The drapery of the Madonna's arm

A study of a right arm outstretched to the right, the hand with the palm upwards, clothed in folds of transparent drapery from the wrist to the shoulder. The hand, which is in part shaded from right to left, is completely made over by a pupil. This is a study for the Madonna's arm in the Madonna and Child with St Anne and a lamb, now in the Louvre. Three corners of the sheet have been cut. Melzi's number 213. The technique combines chalk, wash, heightening and a ground, all of different colours, capturing not just the form of the sleeve but also the effect of layered glazes in the painting, and allowing such drawings to serve as a guide for Leonardo’s assistants who also worked on the painting.