouraged this cult by introducing an indulgence that promised remission of sins to anyone who prayed before the image of Anna metterza (Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child). A few examples of the triad of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child can be seen in the 13th and 14th centuries, before this iconographic theme gained in importance at the end of the 15th century, mainly in the form of sculptures and paintings.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the Subject of the The work explained?

The cartoon of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child Jesus is part of the Christian iconographic theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne", in which the Child Jesus, his mother Mary and his grandmother Anne are depicted together. The painting of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne was Leonardo da Vinci's first work to depict the subject.This theme enters into the context of the Marian cult, in particular to justify the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, according to which Mary, receiving in anticipation the fruits of the resurrection of her son Jesus Christ, was conceived free from original sin. This miracle meant that her own mother, Anne, gained in theological importance. From then on, the cult of Saint Anne grew, so that the "Trinitarian Saint Anne" became an earthly trinity in reference to the heavenly Trinity. Shortly before Leonardo da Vinci's period of activity, Pope Sixtus IV encouraged this cult by introducing an indulgence that promised remission of sins to anyone who prayed before the image of Anna metterza (Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child). A few examples of the triad of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child can be seen in the 13th and 14th centuries, before this iconographic theme gained in importance at the end of the 15th century, mainly in the form of sculptures and paintings.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Subject in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s The work.

The cartoon of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child Jesus is part of the Christian iconographic theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne", in which the Child Jesus, his mother Mary and his grandmother Anne are depicted together. The painting of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne was Leonardo da Vinci's first work to depict the subject.This theme enters into the context of the Marian cult, in particular to justify the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, according to which Mary, receiving in anticipation the fruits of the resurrection of her son Jesus Christ, was conceived free from original sin. This miracle meant that her own mother, Anne, gained in theological importance. From then on, the cult of Saint Anne grew, so that the "Trinitarian Saint Anne" became an earthly trinity in reference to the heavenly Trinity. Shortly before Leonardo da Vinci's period of activity, Pope Sixtus IV encouraged this cult by introducing an indulgence that promised remission of sins to anyone who prayed before the image of Anna metterza (Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child). A few examples of the triad of Saint Anne, the Virgin and the Child can be seen in the 13th and 14th centuries, before this iconographic theme gained in importance at the end of the 15th century, mainly in the form of sculptures and paintings.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the A presumption of existence sometimes controversial and the History of the piece.

Two paintings almost identical to Novellara's descriptionAs evidence of the research that led to the creation of the Louvre's Sainte Anne, we have the Burlington House cartoon, three composition drawings and thirteen detail studies preserved around the world.In 1887, a letter dated April 3, 1501, addressed to Isabella d'Este by her envoy to the painter in Florence, the Carmelite monk Fra Pietro Novellara, was discovered in the Mantua archives: in which he describes in great detail a cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci that he has just seen. Researchers at the end of the 19th century considered this to be a description of the cartoon used by the painter to begin the painting of Saint Anne, since the general outline (characters and composition) was very similar. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that Giorgio Vasari's Vite refers to the exhibition of a cartoon in Florence's Santissima Annunziata at the beginning of the 16th century, which would have included Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, the Lamb and Saint John: this testimony then creates a vagueness between Fra Pietro's cartoon, the one in Burlington House, which slightly precedes it, and the one for the painting of Saint Anne, which is one or two years older.Yet Novellara's testimony contains significant elements that dissociate them: on the one hand, the presence of a lamb completely rules out the Burlington House Cartoon composition; on the other hand, the figures are described as facing to the left, whereas the figures in the Saint Anne painting face to the right. It wasn't until 1929 that Austrian art historian Wilhelm Suida identified these inconsistencies. He made a comparison with two paintings by the brothers Raffaello (?) and Andrea del Brescianino, guided by the similarities of the text with the composition, the attitude of the figures and their "left-hand" orientation.For some, however, this theory is still stumped by the orientation described by Novellara: perhaps he was looking from the point of view of the figure (which would correspond to the orientation of the painting in the Louvre) and not from that of the viewer (corresponding to an opposite orientation). In 1979, Carlo Pedretti confirmed the hypothesis of the viewer's orientation to the left with the discovery of a study he believed might be by the master's hand, and in any case contemporary with it. Since then, a number of researchers have rallied around the idea of a second cartoon: in addition to Carlo Pedretti, they include Daniel Arasse, Carmen C. Bambach, Vincent Delieuvin and Frank Zöllner.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the A presumption of existence sometimes controversial about the History of the piece of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

Two paintings almost identical to Novellara's descriptionAs evidence of the research that led to the creation of the Louvre's Sainte Anne, we have the Burlington House cartoon, three composition drawings and thirteen detail studies preserved around the world.In 1887, a letter dated April 3, 1501, addressed to Isabella d'Este by her envoy to the painter in Florence, the Carmelite monk Fra Pietro Novellara, was discovered in the Mantua archives: in which he describes in great detail a cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci that he has just seen. Researchers at the end of the 19th century considered this to be a description of the cartoon used by the painter to begin the painting of Saint Anne, since the general outline (characters and composition) was very similar. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that Giorgio Vasari's Vite refers to the exhibition of a cartoon in Florence's Santissima Annunziata at the beginning of the 16th century, which would have included Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, the Lamb and Saint John: this testimony then creates a vagueness between Fra Pietro's cartoon, the one in Burlington House, which slightly precedes it, and the one for the painting of Saint Anne, which is one or two years older.Yet Novellara's testimony contains significant elements that dissociate them: on the one hand, the presence of a lamb completely rules out the Burlington House Cartoon composition; on the other hand, the figures are described as facing to the left, whereas the figures in the Saint Anne painting face to the right. It wasn't until 1929 that Austrian art historian Wilhelm Suida identified these inconsistencies. He made a comparison with two paintings by the brothers Raffaello (?) and Andrea del Brescianino, guided by the similarities of the text with the composition, the attitude of the figures and their "left-hand" orientation.For some, however, this theory is still stumped by the orientation described by Novellara: perhaps he was looking from the point of view of the figure (which would correspond to the orientation of the painting in the Louvre) and not from that of the viewer (corresponding to an opposite orientation). In 1979, Carlo Pedretti confirmed the hypothesis of the viewer's orientation to the left with the discovery of a study he believed might be by the master's hand, and in any case contemporary with it. Since then, a number of researchers have rallied around the idea of a second cartoon: in addition to Carlo Pedretti, they include Daniel Arasse, Carmen C. Bambach, Vincent Delieuvin and Frank Zöllner.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the A presumption of existence sometimes controversial of the History of the piece explained?

Two paintings almost identical to Novellara's descriptionAs evidence of the research that led to the creation of the Louvre's Sainte Anne, we have the Burlington House cartoon, three composition drawings and thirteen detail studies preserved around the world.In 1887, a letter dated April 3, 1501, addressed to Isabella d'Este by her envoy to the painter in Florence, the Carmelite monk Fra Pietro Novellara, was discovered in the Mantua archives: in which he describes in great detail a cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci that he has just seen. Researchers at the end of the 19th century considered this to be a description of the cartoon used by the painter to begin the painting of Saint Anne, since the general outline (characters and composition) was very similar. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that Giorgio Vasari's Vite refers to the exhibition of a cartoon in Florence's Santissima Annunziata at the beginning of the 16th century, which would have included Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, the Lamb and Saint John: this testimony then creates a vagueness between Fra Pietro's cartoon, the one in Burlington House, which slightly precedes it, and the one for the painting of Saint Anne, which is one or two years older.Yet Novellara's testimony contains significant elements that dissociate them: on the one hand, the presence of a lamb completely rules out the Burlington House Cartoon composition; on the other hand, the figures are described as facing to the left, whereas the figures in the Saint Anne painting face to the right. It wasn't until 1929 that Austrian art historian Wilhelm Suida identified these inconsistencies. He made a comparison with two paintings by the brothers Raffaello (?) and Andrea del Brescianino, guided by the similarities of the text with the composition, the attitude of the figures and their "left-hand" orientation.For some, however, this theory is still stumped by the orientation described by Novellara: perhaps he was looking from the point of view of the figure (which would correspond to the orientation of the painting in the Louvre) and not from that of the viewer (corresponding to an opposite orientation). In 1979, Carlo Pedretti confirmed the hypothesis of the viewer's orientation to the left with the discovery of a study he believed might be by the master's hand, and in any case contemporary with it. Since then, a number of researchers have rallied around the idea of a second cartoon: in addition to Carlo Pedretti, they include Daniel Arasse, Carmen C. Bambach, Vincent Delieuvin and Frank Zöllner.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the A presumption of existence sometimes controversial in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s History of the piece.

Two paintings almost identical to Novellara's descriptionAs evidence of the research that led to the creation of the Louvre's Sainte Anne, we have the Burlington House cartoon, three composition drawings and thirteen detail studies preserved around the world.In 1887, a letter dated April 3, 1501, addressed to Isabella d'Este by her envoy to the painter in Florence, the Carmelite monk Fra Pietro Novellara, was discovered in the Mantua archives: in which he describes in great detail a cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci that he has just seen. Researchers at the end of the 19th century considered this to be a description of the cartoon used by the painter to begin the painting of Saint Anne, since the general outline (characters and composition) was very similar. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that Giorgio Vasari's Vite refers to the exhibition of a cartoon in Florence's Santissima Annunziata at the beginning of the 16th century, which would have included Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, the Lamb and Saint John: this testimony then creates a vagueness between Fra Pietro's cartoon, the one in Burlington House, which slightly precedes it, and the one for the painting of Saint Anne, which is one or two years older.Yet Novellara's testimony contains significant elements that dissociate them: on the one hand, the presence of a lamb completely rules out the Burlington House Cartoon composition; on the other hand, the figures are described as facing to the left, whereas the figures in the Saint Anne painting face to the right. It wasn't until 1929 that Austrian art historian Wilhelm Suida identified these inconsistencies. He made a comparison with two paintings by the brothers Raffaello (?) and Andrea del Brescianino, guided by the similarities of the text with the composition, the attitude of the figures and their "left-hand" orientation.For some, however, this theory is still stumped by the orientation described by Novellara: perhaps he was looking from the point of view of the figure (which would correspond to the orientation of the painting in the Louvre) and not from that of the viewer (corresponding to an opposite orientation). In 1979, Carlo Pedretti confirmed the hypothesis of the viewer's orientation to the left with the discovery of a study he believed might be by the master's hand, and in any case contemporary with it. Since then, a number of researchers have rallied around the idea of a second cartoon: in addition to Carlo Pedretti, they include Daniel Arasse, Carmen C. Bambach, Vincent Delieuvin and Frank Zöllner.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the Dating and the History of the piece.

The dating of this cartoon, produced as part of a project to compose a "Trinitarian Saint Anne", which led to the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne in the Louvre, is fairly well circumscribed: it is dated after the creation of the Burlington House Cartoon, i.e. after 1500, and cannot be later than its public exhibition in April 1501.The fate of the cartoon is totally unknown after its exhibition in Florence and the painter's departure from the city.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the Dating about the History of the piece of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

The dating of this cartoon, produced as part of a project to compose a "Trinitarian Saint Anne", which led to the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne in the Louvre, is fairly well circumscribed: it is dated after the creation of the Burlington House Cartoon, i.e. after 1500, and cannot be later than its public exhibition in April 1501.The fate of the cartoon is totally unknown after its exhibition in Florence and the painter's departure from the city.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the Dating of the History of the piece explained?

The dating of this cartoon, produced as part of a project to compose a "Trinitarian Saint Anne", which led to the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne in the Louvre, is fairly well circumscribed: it is dated after the creation of the Burlington House Cartoon, i.e. after 1500, and cannot be later than its public exhibition in April 1501.The fate of the cartoon is totally unknown after its exhibition in Florence and the painter's departure from the city.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Dating in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s History of the piece.

The dating of this cartoon, produced as part of a project to compose a "Trinitarian Saint Anne", which led to the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne in the Louvre, is fairly well circumscribed: it is dated after the creation of the Burlington House Cartoon, i.e. after 1500, and cannot be later than its public exhibition in April 1501.The fate of the cartoon is totally unknown after its exhibition in Florence and the painter's departure from the city.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the A creation within the framework of the creation of a Saint Anne and the History of the piece.

By 1501, Leonardo da Vinci, who was approaching fifty, was a recognized painter, and his fame extended beyond the Italian peninsula. Nevertheless, his life was in an important phase of transition: in September 1499, Louis XII's French invaded Milan, and the painter lost his powerful patron Ludovico il Moro. He then hesitated about his allegiances: should he follow his former protector or turn to Louis XII, who quickly made contact with him? Nevertheless, the French quickly became hated by the population, and Leonardo decided to leave. This exile, described by his contemporaries as erratic, took him first to Mantua – to the Marchioness Isabella d'Este, for whom he created a cartoon for his portrait – then to Venice, and finally to his native Florence.According to a chronology widely spread within the scientific community, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a Saint Anne around 1499–1500, by an unspecified patron. In the early 1500s, he drew up a first cartoon – the Burlington House Cartoon – as an initial idea for the composition. Abandoning this proposal, he quickly created a second one, in which he discarded the infant John the Baptist in favor of a lamb: this would thus be the cartoon The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, known as "of Fra Pietro", exhibited in Florence in April 1501, taken over by Raphael and now lost. Setting aside his composition once again, the painter finally created a final cartoon from which the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, now in the Louvre, would emerge.In the end, although this project for a "Trinitarian Saint Anne" seems to have taken shape around 1499–1500, with the painting of the Louvre picture beginning around 1503, the process took much longer, since it covered the last twenty years of the painter's life, and the picture was still unfinished when he died in 1519.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the A creation within the framework of the creation of a Saint Anne about the History of the piece of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

By 1501, Leonardo da Vinci, who was approaching fifty, was a recognized painter, and his fame extended beyond the Italian peninsula. Nevertheless, his life was in an important phase of transition: in September 1499, Louis XII's French invaded Milan, and the painter lost his powerful patron Ludovico il Moro. He then hesitated about his allegiances: should he follow his former protector or turn to Louis XII, who quickly made contact with him? Nevertheless, the French quickly became hated by the population, and Leonardo decided to leave. This exile, described by his contemporaries as erratic, took him first to Mantua – to the Marchioness Isabella d'Este, for whom he created a cartoon for his portrait – then to Venice, and finally to his native Florence.According to a chronology widely spread within the scientific community, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a Saint Anne around 1499–1500, by an unspecified patron. In the early 1500s, he drew up a first cartoon – the Burlington House Cartoon – as an initial idea for the composition. Abandoning this proposal, he quickly created a second one, in which he discarded the infant John the Baptist in favor of a lamb: this would thus be the cartoon The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, known as "of Fra Pietro", exhibited in Florence in April 1501, taken over by Raphael and now lost. Setting aside his composition once again, the painter finally created a final cartoon from which the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, now in the Louvre, would emerge.In the end, although this project for a "Trinitarian Saint Anne" seems to have taken shape around 1499–1500, with the painting of the Louvre picture beginning around 1503, the process took much longer, since it covered the last twenty years of the painter's life, and the picture was still unfinished when he died in 1519.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the A creation within the framework of the creation of a Saint Anne of the History of the piece explained?

By 1501, Leonardo da Vinci, who was approaching fifty, was a recognized painter, and his fame extended beyond the Italian peninsula. Nevertheless, his life was in an important phase of transition: in September 1499, Louis XII's French invaded Milan, and the painter lost his powerful patron Ludovico il Moro. He then hesitated about his allegiances: should he follow his former protector or turn to Louis XII, who quickly made contact with him? Nevertheless, the French quickly became hated by the population, and Leonardo decided to leave. This exile, described by his contemporaries as erratic, took him first to Mantua – to the Marchioness Isabella d'Este, for whom he created a cartoon for his portrait – then to Venice, and finally to his native Florence.According to a chronology widely spread within the scientific community, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a Saint Anne around 1499–1500, by an unspecified patron. In the early 1500s, he drew up a first cartoon – the Burlington House Cartoon – as an initial idea for the composition. Abandoning this proposal, he quickly created a second one, in which he discarded the infant John the Baptist in favor of a lamb: this would thus be the cartoon The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, known as "of Fra Pietro", exhibited in Florence in April 1501, taken over by Raphael and now lost. Setting aside his composition once again, the painter finally created a final cartoon from which the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, now in the Louvre, would emerge.In the end, although this project for a "Trinitarian Saint Anne" seems to have taken shape around 1499–1500, with the painting of the Louvre picture beginning around 1503, the process took much longer, since it covered the last twenty years of the painter's life, and the picture was still unfinished when he died in 1519.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the A creation within the framework of the creation of a Saint Anne in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s History of the piece.

By 1501, Leonardo da Vinci, who was approaching fifty, was a recognized painter, and his fame extended beyond the Italian peninsula. Nevertheless, his life was in an important phase of transition: in September 1499, Louis XII's French invaded Milan, and the painter lost his powerful patron Ludovico il Moro. He then hesitated about his allegiances: should he follow his former protector or turn to Louis XII, who quickly made contact with him? Nevertheless, the French quickly became hated by the population, and Leonardo decided to leave. This exile, described by his contemporaries as erratic, took him first to Mantua – to the Marchioness Isabella d'Este, for whom he created a cartoon for his portrait – then to Venice, and finally to his native Florence.According to a chronology widely spread within the scientific community, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a Saint Anne around 1499–1500, by an unspecified patron. In the early 1500s, he drew up a first cartoon – the Burlington House Cartoon – as an initial idea for the composition. Abandoning this proposal, he quickly created a second one, in which he discarded the infant John the Baptist in favor of a lamb: this would thus be the cartoon The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, known as "of Fra Pietro", exhibited in Florence in April 1501, taken over by Raphael and now lost. Setting aside his composition once again, the painter finally created a final cartoon from which the painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, now in the Louvre, would emerge.In the end, although this project for a "Trinitarian Saint Anne" seems to have taken shape around 1499–1500, with the painting of the Louvre picture beginning around 1503, the process took much longer, since it covered the last twenty years of the painter's life, and the picture was still unfinished when he died in 1519.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the Title and the History of the piece.

As the reality of this cartoon is still hypothetical despite its very high probability, there is no established title truly attributed to it: authors refer to it as "first" or "second cartoon" depending on the theory retained by each researcher as to the dating of the projects leading to the Saint Anne painting. In the same way that the first of the three cartons has been named by the scientific community as the Burlington House Carton, Vincent Delieuvin calls it the "Fra Pietro cartoon" to differentiate it from the other two.Finally, it would be possible to take into account the titles given to the works that resulted from them (in greater or lesser proportion): The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne or directly Sainte Anne for the one created by Andrea del Brescianino; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne for the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of which it is a preparatory stage. In fact, only Daniel Arasse seems to name it directly: "Leonardo was working in Florence in 1501 [...] on the second cartoon (no longer existing) of "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", a title which, under his pen, constitutes the generic title of any work leading to the painting in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the Title about the History of the piece of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

As the reality of this cartoon is still hypothetical despite its very high probability, there is no established title truly attributed to it: authors refer to it as "first" or "second cartoon" depending on the theory retained by each researcher as to the dating of the projects leading to the Saint Anne painting. In the same way that the first of the three cartons has been named by the scientific community as the Burlington House Carton, Vincent Delieuvin calls it the "Fra Pietro cartoon" to differentiate it from the other two.Finally, it would be possible to take into account the titles given to the works that resulted from them (in greater or lesser proportion): The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne or directly Sainte Anne for the one created by Andrea del Brescianino; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne for the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of which it is a preparatory stage. In fact, only Daniel Arasse seems to name it directly: "Leonardo was working in Florence in 1501 [...] on the second cartoon (no longer existing) of "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", a title which, under his pen, constitutes the generic title of any work leading to the painting in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the Title of the History of the piece explained?

As the reality of this cartoon is still hypothetical despite its very high probability, there is no established title truly attributed to it: authors refer to it as "first" or "second cartoon" depending on the theory retained by each researcher as to the dating of the projects leading to the Saint Anne painting. In the same way that the first of the three cartons has been named by the scientific community as the Burlington House Carton, Vincent Delieuvin calls it the "Fra Pietro cartoon" to differentiate it from the other two.Finally, it would be possible to take into account the titles given to the works that resulted from them (in greater or lesser proportion): The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne or directly Sainte Anne for the one created by Andrea del Brescianino; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne for the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of which it is a preparatory stage. In fact, only Daniel Arasse seems to name it directly: "Leonardo was working in Florence in 1501 [...] on the second cartoon (no longer existing) of "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", a title which, under his pen, constitutes the generic title of any work leading to the painting in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Title in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s History of the piece.

As the reality of this cartoon is still hypothetical despite its very high probability, there is no established title truly attributed to it: authors refer to it as "first" or "second cartoon" depending on the theory retained by each researcher as to the dating of the projects leading to the Saint Anne painting. In the same way that the first of the three cartons has been named by the scientific community as the Burlington House Carton, Vincent Delieuvin calls it the "Fra Pietro cartoon" to differentiate it from the other two.Finally, it would be possible to take into account the titles given to the works that resulted from them (in greater or lesser proportion): The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne or directly Sainte Anne for the one created by Andrea del Brescianino; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne for the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of which it is a preparatory stage. In fact, only Daniel Arasse seems to name it directly: "Leonardo was working in Florence in 1501 [...] on the second cartoon (no longer existing) of "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", a title which, under his pen, constitutes the generic title of any work leading to the painting in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the Inspiration sources and the Creation.

Leonardo designed his carton as part of a large-scale production linked to the theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne". He drew his inspiration from the composition of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Donors by Benozzo Gozzoli (circa 1470), in which the figures are placed one above the other diagonally. He also drew on the Adoration of the Magi by Filippino Lippi (1496), notably by reorienting the figures to the left and replacing the figure of Joseph with Saint Anne. Finally, the master combines the two compositions to create his own proposal: he enlivens Gozzoli's composition with the dynamism of the Joseph-Marie-Jesus group in Filippino Lippi's painting.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the Inspiration sources about the Creation of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

Leonardo designed his carton as part of a large-scale production linked to the theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne". He drew his inspiration from the composition of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Donors by Benozzo Gozzoli (circa 1470), in which the figures are placed one above the other diagonally. He also drew on the Adoration of the Magi by Filippino Lippi (1496), notably by reorienting the figures to the left and replacing the figure of Joseph with Saint Anne. Finally, the master combines the two compositions to create his own proposal: he enlivens Gozzoli's composition with the dynamism of the Joseph-Marie-Jesus group in Filippino Lippi's painting.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the Inspiration sources of the Creation explained?

Leonardo designed his carton as part of a large-scale production linked to the theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne". He drew his inspiration from the composition of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Donors by Benozzo Gozzoli (circa 1470), in which the figures are placed one above the other diagonally. He also drew on the Adoration of the Magi by Filippino Lippi (1496), notably by reorienting the figures to the left and replacing the figure of Joseph with Saint Anne. Finally, the master combines the two compositions to create his own proposal: he enlivens Gozzoli's composition with the dynamism of the Joseph-Marie-Jesus group in Filippino Lippi's painting.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Inspiration sources in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s Creation.

Leonardo designed his carton as part of a large-scale production linked to the theme of the "Trinitarian Saint Anne". He drew his inspiration from the composition of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Donors by Benozzo Gozzoli (circa 1470), in which the figures are placed one above the other diagonally. He also drew on the Adoration of the Magi by Filippino Lippi (1496), notably by reorienting the figures to the left and replacing the figure of Joseph with Saint Anne. Finally, the master combines the two compositions to create his own proposal: he enlivens Gozzoli's composition with the dynamism of the Joseph-Marie-Jesus group in Filippino Lippi's painting.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the Studies and the Creation.

Researchers have identified several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci as studies for the cartoon. The first, whose autograph nature is sometimes debated, is in the British Museum collections under inventory number 1875,0612.17v: it is a drawing on the verso of a study for the Burlington House Cartoon, obtained by transferring certain strokes of the composition from the recto to the verso with a drypoint, the latter being placed on a support rubbed with charcoal. Although the drawing still shows John the Baptist as a child and not a lamb, it is the first indication that the composition could be constructed and read in the opposite direction to that of the Burlington House cartoon.The second drawing is in the collections of the Graphic Arts Department of the Louvre under inventory number RF 460. The orientation of the figures is the opposite of the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre: Leonardo confirms that he "envisaged both directions of reading." Clearly satisfied with the postures of Mary and her mother – whose lines are quite clear – the painter is apparently still looking for those of baby Jesus and his companion above and to the left of Mary's legs – whose lines have been heavily retouched during the creation of the drawing, producing almost indistinct shapes. In any case, the Child remains on his mother's lap, as in the Burlington House Cartoon. Likewise, the painter still seems unsure of the identity of the scene's fourth protagonist, hidden in the mass on the left: it appears to be a lamb – as in the Louvre painting – whose snout can be guessed to the left of Jesus' head, and the rest of his body stretched out on the bench occupied by Saint Anne. A final lesson from the drawing is that the Child Jesus seems to be turning his face towards the two women: ready for his own sacrifice, he would like to reassure his mother; her smile marks the beginning of her acceptance. Such an accumulation of clues would confirm that Fra Pietro's cartoon is indeed a transition between the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre.Following on from the Louvre drawing, a sketch sheet kept at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles under inventory number 86.GG.725 contains a series of studies that focus exclusively on the group of Jesus and the lamb, independently of the rest of the composition. The interest of this document is twofold. Firstly, it reflects the evolution of the painter's thoughts on his composition: he keeps Jesus at the same level as the lamb, but now seems to be placing them on the ground. In addition, a very direct link can be made between this composition and the drawing preserved at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice under inventory number 230: among other arguments, this allows us to consider the latter as a study of Fra Pietro's cartoon, despite its opposite orientation. Also of interest to researchers, the drawing contains a few notes, at the top of the sheet in its mirrored script, relating to a geometric treatise written in the 11th century by the Spanish-Jewish mathematician Abraham bar Hiyya Hanassi (c. 1070 – c. 1136 or c. 1145): art historian Carmen C. Bambach links this note with Fra Pietro Novellara's assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was simultaneously absorbed in mathematical studies and the design of a Saint Anne, making the cleric's testimony even more credible.Preserved at the Royal Library under inventory number RL 12534, a fourth drawing is the last known study for Fra Pietro's Cartoon, but its autograph character is also debated, as are the figure it depicts and its dating. It shows a woman's face whose pose, hairstyle and smile are reminiscent of Saint Anne in the Louvre painting. Only its orientation to the left dissociates it from this, and links it resolutely to the second cartoon. The drawing bears witness to the painter's search for an ideal head for Saint Anne, as it would have appeared on the cartoon and which he kept for the work in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Explain the Studies about the Creation of this artwork, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon).

Researchers have identified several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci as studies for the cartoon. The first, whose autograph nature is sometimes debated, is in the British Museum collections under inventory number 1875,0612.17v: it is a drawing on the verso of a study for the Burlington House Cartoon, obtained by transferring certain strokes of the composition from the recto to the verso with a drypoint, the latter being placed on a support rubbed with charcoal. Although the drawing still shows John the Baptist as a child and not a lamb, it is the first indication that the composition could be constructed and read in the opposite direction to that of the Burlington House cartoon.The second drawing is in the collections of the Graphic Arts Department of the Louvre under inventory number RF 460. The orientation of the figures is the opposite of the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre: Leonardo confirms that he "envisaged both directions of reading." Clearly satisfied with the postures of Mary and her mother – whose lines are quite clear – the painter is apparently still looking for those of baby Jesus and his companion above and to the left of Mary's legs – whose lines have been heavily retouched during the creation of the drawing, producing almost indistinct shapes. In any case, the Child remains on his mother's lap, as in the Burlington House Cartoon. Likewise, the painter still seems unsure of the identity of the scene's fourth protagonist, hidden in the mass on the left: it appears to be a lamb – as in the Louvre painting – whose snout can be guessed to the left of Jesus' head, and the rest of his body stretched out on the bench occupied by Saint Anne. A final lesson from the drawing is that the Child Jesus seems to be turning his face towards the two women: ready for his own sacrifice, he would like to reassure his mother; her smile marks the beginning of her acceptance. Such an accumulation of clues would confirm that Fra Pietro's cartoon is indeed a transition between the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre.Following on from the Louvre drawing, a sketch sheet kept at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles under inventory number 86.GG.725 contains a series of studies that focus exclusively on the group of Jesus and the lamb, independently of the rest of the composition. The interest of this document is twofold. Firstly, it reflects the evolution of the painter's thoughts on his composition: he keeps Jesus at the same level as the lamb, but now seems to be placing them on the ground. In addition, a very direct link can be made between this composition and the drawing preserved at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice under inventory number 230: among other arguments, this allows us to consider the latter as a study of Fra Pietro's cartoon, despite its opposite orientation. Also of interest to researchers, the drawing contains a few notes, at the top of the sheet in its mirrored script, relating to a geometric treatise written in the 11th century by the Spanish-Jewish mathematician Abraham bar Hiyya Hanassi (c. 1070 – c. 1136 or c. 1145): art historian Carmen C. Bambach links this note with Fra Pietro Novellara's assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was simultaneously absorbed in mathematical studies and the design of a Saint Anne, making the cleric's testimony even more credible.Preserved at the Royal Library under inventory number RL 12534, a fourth drawing is the last known study for Fra Pietro's Cartoon, but its autograph character is also debated, as are the figure it depicts and its dating. It shows a woman's face whose pose, hairstyle and smile are reminiscent of Saint Anne in the Louvre painting. Only its orientation to the left dissociates it from this, and links it resolutely to the second cartoon. The drawing bears witness to the painter's search for an ideal head for Saint Anne, as it would have appeared on the cartoon and which he kept for the work in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), how is the Studies of the Creation explained?

Researchers have identified several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci as studies for the cartoon. The first, whose autograph nature is sometimes debated, is in the British Museum collections under inventory number 1875,0612.17v: it is a drawing on the verso of a study for the Burlington House Cartoon, obtained by transferring certain strokes of the composition from the recto to the verso with a drypoint, the latter being placed on a support rubbed with charcoal. Although the drawing still shows John the Baptist as a child and not a lamb, it is the first indication that the composition could be constructed and read in the opposite direction to that of the Burlington House cartoon.The second drawing is in the collections of the Graphic Arts Department of the Louvre under inventory number RF 460. The orientation of the figures is the opposite of the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre: Leonardo confirms that he "envisaged both directions of reading." Clearly satisfied with the postures of Mary and her mother – whose lines are quite clear – the painter is apparently still looking for those of baby Jesus and his companion above and to the left of Mary's legs – whose lines have been heavily retouched during the creation of the drawing, producing almost indistinct shapes. In any case, the Child remains on his mother's lap, as in the Burlington House Cartoon. Likewise, the painter still seems unsure of the identity of the scene's fourth protagonist, hidden in the mass on the left: it appears to be a lamb – as in the Louvre painting – whose snout can be guessed to the left of Jesus' head, and the rest of his body stretched out on the bench occupied by Saint Anne. A final lesson from the drawing is that the Child Jesus seems to be turning his face towards the two women: ready for his own sacrifice, he would like to reassure his mother; her smile marks the beginning of her acceptance. Such an accumulation of clues would confirm that Fra Pietro's cartoon is indeed a transition between the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre.Following on from the Louvre drawing, a sketch sheet kept at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles under inventory number 86.GG.725 contains a series of studies that focus exclusively on the group of Jesus and the lamb, independently of the rest of the composition. The interest of this document is twofold. Firstly, it reflects the evolution of the painter's thoughts on his composition: he keeps Jesus at the same level as the lamb, but now seems to be placing them on the ground. In addition, a very direct link can be made between this composition and the drawing preserved at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice under inventory number 230: among other arguments, this allows us to consider the latter as a study of Fra Pietro's cartoon, despite its opposite orientation. Also of interest to researchers, the drawing contains a few notes, at the top of the sheet in its mirrored script, relating to a geometric treatise written in the 11th century by the Spanish-Jewish mathematician Abraham bar Hiyya Hanassi (c. 1070 – c. 1136 or c. 1145): art historian Carmen C. Bambach links this note with Fra Pietro Novellara's assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was simultaneously absorbed in mathematical studies and the design of a Saint Anne, making the cleric's testimony even more credible.Preserved at the Royal Library under inventory number RL 12534, a fourth drawing is the last known study for Fra Pietro's Cartoon, but its autograph character is also debated, as are the figure it depicts and its dating. It shows a woman's face whose pose, hairstyle and smile are reminiscent of Saint Anne in the Louvre painting. Only its orientation to the left dissociates it from this, and links it resolutely to the second cartoon. The drawing bears witness to the painter's search for an ideal head for Saint Anne, as it would have appeared on the cartoon and which he kept for the work in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Studies in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon)'s Creation.

Researchers have identified several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci as studies for the cartoon. The first, whose autograph nature is sometimes debated, is in the British Museum collections under inventory number 1875,0612.17v: it is a drawing on the verso of a study for the Burlington House Cartoon, obtained by transferring certain strokes of the composition from the recto to the verso with a drypoint, the latter being placed on a support rubbed with charcoal. Although the drawing still shows John the Baptist as a child and not a lamb, it is the first indication that the composition could be constructed and read in the opposite direction to that of the Burlington House cartoon.The second drawing is in the collections of the Graphic Arts Department of the Louvre under inventory number RF 460. The orientation of the figures is the opposite of the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre: Leonardo confirms that he "envisaged both directions of reading." Clearly satisfied with the postures of Mary and her mother – whose lines are quite clear – the painter is apparently still looking for those of baby Jesus and his companion above and to the left of Mary's legs – whose lines have been heavily retouched during the creation of the drawing, producing almost indistinct shapes. In any case, the Child remains on his mother's lap, as in the Burlington House Cartoon. Likewise, the painter still seems unsure of the identity of the scene's fourth protagonist, hidden in the mass on the left: it appears to be a lamb – as in the Louvre painting – whose snout can be guessed to the left of Jesus' head, and the rest of his body stretched out on the bench occupied by Saint Anne. A final lesson from the drawing is that the Child Jesus seems to be turning his face towards the two women: ready for his own sacrifice, he would like to reassure his mother; her smile marks the beginning of her acceptance. Such an accumulation of clues would confirm that Fra Pietro's cartoon is indeed a transition between the Burlington House Cartoon and the painting in the Louvre.Following on from the Louvre drawing, a sketch sheet kept at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles under inventory number 86.GG.725 contains a series of studies that focus exclusively on the group of Jesus and the lamb, independently of the rest of the composition. The interest of this document is twofold. Firstly, it reflects the evolution of the painter's thoughts on his composition: he keeps Jesus at the same level as the lamb, but now seems to be placing them on the ground. In addition, a very direct link can be made between this composition and the drawing preserved at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice under inventory number 230: among other arguments, this allows us to consider the latter as a study of Fra Pietro's cartoon, despite its opposite orientation. Also of interest to researchers, the drawing contains a few notes, at the top of the sheet in its mirrored script, relating to a geometric treatise written in the 11th century by the Spanish-Jewish mathematician Abraham bar Hiyya Hanassi (c. 1070 – c. 1136 or c. 1145): art historian Carmen C. Bambach links this note with Fra Pietro Novellara's assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was simultaneously absorbed in mathematical studies and the design of a Saint Anne, making the cleric's testimony even more credible.Preserved at the Royal Library under inventory number RL 12534, a fourth drawing is the last known study for Fra Pietro's Cartoon, but its autograph character is also debated, as are the figure it depicts and its dating. It shows a woman's face whose pose, hairstyle and smile are reminiscent of Saint Anne in the Louvre painting. Only its orientation to the left dissociates it from this, and links it resolutely to the second cartoon. The drawing bears witness to the painter's search for an ideal head for Saint Anne, as it would have appeared on the cartoon and which he kept for the work in the Louvre.

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects


Prompt: In the context of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (cartoon), explain the Composition and the Analysis.

The composition of Fra Pietro's cartoon is deduced from the indications given by Pietro Novellara. But it is also deduced from the two paintings by the Brescianino brothers: it should be borne in mind that the idea that these works perfectly reflect Leonardo da Vinci's original composition remains a hypothesis.With the exception of the arrangement of the figures to the left, the composition is very similar to that of the painting in the Louvre – which may have led to the two works being confused in the past: Mary is seated on St. Anne's lap and, in line with their gaze, the Child Jesus stands at their feet. Together, they form a diagonal construction descending to the left in a right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse of which passes through the heads of the four protagonists (including the lamb). The composition of Fra Pietro's cartoon thus differs from the previous proposal – the Burlington House Cartoon – by abandoning the horizontal construction: it thus constitutes a return to a hierarchical vision of the theme, with Saint Anne overlooking her daughter, herself situated above Jesus. Moreover, Daniel Arasse considers that the painter is correcting the "unfinished" composition of the previous cartoon, where "the two female figures [were] not clearly articulated" and where "Saint Anne [only] occupied a very secondary place plastically": the new cartoon would thus allow the figure of Saint Anne to be emphasized thanks to the vertical scheme.Finally, the arrangement of the figures is such that the posture and gestures of each one seem to continue those of the previous one, as when a movement is decomposed: "Saint Anne's left shoulder continues into the Virgin's left arm, which itself finds continuity in Christ's forearm." This dynamic arrangement is not new, since Leonardo da Vinci found it in Filippino Lippi's Adoration of the Magi; but the scene thus acquires its own kinematics, induced by the movement created, and sustained by the slight rotational effect of the whole "initiated by the position of the bodies, slightly out of alignment with each other."

alt=Pencil drawing of a group of two women and a child accompanied by a lamb

alt=Color photo of a painting depicting a woman sitting on the lap of another woman who is reaching out to a baby playing with lamb. All three figures are facing left.

Leonardo da Vinci or follower, ''The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne'', 16th century, private collection.

Pietro da Novellara, Letter to Isabelle d'Este, April 3, 1501, Mantua State Archives, Gonzaga Archives, E, XXVIII, 3. b. 1103, C. 272.

alt=Drawing of a woman sitting on the lap of another woman, holding a baby in her arms, who turns towards a child standing on the first woman's knee.

File:Leonardo da vinci, Design for St Anne.jpg

alt=Painting depicting a woman sitting on another woman's lap, reaching out for a baby playing with a lamb.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)

File:Léonard de Vinci, sainte Anne, Louvre.jpg

File:Ferrando Spagnolo, Madonna con il Bambino e l’agnellino.jpg

alt=Painting of a woman carrying a baby on her right knee, holding a lamb in her arms.

File:Artiste inconnu, Sainte Anne, 1501, Prado.jpg

File:Pietro da Novellara, Lettre à Isabelle d'Este, 3 avril 1501.jpg

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist#History

alt=Whole picture; slanting lines in green and yellow; blue triangle; red rectangles.

The cartoon was created for ''[[Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

dating of the ''Burlington House Cartoon''

Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects