drawing (p. 167) in the Ecole des Beaux Arts reveals the various transformations of a single figure, that of the angel. He appears first in profile, standing, his left foot on a step; with one hand he holds his mantle, and with the other he points to some object unseen in the drawing, evidently to the little S. John. Lower down are studies in silver-point for the left arm, holding back the drapery, and for the right arm, which appears first with the hand extended, then with the hand closed, save for the first finger. This last is the action Leonardo finally adopted for the picture. I hasten to add that it is also the only part of the drawing he retained. In the picture the angel is no longer in profile, but turns his face three-quarters to the spectator, which adds greatly to the animation of the scene, for in a composition of four persons, two of whom are children, an actor in profile would be an actor more or less lost. The action of the left arm has undergone a modification no less important; instead of holding the drapery, it supports the Divine Child, and the angel, who was standing, now kneels on one knee. It needed Leonardo's consummate art to mask so much effort, and preserve an appearance of freshness and spontaneity in a work which was the result of long and elaborate combinations. There are other drawings, showing us Leonardo's dealings with the head, the figure, and the draperies of the angel. First in importance is the superb study of the head in the Royal Library at Turin, perhaps even more beautiful than the head in the picture itself. I may also mention a tracing of a lost original in the Ambrosiana at Milan, a head with long curling hair, turned three-quarters to the spectator (Gerli, pl. xxi.; Braun, no. 27). In the Windsor Library, again, we have a sketch for the figure of the angel (Grosvenor Gallery Catalogue, no. 71), another for the arm with the outstretched forefinger (no. 72), and a study of drapery for this same angel (no. 75), who looks towards the background instead of at the spectator. A drawing in the Uffizi (Braun, 431), a study of drapery for a kneeling figure, seen in profile, is somewhat akin to the Windsor study, but was certainly designed for a different and older figure. (The shoulder and left arm are bare.) |