LEONARDO da Vinci
(b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519, Cloux, near Amboise)

Study for the Madonna with the Fruit Bowl

c. 1478
Pen and ink over silverpoint on paper, 358 x 252 mm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

The drawing of the Madonna with the fruit bowl is related in terms of its composition and similarly lifelike figures to the Benois Madonna. It may be derived from a direct study of nature which Leonardo usually produced in silverpoint. While reworking it with pen and ink he attempted to create compositional variations such as that on the boy's leg.