LONDON

CHRISTIE’S is auctioning for 10 million euros, one of the rare drawings by LEONARDO DA VINCI still in private hands.

It is small, only 7 cm per side, of a grace that Leonardo was able to give to his drawings, made with the silver tip, a technique that requires great skill as it does not allow second thoughts, learned in the workshop of the master Andrea del Verrocchio.

The drawing is very similar to the ermine represented in the painting by Cecilia Gallerani, lover of Ludovico Il Moro, painted at the court towards the end of the 15th century. Perhaps Leonardo was inspired by a small bear in captivity, to study and arrive at the drawing of the ermine.

The drawing of the little bear seems to be part of a sheet from which other sketches of animals were then cut: a walking bear, dog footprints, together reveal the painter’s love for animals and nature.

 

The drawing was exhibited in Milan in 1939, today it is still in private hands, we hope in the future to be able to see it in some dedicated exhibition.