Benois Madonna

It is likely that the Benois Madonna was the first work painted by Leonardo independently from his master Andrea del Verrocchio. Two of Leonardo's preliminary sketches for this work are in the British Museum, although the painting was probably overpainted by other hands. The preliminary sketches and the painting itself suggest that Leonardo was concentrating on the idea of sight and perspective. The child is thought to be guiding his mother's hands for the flower to get into his central vision. The Benois Madonna has proved to be one of Leonardo's most popular works. It was extensively copied by young painters, including Raphael in his Madonna of the Pinks in the National Gallery, London. For centuries, the painting was presumed to have been lost, then found, then lost, then found, then lost. It had in fact been acquired in Italy by the Russian artillery general and art connoisseur (1751–1821) in the 1790s. Upon Korsakov's death, his son sold it for the sum of 1,400 roubles to the Astrakhan fishing merchant Alexander Petrovich Sapozhnikov, who had his own art gallery; it was then passed on to his wealthy philanthropist son Alexander Alexendrovich Sapozhnikov (1827–1887). Finally, when his daughter Maria Sapozhnikova (1858–1938) married the architect Leon Benois (1856–1928), the painting became part of the inheritance of the Benois family. In 1909, the painting was sensationally exhibited in Saint Petersburg as part of the Benois collection. In 1912, the Benois family considered selling the painting and requested an appraisal from the London art dealer Joseph Duveen, who gave an evaluation of 500,000 francs. The art historian Bernard Berenson made disparaging comments about the painting, raising doubts about its authenticity: The purchase was made by Ernst Friedrich von Liphart, then curator of paintings at the Hermitage, who identified da Vinci as the artist. The payments were made in installments, continuing even after the 1917 October Revolution. Since 1914 the painting has been exhibited in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. == Description and interpretation ==

, Optical studies for the Virgin and Child ( 1478–1480), British Museum This small painting shows a dark room with the Virgin seated on a bench with her Child outstretched on her lap. Her young rounded face is lively; she is clothed in an olive and brown raiment, with brown and blue underwear covering her knees. The amply proportioned Christ Child grasps a cruciform sprig of flowers which the Virgin is holding. The faces of the vividly coloured figures are crowned with delicately gilded haloes. In an otherwise dark interior, a double-arched aperture gives a glimpse on to pale blue skies. Leonardo da Vinci, Study for the Madonna of the Cat (verso) (cropped).jpg|Study for the Madonna of the Cat, British Museum (verso) Leonardo da Vinci - 1856,0621.1, The Virgin and Christ Child with a cat (cropped).jpg|Study for the Madonna of the Cat, British Museum (recto) Leonardo da Vinci, object 1857,0110.1 - recto (British Museum).jpg|Study for Child with Cat, British Museum Leonardo da Vinci, object 1857,0110.1 - verso (British Museum).jpg|Study for Child with Cat, British Museum ==See also==