Study for the Madonna of the Cat

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Study for the Madonna of the Cat
it: Studio per la madonna del gatto
Artist Leonardo da Vinci
Yearc.1478–1481
Mediumpen and brown ink, on a preparatory drawing in stylus, with a brown wash on the back
Dimensions13 cm× 9.4 cm(5.1 in× 3.7 in)
Location British Museum, London
Accession1856,0621.1
Website https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Study for the Madonna of the Cat is a set of two drawings by Leonardo da Vinci on both sides (front and back) of a sheet of paper 13 centimeters high and 9.4 centimeters wide. The two drawings were made in pen and brown ink, on a preparatory drawing in stylus, with a brown wash on the back. This is one of the six works of Leonardo da Vinci showing the Virgin and Child playing with a cat or carrying it. A mirror symmetry between the drawings of the two faces is visible by transparency. The Study for the Madonna of the Cat is currently held at the British Museum in London under inventory number 1856,0621.1. [1] [2] The creative and scientific processes underlying the drawing Madonna of the Cat have been discussed by many art historians, including Kenneth Clark, Martin Kemp, Carmen Bambach and Larry Feinberg. [3] [4] [5] [6]

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References

  1. "Leonardo da Vinci e la "Madonna del gatto": quando il fine giustifica i mezzi". foglidarte.it (in Italian). 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  2. The British Museum Database
  3. Feinberg, Larry J. (2011). "The Madonna of the Cat". The young Leonardo: art and life in fifteenth-century Florence. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 89–97. ISBN   978-1107002395.
  4. Clark, Kenneth (1988). Leonardo da Vinci: An Account of his development as an Artist. Pelican (Revised ed.). Penguin Books. pp. 30–33. ISBN   978-0-141-98237-3.
  5. Kemp, Martin (2003). "Drawing the boundaries". In Bambach, Carmen C. (ed.). Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 141–154. ISBN   1588390349.
  6. Bambach, Carmen C.; Viatte, Françoise (2003). Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 291–306, 631–633. ISBN   1588390349.