An unpublished sanguine drawing.

Summary

We propose an unpublished red chalk drawing on antique laid paper, representing a young boy’s face
in profile resembling two pen drawings of the same subject, now in the Cabinet des Dessins du Louvre,
Paris, catalogued as “pseudo-Boltraffio”, said to be copies after a lost original by the artist Leonardo da
Vinci (1452- 1519). Tradition wants these pictures to be the portrait of Salaí, a preferred pupil of
Leonardo. The sanguine was acquired through the art market and is now private property. We discuss
the newly obtained material information, the stylistic features, and try to re- establish the historic context.
We concluded it to be a studio work, attributable to the studio entourage of Leonardo da Vinci.

Dr. Nicholas J. Blondeel, Prins Albertlaan 37,201, B-3800 Sint-Truiden, Belgium. All rights reserved.
Corresp. : lareon@scarlet.be

To access full article, click here: Salaí, Leonardo da Vinci’s pupil: a portrait (PDF)

Une version concise existe en français : Salaí, un élève de Léonard de Vinci : un portrait (PDF)