Hauptinhalt
PORTRAIT OF A MUSICIAN
The painting shows the bust of a young man in his mid-20s looking to the right into the distance. He is holding a sheet of music in his right hand, which earned the work the designation Portrait of a Musician. The handsome young man wears a red cap and has long hair falling in ringlets; each curl is drawn with fine brushstrokes – which is almost tantamount to a Leonardo signature.
The young man wears a black robe with a stole over it. This stole is now depicted in sepia, but this is probably the result of overpainting: Analyses carried out a few decades ago showed that the colour Leonardo had originally given this stole must have been yellow. The painting, therefore, had a decidedly vivid colour scheme: red cap, yellow stole, black robe.
Even the background, which today looks very dark, is probably the result of an overpainting from the 19th century. Originally, the background must have been reddish brown, as shown by small samples of paint that came to light during cleaning attempts in the early 1980s.
Every painting is unique, one-of-a-kind and unrepeatable – not only because it is the result of a specific historical and artistic period outside of which it could not have been created, but also and above all because it is inseparably linked to its creator, their personal life story and style.
Today it is in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Inv. 99, but we do not know how it came to be in this collection of paintings.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Da vinci Bildniss eines Musikers Collage](/fileadmin/content/Gemaelde/davinci-ilmusico_/collage.jpg)
A great work of the old school
This painting in oil on walnut wood is the only surviving male portrait by Leonardo da Vinci.
It is first mentioned at the end of the 17th century in Bosca’s History of the Ambrosiana (1672) as a work by Leonardo, then also in later inventories of the Pinacoteca: In the inventory of 1686, it is listed as a portrait of “a Duke of Milan” “from the hand of Bernardino Luini,” which was later corrected to “from the hand of Leonardo.”
![[Translate to Englisch:] Detail Hand mit Notenblatt](/fileadmin/content/Gemaelde/davinci-ilmusico_/detail_02.jpg)
Scope
Execution in a high-quality wooden box with case including a protective cover, enclosed information brochure and certificate of authenticity.
The case and protective cover reflect the character of the product and directly convey to collectors the quality of its contents. The case must, in particular, ensure the protection of the work but also – especially in the case of small-format works – be sufficiently practical so as not to cause any problems during handling and transport.
The Details
Format:
44,7 x 32 cm
Material
Print on walnut wood
Print run:
999 Copies
Artist / School:
Leonardo da Vinci
Further Highlights
