The Virgin and Child with the Lamb

With a few variations, this small panel reproduces a famous composition by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child with the Lamb (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Leonardo worked on this painting for a long time, producing his first studies for it 1501 and completing it probably in Milan between 1510 and 1513. Even in its cartoon stage, Leonardo’s composition became famous and was the object of much interest, as you can see from many contemporary copies and variants still existing.

In the Poldi Pezzoli painting, created for private devotion, the figure of Saint Anne is missing, probably at patron’s precise request. Also the landscape is different: the architectural elements show a northern style, perhaps French, as some scholars have proposed, in honour of the new rulers of Milan. The cold colours and the elegant interpretation in a Raphaelesque style of Leonardo’s work confirm the attribution to Cesare da Sesto.

The panel probably dates to the end of 1515, when the artist returned to Milan at the end of a long journey through central and southern Italy, during which he had come into direct contact with Raphael’s works. The remarkable pictorial quality of the painting and Leonardo’s subject matter, have contributed to the fame of this work.
The vegetation in the foreground is probably by Bernardino Bernazzone, who collaborated with Cesare da Sesto also for other works.
The painting was restored in 1969-71, when old varnishes were removed.