Ten of his paintings are on display, plus several drawings and manuscripts, and although there are important absences, like the Monalisa herself, the Vitruvian Man and the controversial Salvatori Mundi, the exhibition is a success. Tickets are sold with weeks in advance due to limited access. And even so, the galleries are packed and the crowds before each painting force others to wait for a decent close-up. Taking a photo is almost impossible.

The Virgin and the Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Angel, baptized (as many of Leonardo’s works) as The Virgin of the Rocks, was made on a board and then, as many of his paintings, transferred to canvas. The artwork was commissioned for the chapel of the Immaculate Conception in Milano, but because of a dispute between the artist and the contracting party, the painting was sold to a private collector. Thus Leonardo decides to modify the pose of the angel, who now signals towards St John Baptist, and makes him look at the viewer. The reflectogram shows these changes and confirms Leonardo’s quest for perfection, constantly correcting his works. The features of the angel are very similar to those of other young women in his paintings, like Head of a Woman, known as La Scapigliata. 

Head of a woman, known as La Scapiliata, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1500-1510)

Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary and Jesus playing with a sheep, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1503-1519)

Technique: oil on poplar panel

Infrared reflectograms of Salvatori Mundi
Leonardo da Vinci's atelier (1505-1515)

Lady with an Ermine, by Leonardo Da Vinci (ca. 1490)

Walnut board - MNK

The sitter for this painting by Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy, 1452-1519) was Cecilia Gallerani. It is said she was not only beautiful, but she was also part of an aristocratic family of Sienna and educated in the arts, music and literature. This made her the favorite of the Duke of Sforza, who commissioned her portrait to the Renaissance Master circa 1490.  

Cecilia is holding a small ermine, which looks like a white weasel. According to the signs in the gallery, there's no such animal in Nature, but it was part of the Duke's coat of arms. She is posing slightly turned, as if Leonardo had frozen her in mid movement. Her face looking to the left suggests that she is listening to something we can not see, a murmur in some next room, which makes her smile a bit. 

The painting is in good shape, in spite of the visible restoration in the top left corner and the thick layer of varnish to hide the cracks. It is suggested that the background was painted black to maybe hide some other symbolism associated with the Duke.

A timeline outside the gallery tells us that, in 1800, Lady with an Ermine was bought by the  Czartoryskich family of Kracow, but today is part of the National Museum's permanent collection.  

The painting is not on display constantly, it is just exhibited some weeks every year due to its historic and artistic importance and its incalculable value. Last month the painting was once again presented to the public. Even though photography was forbidden, the lights were off, armed security personnel protected it and museum staff prevented close ups, Leonardo's aura could still be felt. 

The bust of the Madonna, by Leonardo da Vinci (c.1500)

Technique: red chalk over metalpoint on pale red prepared paper

The three paintings are surrounded by mystery. The Madonna of the Yarnwinder, for example, is believed to be lost. There are three copies of it, one belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, on loan at the National Gallery of Scotland (Edinburgh). Of this artwork, the exhibition displays a sketch studying the lights and shadows on the Virgin's torso, which were later used in the final painting.

The drapery of a sleeve, by Leonardo da Vinci (c1504-8)

Technique: red chalk, touches of black and White chalks, on orange-red prepared paper.

Of Salvatori Mundi, the most expensive artwork (its whereabouts are currently unknown), there's a drawing of the drapery of the right hand's sleeve. There's still doubts about Leonardo being the author of this painting. Many different sources refer to it as painted by Leonardo's atelier, although Wikipedia (updated a few weeks ago) states Leonardo Da Vinci as author. Is this why the Arab Prince is not willing to show it? If the artwork was painted by Leonardo's disciples, the piece will lose its value. 

There are no drawings of the Mona Lisa. It is strange that the artist made no sketches of this painting, his most popular one. Maybe he thought they weren't necessary, since it was a family portrait and not an official image. Maybe he did draw some sketches and they were lost or didn't make it to the album bequeathed to Leonardo's disciple. The first art historian, Giorgio Vasari, described the artist as unpredictable and unstable, so it's impossible to know for sure, which increases the mystery around him.

Apart from the sketches of his most renown works, there's also other personal drawings, like the portrait of a woman that's a perfect example of the Master's skill.

For the "Virgin of the Rocks", commissioned in 1483 for a Church in Milan, Leonardo did a first version that was not delivered (for unknown reasons) and which can be seen today at the  Louvre Museum. The second version is from 1490 and now belongs to London's National Gallery. Below you'll find the draperies of one of the figures and some details of the stones.

For The Last Supper, commissioned by Ludovico Sforza for the Monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie, Leonardo used all his skill to portray the emotion of Christ's disciples as he announces his future death. The fresco was finished in 1498 although it quickly deteriorated and what we see today is barely a glimpse of the artist's creation.

Studies for Christ in the Pietá of Úbeda for Sebastiano del Piombo, by Michelangelo

Technique: black charcoal

Départament des Arts Graphiques, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Many historians agree that, between 1520 and 1530, the commissioners of art requested certain drawings to be made directly by the hand of the artist (“di sua mano”), so that later on apprentices of his atelier used the drawing as a guide for a painting or sculpture. The drawing above present a marked sculptoric force, specially in the outer lines. Some parts look incomplete, because Michelangelo chose to focus on certain volumes, specially in the torso. This contrast between the schematic lines in the head and inferior part of the body, versus the modeled torso, reminds us of the way the artist approached his sculptures.

Studies for the Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Ceiling, by Michelangelo

Technique: red chalk, with small accents of white chalk

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Michelangelo asked his young assistant to pose so that he could capture the draperies of the tunic and the right pose of the Sibyl. Placed near the altar of the Chapel, this was one of the last figures of the fresco to be completed. The complexity of the pose, almost about to move, coming down from the throne and ready to close the book of Prophecies, surely required several sketches. Unfortunately the paper of the drawing has been darkened by the excessive light and some parts of the charcoal were fixated with a solution of lacquer in alcohol which intensified the coloring. Michelangelo was already considered a true celebrity when he was working on the fresco. 

Location of the Sibyl in the ceiling of the Sixitine Chapel.

Both the curatorial and montage team decided to recreate the ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel so that visitors can place “in situ” the drawings of the figures and comprehend the monumentality and complexity of the work. 

Image of the ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel

Almost in the last room, we see on display on of the most interesting drawings of all the exhibition: “The Archers”, which belongs to the Collection of the Queen of England. The meaning of this artwork is a mystery. Most of the athletes don’t have their bows in their hands, a fact that makes it more intriguing. Although the central figures are well defined, the ones in the back are mere sketches. The subject, according to several investigators, is similar to the personal emblem of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, so it is believed that the drawing was made for him.

The Archers, by Michelangelo

Technique: carbonilla roja, 

The Royal Collection/ HM Queen Elizabeth II

Miguel Angel changed the history of art, elevating himself to atelier apprentice to deity and true example of Renaissance. His admiration for the male body, more than the feminine figure, and his devotion towards his work were hist constant companions till the end of his days. His hands could never remain still. 

When we reach the end of our tour, a big panel informs us of the many institutions and private collectors that lent theor drawings for the exhibition. Their extreme generosity made it all possible.

Torment of Saint Anthony, by Michelangelo

Technique: egg tempera on poplar wood

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

We continue our tour around this extraordinary exhibition atthe MET Museum dedicated to Michelangelo impressive draftsmanship... 

It’s impossible not to mention a painting from his youth, dated in 1487-88, when he was a student in a time in which you learned by copying the masters. Devilish figures attack Saint Anthony and different biographers believe that Michelangenlo improved Martin Schongauer’s original panel, by visiting the local market, to see the colors of Nature up close.

Study after Saint Peter by Masaccio, with Arm Studies, by Michelangelo

Techniques: Pen and Brown ink, red chalk, stylus underdrawing

Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich

This exhibition proved to be a great chance to revisit the pages of Giorgio Vassari’s “The Lives of the Artists”, where he dedicated a long chapter to Michelangelo. There he pointed out that the artist had a deep interest in Masaccio’s work. For the drawing above he copied the St Peter of Brancacci Chapel’s fresco “Tribute Money”. Done between 1493-94, the image shows his skill in the use of the pencil as well as other daring touches. Masaccio’s sculptural monumentality and his style of painting interested Michelangelo all through his life.

Study of a Kneeling Man in a Cloak Seen from the Rear, by Michelangelo

Technique: pen and Brown ink

Albertina, Vienna

It’s not clear if it’s because of the many times we’ve seen the copy of this image, or because of its qualities, but we can’t deny that this drawing has Michelangelo written all over it. It’s unknown whether he invented the features of the figure or if they were taken from a model, but it was suggested that the kneeling man with the strange hat is Cosmas or Damian, the patron saint to the Medici family. His true identity still remains unknown.

Study of Masaccio’s Adam and Eve after the Expulsion from Paradise, by Michelangelo

Technique: red chalk

Musée de Louvre, Paris

The drawing above is an obsessive study in red chalk of Masaccio’s fresco in the Brancacci Chapel, in Florence (1503-4), which was favoured by the fact that Michelangelo was living in Florence at that time, what contributed deeply in his formation as an artist.

(To be continued...) 

It's the largest set of original drawings by the Italian master ever seen. Fifty institutions and private collectors lent 200 works that allows us to understand the importance of the drawing in the artistic process of Michelangelo's works. It took 8 years for curator Carmen Bambach to organize this exhibition. First she had to decide the curatorial concept and then ask for the artworks under the jealous guardianship of several private and public institutions.

Of course, these drawings, done 500 years ago, are extremely fragile, so they must be protected from light and humidity. The transportation had to be made under certain conditions to avoid all possible damage and all the pieces were accompanied by a group of experts that took care of them.

After a careful set up, due to the fragility of the drawings, it was determined that the exhibition should last only three months, because that's as much light as the works can take without being in danger.

The exhibition presents a Michelangelo (1475-1564) as a student, philosopher and master, but not so much as a semi-god. This is probably the best achievement of the curator: she adds a new chapter in the story of an artist we thought we've seen everything already. 

The chronological order of the artworks allows us to discover that, at age 17, Michelangelo was already an exquisite draftsman. In the first artwork we see two figures which, according to biographer Giorgio Vasari, were made observing a painting by Giotto, master of Italian disegno. But Michelangelo wanted to improve its realism using to models, to capture such details as the way of holding the tunic and the draperies of the fabric. It is believed that the following drawing is the earliest to have survived and we can see the fierceness of his hand.

(To be continued...)

Studies after two figures en the Ascension of Saint John the Evagenlist by Giotto, by Miguel Angel.

Pen and two Hues of Brown ink (one slightly reddish Brown and the other grayish Brown) over stylus underdrawing.
Départament des Artes Graphiques, Musée du Louvre, Paris