Drawings and Dates

Abstract

Chapter 4 examines the two surviving drawings for Christ’s draperies at Windsor, their attribution, and their place in the chronology of Leonardo’s drawing styles. The use of red chalk on red paper favours a later date for the drawings, as does the system of hatching, but the development of his drawing style is complicated, as indicated by a review of his drapery studies. A copy formerly in the Yarbrough collection shows Christ’s right sleeve, as in the Windsor drawing but not as in the final painting, suggesting that the copyist knew Leonardo’s painting at a point before it was finished.