

Madonna and Child
(Madonna Litta)
Leonardo da Vinci
1452-1519
Tempera on canvas (transferred from panel)
42 x 33 cm
This Madonna and Child was
probably painted in Milan, where
the artist moved in 1482.
The Madonna's sublime, tender
gaze as she looks at her son, and
the tranquillity of the distant
mountainous landscape, reflect
humanist dreams of Ideal Man and
a Harmonious Life. At once
profound and noble, the painting
reveals great beauty in its colouring
and composition. The painting
came to the museum in 1865 from
the collection of Count Antonio
Litta in Milan. A preparatory
drawing for the Madonna's head is
in the Louvre, Paris.
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