Academic Study After Leonardo Da Vinci’s Portrait Of Isabella D’este, Circa 1870

Academic Study after Leonardo da Vinci’s Portrait of Isabella d’Este, circa 1870

Sanguine, black chalk and stumping on antique paper.
Italian School, circa 1870.
Dimensions: 47 × 32 cm.
Presented in its 19th-century frame.

Academic study inspired by the celebrated portrait of Isabella d’Este drawn by Leonardo da Vinci and preserved in the Louvre Museum. The band holding the hair, the long lock falling along the neck and the purity of the profile immediately recall this model, which became one of the most recognisable images of the Italian Renaissance.

The sanguine, with its attractive rust-brown tonality, plays an important role in the visual impact of the sheet. Combined with black chalk and delicate stumping, it gives the drawing a particularly decorative presence.

The drawing comes from a group of sheets preserved in an old Tuscan residence, including academic studies, architectural drawings and anatomical exercises. Several works from the same group, executed on comparable papers and with similar techniques, make it possible to date this sheet to around 1870.

Beyond its documentary interest, the drawing illustrates the enduring influence of the great models of the Italian Renaissance in nineteenth-century artistic training, when Leonardo’s compositions continued to serve as essential references in drawing studios and academies.

Good condition. Minor traces of age consistent with the period. Presented in its 19th-century frame.