Saint Anne

The Virgin and Child with St. Anne is, with the Battle of Anghiari, Leonardo’s most ambitious project of his later years. This masterpiece has been under restoration and it will be exhibited in its newly found splendour at the Louvre. There, for the first time, it will be flanked by cartoons with the same subject (but with St. John the Baptist) held at the National Gallery, London, and by preparatory sketches and drawings, thus allowing the public to gain new insights in Leonardo’s method of work. The exhibition and the catalogue present 131 works by Leonardo and other contemporary artists, such as Raphael and Luini, placing the St. Anne in its proper art historical context. This great work has had an enduring influence on the development of art in the High Renaissance (Michelangelo, Solario, Andrea del Sarto, etc.), but its effects are seen on paintings much more recent, such as those of Odilon Redon and Max Ernst. Contents: The construction of form The cartoon of 1501 First studies for the St. Anne of the Louvre The cartoon for the the St. Anne of the Louvre New studies; the second version of the composition Last studies The drawings on the reverse Emulation in Florence The St. Anne in Milan: copies and variations The St. Anne in France The fascination for the St. Anne