Page:Masters in art. Leonardo da Vinci.djvu/43

 A writer in 'The Athenæum,' in describing the study, says, "There are few pictures that awaken more ardent curiosity in the student of painting than this panel. Little more than a dark monochrome, at first glance almost chaotic, and with many of the figures veiled in obscurity, it is without any of the alluring qualities which solicit popular attention. The figures are firmly outlined with a pen, and the shadows rubbed in with umber. Only a portion of the background—the sky and some foliage—is commenced in solid pigments, but Leonardo's dramatic conception fortunately remains in all its force and intensity. He has placed the Virgin, holding the Saviour in her arms, in the centre of the panel and in the immediate foreground. A choir of angels lean over the grassy bank behind her. On either side two compact groups of men press forward towards the Child. There is no stable nor manger, but in the background are antique ruins, with large flights of steps, and on these are groups of armed men. Other groups of horsemen, dimly apparent behind the principal figures, are in violent action, and really anticipate the composition of 'The Battle of the Standard,' designed more than twenty years later."

MORETTI, C. Memorie Storiche su da Vinci. (Milan, 1804)—Berenson, B. Florentine Renaissance Painters. (New York, 1896)—: Da Vinci. (Milan, 1872)— Leonardo e Michelangelo. (Milan, 1879)— Cenacolo di L. da Vinci. (Milan, 1810)— Life of Da Vinci. (London, 1828)— Da Vinci [in Dohme's Kunst und Künstler, etc.] (Leipsic, 1879)— Der Cicerone [edited by V. Bode] (Leipsic, 1898)— Nuovi